Speaking of mọc, a lot of ink is needed, because it is a culinary creation of Vietnamese people from pork. Looking at the shape, mọc is like a Southern dish, with types such as beef balls, fish balls, pork balls... which use a series of minced and rounded meat ingredients.
But mọc is completely different from viên. Not every pork part can be pounded or ground to make mọc. The shoulder part must be used with a little minced fat, sometimes pounded like giò sống and then mixed with wood ear mushrooms, chopped shiitake mushrooms with a little chopped dried shallots, fish sauce, pepper and then rolled into rounds.
Then put the mọc balls into the broth pot, cook until just cooked and then take it out. Just looking at the ingredients and process of making mọc balls, we can feel the deliciousness, crisp sound and aroma of the dish.
Moc is a filling commonly used to cook traditional feasts in the North in general and Hanoi in particular. In the 4 bowls in the "4 bowls 6 plates" feast structure, there is no shortage of a bowl of moc soup or mixed moc soup. Even at the high level, moc stands alone to create a very elaborate moc van am dish.
A bowl of mọc vân ám (meaning cloud covering) must always have 5 mọc tablets, each with a color to form the five elements: Green, red, yellow, white, black.
The mushrooms are shaped into round balls, as small as a ping pong ball, as big as a tennis ball, dyed from plants (gar, gardenia, pineapple leaves), then placed in a bowl and filled with pork skin and pork leg broth (containing collagen that helps solidify like in jellied meat).
After cooling, the mọc vân ám bowl will be a sphere-shaped block, with 5 mọc balls covered by a layer of "cold water" clouds. This is an absolutely elaborate and sophisticated mọc dish, to the point that it has been lost for a time due to difficulty in implementation. But it shows the most important role of mọc dish in Vietnamese feasts.
Bun moc is available everywhere, because moc is an easy-to-make filling, easily suitable for many types of bun such as bun moc duoc mung, bun moc ga, bun bung moc. But here, we are only talking about a pure type of bun moc, with moc as the main ingredient: Hanoi bun moc.
The elegant and sophisticated flavor is the characteristic of the Hanoi bun moc bowl. The broth must be chicken broth, not braised pork ribs or pork bones of bun moc doc mung. That broth is clear, just a lump of golden gray, with a light and sweet taste.
Moc is made of finely ground pork shoulder, then marinated with fish sauce, crushed pepper, minced dried shallots, wood ear mushrooms and shredded shiitake mushrooms. That mixture is mixed together evenly, then balled by hand to get the same size.
Drop the mọc balls into the broth pot, cook until just cooked, then take them out immediately, instead of putting them in the pot to avoid overcooking, overcooking for too long, causing mọc to become mushy and bland. Only when making vermicelli do you put mọc in a bowl and pour in hot broth. This way, mọc balls will be crispy, sweet and fragrant.
In addition to mọc, it is necessary to add a pure white chicken breast with a pale yellow skin. Boiled hen and crab, take them out to cool, then separate the shredded breast into bite-sized pieces of chicken. Only take the chicken breast because it has a beautiful white color, suitable for the aesthetics of a bowl of mọc noodle soup.
Another filling that is also very attractive is pork sausage. The pork sausage is squeezed by hand, dropped into the broth pot, when cooked it immediately rises, and immediately taken out as if it has grown to retain its sweetness. The role of pork sausage is to create a type of filling that contrasts with pork, soft and sweet, not crispy. Thus, in a delicious piece, there are many diverse delicious flavors.
And another indispensable thing is dried bamboo shoots, stripped into strands, then simmered until soft. The fragrant, buttery taste of the bamboo shoots enhances the aroma and sweetness of the chicken broth, which has gone hand in hand from the Tet feast to the bowl of bun moc. Bun moc cannot be without dried bamboo shoots, just like Japanese ramen noodles cannot be without some dried bamboo shoots.
When eating, take fresh vermicelli (absolutely do not use vermicelli left for a long time, it has a sour taste, spoiling the bowl of vermicelli soup) blanch in hot water and pour into a bowl. Next, arrange the shredded chicken with enough white meat and yellow skin on top, then arrange a few round vermicelli balls with dark brown spots of wood ear mushrooms, along with a few slices of pork sausage and a pair of dried bamboo shoots.
It is also indispensable to have a small pinch of chopped scallions and cilantro, so that when poured, a gentle green cloud flows out, emitting a fragrant aroma but skillfully showing off pieces of chicken, pieces of bamboo shoots, pieces of bamboo shoots under the clear, hot, steaming water.
Sipping the first spoonful of vermicelli, you immediately receive a pleasant and elegant aroma, showing off the aroma of premium chicken, of pork sausage mixed with the characteristic aroma of wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, along with the pungent aroma of onions, fresh cilantro, sprinkled with a little pepper and a few slices of spicy red chili.
Perhaps that is also part of the main culinary spirit of Hanoi people: Eating is not about being full, but only about enjoying a delicious taste.
Not piglets
Moc is not a simple meat that is ground like beef balls or pork balls. For comparison, the pork sausage used to make gio lua, shaped into round pieces and boiled, looks more like pork balls.
The name of the village is also of the dish
Moc village is an ancient village located along the To Lich River, now belonging to Thanh Xuan ward. The people of Moc village are famous in the world also thanks to their excellent growing skills, and then have a dish named after their homeland. Or it could also be that the village name was taken from the profession of making a living.
