Hà Nguyễn & Hoàng Hồ

Hà Nội is home to hundreds of delicious dishes and prominent among them is bò nhúng dấm (beef dipping in vinegar hotpot).

The beef hotpot with its sour, sweet broth mixed with fragrant coconut juice and vinegar is unforgettable, according to master chef Phạm Tuấn Hải.

Colourful ingredients for bò nhúng dấm such as fresh mint, basil, young banana, mắm nêm and many others. Photo dienmayxanh.com

Hải, who was a judge of Việt Nam Master Chef, said he learned to cook the dish from his mother.

“Apart from fried beef that we often eat once or twice a week, my mother cooks bò nhúng dấm at the weekend to help strengthen our health,” Hải said.

The ingredients include beef (fillet mignon, beef brisket, shank and other parts), coconut, young banana, cucumber, pineapple, lemongrass, perilla, basil, lettuce, onion, garlic, fresh chilli, rice paper, fresh noodles, vinegar, sugar, salt, and mắm nêm (a pungent sauce similar to shrimp paste).

Mắm nêm is one of the main ingredients to make the dish more attractive, said Hải.

He said his mother chooses beef fillet to be soft and also shank and brisket for his father who likes to eat the hotpot with a cup of cuốc lủi (home-brew rice wine).

As a careful cook, Hải said his mother orders fresh beef from a butcher near his house to make the dish tastier and more nutritious.

“When I was young, it was hard for me to learn how to cook the dish so I often stood side by side with my mother to help her but the most difficult stage for me is how to cut the beef as thin as my mother did,” he said, adding that his job was to make the dipping sauce.

The dipping sauce is made with two spoonfuls of cooking oil in a pan over medium heat then minced dried onion, lemongrass and garlic is added and fried until fragrant. Then five spoonfuls of mắm nêm are put in the pan as well as a cup of water, which is cooked until boiled. The sauce needs several pieces of chilli, sugar and broth mix (locally known as hạt nêm) before being scooped into a bowl, he said.

Cookers often choose fillet beef for bò nhúng dấm because it is soft compared to other parts of the cow. Photo toplist.vn

Apart from dipping sauce, making a tasty and pure broth is also important, Hải said, noting that his mother often used coconut juice for the broth to be sweet, and rich but with a light and fragrant flavour.

To cook, the coconut juice is poured into a pot with a small cup of vinegar together with fried onion and shallots and then boiled. Remember to put a coffee spoon of broth mix, sugar and salt in the pot before stopping cooking, he said.

“When the broth is cooked, our six family members sit around a tray, which is located with a mini gas cooker in the middle, to eat the dish. My mother told us that we should dip the beef in the boiled broth first then put it on a rice paper then wrap it with fresh noodles and fresh mint. The dish is tastier when dipped in mắm nêm,” Hải said, adding that his mother warned them that the dish should be eaten slowly to enjoy its aromatic flavour.

Dip the beef very quickly in the broth hotpot to enjoy its aromatic flavours. Photo toplist.vn

Hải said he has taught the cooking technique to hundreds of learners, many of whom have opened their own eateries.

Nguyễn Thị Huấn from Quảng Ninh Province said each time she visited Hà Nội, bò nhúng dấm is a must.

“I recently enjoyed the dish at a shop in the capital’s Old Quarter. When I arrived, the shop was already full of eaters. A woman sitting next to my table told me that she is also an addict of bò nhúng dấm."

“Oh, the broth has its characteristic sweet taste, the fresh noodles are white but soft compared with the noodles made by Quảng Ninh producers, and fresh mint here is also great. I really experience it as a speciality. I think that gourmets will return to enjoy the food for many times like me,” Huấn said. VNS

In the box

Places to try bò nhúng dấm in Hà Nội:

Shop Bò Nhúng Dấm 555
•    Unit 1:  52 Trung Hòa, Cầu Giấy District
•    Unit 2:  275 Tô Hiệu, Cầu Giấy
•    Unit 3:  285 Tô Hiệu, Cầu Giấy
•    Hotline: 097 836 22 88
•    Facebook: facebook.com/555Bonhungdam/
•    Opening hours: 8.30am - 11pm
•    Price from VNĐ100,000 - 400,000
Shop Hòe Nhai
•    Address: 19 Hòe Nhai, Ba Đình District
•    Opening hours: 8pm - 12am
•    Price about VNĐ 500,000

Shop Hoàng Cầu
    Address: 79 Hoàng Cầu, Ô Chợ Dừa Ward, Đống Đa District
•    Opening hours: 10.30am-1.30pm and 5.30pm-8.30pm
•    Price VNĐ200,000 – 300,000 per person
Shop Quán Mộc
•    Address
•    Unit 1: 102 Thái Thịnh, Đống Đa District
•    Unit 2: Villa D17, lane 76 Nguyễn Phong Sắc, Cầu Giấy District
•    Hotline: 094 195 8899 - 094 165 3399
•    Price: 130,000 per person
•    Website: Botoquanmoc.com
Shop bò nhúng dấm 377
•    Address: 377 Trần Khát Chân, Hai Bà Trưng District,
•    Opening hours: 9am-10pm
•    Hotline: 091 463 19 88
•    Facebook: facebook.com/lau377trankhatchan

Shop Bò Nhúng Dấm Hàng Đậu
•    Address: 46 Hàng Đậu, Hoàn Kiếm District
•    Opening hours: 9am-11pm
•    Price VNĐ100,000 - 200,000