In Nam Dinh city on "mosquito nets", everywhere can see fish noodles. In stock, it is sold all year round, but many of the goods are opened only seasonally, to eat according to Tet, the end of Tet is the shop. Because, with the density of fish noodles like that, where to get customers.
But fish noodles have also become a feature of Nam Dinh on Tet holiday, besides the fairy fair, Tran temple seal and shoes festival. From the first day until the end of March, the fish vermicelli is connected "hundreds of flowers blooming" and semi -fluttering until "bro, spring has run out of day" like a girl who laments in Nguyen Binh's poetry .
It seems that Nam Dinh people prefer to eat noodles than eat pho. Not just eating noodles on Tet holiday but eating for four seasons eight periods, eating daily. So, the famous dish in Nam Dinh is not a pho but a noodle, with countless types of vermicelli from fake noodles, bun vermicelli, vermicelli, noodle soup ... Lemon chili sauce is also a popular dish.
But most are vermicelli, bun oc and fish vermicelli, the local ingredients are available. Nam Dinh is inherently many ponds and ponds should be available, and indeed, the fish in Nam Dinh plays a particularly important role, surpassing a common food.
Right in front of Tran temple, there was a single image of a single stone carved with a carp. The image of the fish towards the temple door, to remind people that the ancestral guard of the Dong A family is a fishing profession, with the founders of the Tran dynasty, the name of a fish or related to Fish such as Tran Kinh (Kinh fish), Tran Ly (carp), Tran Thua (melon fish), Tran Lieu (climbing fish), Tran Canh (good fish), Tran Thi Tun, Nghi Dung (tuna) .. .
This is not anecdote or legend but a document recorded in the genealogy of the Tran dynasty. Only when leaving the river to the shore to live, this identity gradually disappeared in the custom of naming the descendants of the Tran Dynasty, perhaps to suit the political and periods.
But no matter what, this also contributes to explain why Nam Dinh people love fish as well as fish dishes, especially fish noodles on Tet holiday. Especially in the past 30 years, fish noodles are more and more popular on Tet holiday as an indispensable dish.
It can be said that if you return to Nam Dinh, the spring festival does not eat fish noodles, it is considered that it has not been fully gone. Now I don't say anything, but 30 years ago, if I did not eat fish noodles, I would not know what to eat in Nam Dinh because other foods were not working, still closed to eat ... fish noodles.
Thanks to that, Nam Dinh fish noodle soup is famous, has a position in the fish noodle community in Vietnam and has a completely different identity thanks to the seasonal nature, processing formulas, and beneficial value to bring to customers. People eat fish vermicelli in Nam Dinh not to "solve" after the meat clown, but from the only option to become a habit.
Overall, Nam Dinh's fish noodles have a very simple formula. Bone tunnel as broth, use drifting fish as the main character instead of fish, perch, carp like other places. Fish drifting is also a typical choice of Nam Dinh people, because they prefer drifting fish than other fish.
"Head drifting, sesame lips" has been summarized by Nam Dinh people to get a bowl of fish or fish cooked. But more importantly, both of these fish are criticized by other people because of fishy, more bones, flesh than carp, fish, black carp so the price is cheaper. But what is cheap is Nam Dinh who likes, because he knows "whether rice is grabbed" for economic conditions.
The drifting fish are cleaned, then cut into thin slices, leaving the bone. Those slices of fish are fried so crispy, so crispy that the fishbone is also crispy, eaten without having to filter bones or fear of bone. The crispy piece of fish is the interesting feature of Nam Dinh fish vermicelli bowl.
Crispy to the last piece, crispy even though flooded with broth, crispy like a sound of ringing in the mouth. Crispy is even more prominent when served with soft vermicelli noodles and clear broth as if there was no protein at all, only a little red pink of tomatoes.
The crispy characteristics of a piece of fish in such a bowl of vermicelli noodles have created opposition, contrast but they do not exclude each other but also raise each other, creating a delicious piece that attracts the tongue of diners.
The more noodles and the broth are frugal, the more crispy and the deliciousness of the fish pieces, attracting the focus on the pieces of fish, instead of being dispersed if using many other types of "topping".
The deliciousness of Nam Dinh fish noodle bowl is also supported by a "spice" that is also very "Nam Dinh", which is Thai lettuce. Fish noodles, vermicelli noodles elsewhere are served with raw vegetables, but it is a raw vegetable from lettuce, banana, herbs ... only in Nam Dinh, a bowl of new fish noodles with raw vegetables from lettuce.
The old corn lettuce is very popular but has been overwhelmed and completely replaced by the appearance of lettuce. Therefore, many dishes such as lettuce, lettuce only eaten have disappeared, or variant with lettuce. More and more, lettuce only exists in subconscious.
It can be said that Nam Dinh fish vermicelli is delicious thanks to lettuce only served. Fresh lettuce, but the boring taste. Meanwhile, lettuce has fat - what makes people see their hands seem greasy when washing lettuce - and the taste is very easy to recognize.
The baskets of lettuce lettuce are displayed, want to eat as much as they want, just keep grabbing each large and grabbing lettuce just drowned in the broth and then eat. Therefore, many people like to eat fish noodles because this is a suitable dish to eat with lots of lettuce to help cool the intestine and benefit digestion.
And the refreshing, freshness of lettuce also enhances the crispy characteristics of the fish, bringing the fresh taste like the spicy of the spoon of chili chili in the bowl of fish noodles. Simply like that, the taste and the deliciousness of the bowl of fish noodles keep making people crave forever.
Fish noodles in Nam Dinh are pure street food, so its birth is in the hammer market (on weekdays) and sidewalks (on Tet holiday). Therefore, fish vermicelli is suitable for the spring scene chirping and pulling together to make a bowl of fish noodles before going to the ceremony or going home to eat.
Fish noodles in the Gieng Temple area are not a bad choice, always crowded with the people standing and sitting and eating and drinking. Otherwise, you can go into any fish noodle shop that appears in sight to get a delicious bowl of noodles. Originally, the simple recipe for fish noodles, nothing "heirloom" or "secret".
Just fry the fish so crispy, sliced lettuce really thin, cook bone water pot, choose a batch of fresh noodles is successful. So, the new fish noodle soup is easy to do, easy to eat, easy to appear and also easy to clean the shop when spring has run out of day!
