Foodwise

By Hà Nguyễn

Each city and province in Việt Nam is known for its local produce and specialities – Hà Nội is famous for its phở, bún bò from the central city of Huế and original nem nướng Cái Răng from the southern province of Cần Thơ.

Cái Răng is well-known for its nem nướng (literally grilled sausage). The dish is a real Vietnamese grilled pork sausage or grilled meatball served with rice noodles or rice as a main course.

In years gone by, only gourmets and foodies knew to go to Cái Răng to enjoy the best nem nướng, produced by Bá Lộc or later Tư Khem.

Nem nướng Cái Răng, a tasty and delicious dish, came into being hundreds of years ago. It is an unforgettable dish because of its harmonious combination of ingredients, enjoyed by locals but also a hit among foreign visitors to the province, said culinary expert Lê Kim Chi.

“Through the years, the food became the pride of locals. Enjoying not only the original aromatic flavour, the dish also brought back memories of the cultural values of our native village,” said Chi.

Make it hot: Nem nướng on the grill.

Tư Khem’s nem nướng was so tasty and delicious that an overseas Vietnamese, Trần Lệ, who left Cần Thơ for almost half century to settle in Los Angeles recalled: “I still remember that when we were young and had done well at school, my mother often rewarded us by asking a rickshaw to carry us to Cái Răng floating market in the district of the same name, to enjoy the dish.”

“My mother said no other nem nướng could compare with Tư Khem’s, whose dish was tasty and aromatic. I can still remember it now. Closing my eyes I can see the meat balls on a small bamboo stick and grilled over wood charcoal with a fragrant smell,” said Lệ.

Apart from nem nướng, Tư Khem also ordered quality soya sauce and then ground it until it became smooth. She often put chilies and fried ground nuts over the sweet sauce, making it even more attractive and tasty, Lệ said, noting that her mother also learned the recipe of making nem nướng from Tư Khem to make the food at home. She went on to teach her children and friends.

Delicious: Tasty and aromatic nem nướng Cái Răng should become a national dish to welcome international visitors.

Materials to make nem nướng include fresh pork, shrimp, pork fat, chili, grouns soya sauce, rice paper, vinegar and ground nuts as well as herbs, cucumbers, carrots, turnip salad, fresh coconut water and bánh hỏi (rice vermicelli or steamed rolls made of rice flour).

The pork should be warm, cut into pieces and ground until it is soft and smooth. The shrimp should be fresh and be shelled and ground.

Garlic, pepper, sugar and pork fat is added to the shrimp and mixed with the ground pork, before being rolled into balls, skewered on a bamboo stick and grilled over wood charcoal until they are cooked through, said Lệ.

“The dish is wrapped up with bánh hỏi or rice paper, turnip salad and herbs and dipped in a bowl of ground soya sauce plus fried nuts and chili,” Lệ said.

Today, any travellers visiting Cần Thơ can enjoy the dish. Nguyễn Văn Đính from Hà Nội said during his working trip to Cần Thơ, he often spends some time at Cái Răng to enjoy the dish.

“The sweet flavour of the sauce filled my mouth, and the fragrant smell of different herbs mixed with the grilled meat balls sipped with a cold cup of beer made me so ecstatic that I thought I was in heaven.”

“This specialty has its own characteristics that no other food can come close to. The dish could make diners forget all other dishes that they had enjoyed before. I’m an addict for the dish,” Đính told Việt Nam News.

He added that he often bought several kilos of nem nướng home.

Local herbalist Huỳnh Liêu said the dish is nutritious and very good at cooling down heat from inside the body. It is really good for patients with hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol and insomnia.

“Nem nướng should become a national dish to welcome international guests and visitors,” Liêu said. — VNS