MUST-TRY FOOD IN NINH BINH

No matter where you travel, food is always one of the most important things to remind visitors of having the best experiences, especially in Vietnam. When it comes to Ninh Binh, it has many delicious dishes that you should not miss out on!

Let’s discover some local dishes that you must try every time you come to Ninh Binh. 

Com chay Ninh Binh

If you are asked what specialties Ninh Binh has, the answer you will most likely receive is Ninh Binh com chay (rice crust at the bottom of the pot). A famous delicacy of the ancient capital, despite being not luxurious, it is a dish that captivates many diners at the first time they enjoy it. 

Different from other rice dishes, com chay in Ninh Binh is made from a mixture of dry and sticky rice, through many stages of drying and deep-frying to produce batches of crispy, fragrant scorched rice. Com chay is often eaten with shrimp paste or fried green onions, or more strangely when eaten with goat meat, heart and kidney and a rich sauce. 

Surely, you will forever remember the crispy taste of com chay. Don’t forget to buy them as gifts for friends and relatives. You can buy Ninh Binh com chay anywhere in the city and tourist destinations. A portion of them ranges in price from 1,5 USD to 2,5 USD. You can easily find this popular dish at markets and rest stops.

Goat meat

The next suggested Ninh Binh specialty is goat meat. In this area, goats are grazed on the mountains, the goat meat is firm and delicious, and with typical cooking methods, visitors can enjoy delicious dishes from mountain goats such as grilled goat, steamed goat, and rare goat lemon, goat spring rolls, stir-fried goat, goat with ginger sauce,…

Most especially, most restaurants or eateries in Ninh Binh will be famous for their scorched rice dish with goat sauce, this is the perfect combination of two specialties here, creating a strange, delicious flavor. 

Mountain goats or free-range goats in Ninh Binh all have distinct soft, chewy, and delicious flavors. Besides being a famous delicacy, goat meat is also quite good for health. When you come to Ninh Binh, don’t forget to enjoy goat meat and sip a few glasses of wine.

The price per kilogram of Ninh Binh goat meat ranges from 8 to 16 USD depending on the type of meat (rib meat, pork belly, kidney…). 

Some reference addresses for you if you want to find places sealing goat meat. 

• Ba Cua Restaurant: Trang An Village, Truong Yen, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh
• Cuong De Restaurant: Truong Yen, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh
• Chinh Thu Restaurant: Khe Thuong Village, Ninh Xuan, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh Province

Mountain snails

Surely you have tried many types of snails, river snails,… with Ninh Binh mountain snails, few people have probably tried it. Mountain snails are often located in Tam Diep caves, and it is not easy for you to try this dish, because snails only come out from April to August, the rest of the time they lie deep in the stones. 

If you want to eat this unique and delicious dish, you have to come at the right time to have the opportunity to enjoy it. With its chewy, crunchy snail taste and natural sweetness, and a faint taste of traditional medicine, you will be fascinated just by eating a simple steamed snail dish. Or you can also process snails into salads, steamed with ginger, stir-fried with tamarind…

Do not forget to taste this speciality in Ninh Binh, because it can be seen as the most local food in Vietnam.

Eel vermicelli

The next Ninh Binh specialty you should save to eat once is eel vermicelli, with broth cooked from eel bones and tibia bones creating a sweet, naturally fatty and very rich taste. 

You can not miss the fragrant and fatty pieces of eel meat. They are small but the meat is quite firm and delicious. This flavored dish will be served with shredded banana flowers, all blended together to become a famous specialty of this region. 

There is a popular restaurant that you can choose as a place to eat eel vermicelli with the affordable price about 5 USD per portion. 

Softshell Turtle

Softshell turtle, one of Ninh Binh’s specialties, especially in riverside and delta areas, which is considered a natural habitat for this species. 

Made from softshell turtle, dishes from this species in Ninh Binh not only bring rich and delicious flavor but are also rich in nutrition, especially good for your health every time you experience this dish. 

In Ninh Binh, there are various ways to cook softshell turtle into delicious foods. Baba can be braised with banana beans, or you can try grilled softshell turtle, salt roasted softshell turtle, stewed softshell turtle with traditional herbs. However, perhaps, for local people, if it can be introduced, braised banana softshell turtle will be the most popular and famous dish. The fragrant softness of softshell turtle meat blends with the fleshy taste of green bananas, tofu and sour sesame, it’s a great combination when you can feel the natural sweetness and thick feeling of the sauce. In addition, softshell turtle stewed with traditional Chinese medicine is also a nutritious dish, an ideal choice for your health. 

In short, try softshell turtle once when you come to Ninh Binh, because you will never forget its unique taste.

For any further support and help with walking tour and local food, please contact Trang An Ecorest Resort & Spa for the best services.

Hoài Linh

(Image source: Internet)