Introduction
Come to Ninh Binh, tourists can not miss all the specialties of this land. Ninh Binh Food Specialty, with its variety of dishes and delicacy in making them, is one of the things that attract tourists. So do you know what Ninh Binh Cuisine includes and where to eat it? Let Ninh Binh Private Car show you some delicious dishes in Ninh Binh for you to enjoy or buy for a friend.
Breakfast In Ninh Binh Food Specialty
Sticky Rice With Ants Eggs
It’s not sticky rice eaten with meat or other usual things, but people in Nho Quan District eat sticky rice with ant eggs. Thanks to the uniqueness of its preparation and flavor, this dish from a rustic dish has become a famous Ninh Binh Cuisine.
Not all ant species’ eggs are used, only brown ant eggs. This dish is rare because it is only around the second lunar month. Because there is a lot of food at this time, ants are full so they lay more eggs. Eggs in this season also contain the most nutrients.
Bun Moc Kim Son (Moc noodles soup)
Bun moc is available everywhere, but if you can visit Ninh Binh, come and taste the vermicelli dish in Kim Son. You will feel the difference, an irresistible taste that will satisfy you. The broth is simmered from pork bones for many hours and the foam must be continuously removed to make the broth clear. Moc is the soul of the dish using fresh, warm pork, especially the ham, which has been stripped of fat and tendons, leaving only the meat. Then put in a blender, puree, add spices, and roll into round balls to add to the pot of broth.
In addition, if tourists need it, the restaurants will always have pork hocks or ribs to eat with them. The dish will be served with lettuce, bean sprouts, green onions, and a little fried shallot. Right from the first try, many visitors will probably be unable to resist the delicious taste of the dish.
Although it takes a lot of effort to prepare, a bowl of bun moc will only cost you 20,00 – 40,000 VND. In Ninh Binh, there are also many shops selling this dish, from roadside stalls to luxury restaurants, you can all enjoy this Ninh Binh Food Specialty.
Lunch Dishes In Ninh Binh Food Specialty
Mountain Goat Ninh Binh – Must-try Ninh Binh Food Specialty
Ninh Binh is home to many limestone mountains and is suitable for raising goats. Therefore, mountain goat have become a Ninh Binh Food Specialty, famous among locals, and foreigners.
The goats are let loose by herders in the mountains, so they have to climb to find food. During the breeding process, mountain goats often eat herbs in the mountains, so their meat is fragrant with herbs, without the characteristic smell of goats. Mountain goat meat is processed into many dishes by chefs here. Guests can order dishes such as grilled, steamed, rare goat meat with lemon, and many other dishes.
Also depending on the meat part of the goat, their price may vary. For example, goat ribs and thighs will be more expensive than the shoulder, the price will range from 200,000 VND to 400,000 VND.
In addition to dishes at restaurants, visitors can buy packaged dishes made from mountain goat meat. The most famous is dried goat meat marinated with garlic, it will be packaged in bags and preserved by vacuum sealing. So visitors can try to buy them and bring them home to give to friends.
Famous mountain goat meat restaurant addresses in Ninh Binh:
- Ba Cua Restaurant: Trang An Village, Truong Yen, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh
- Cuong De Restaurant: Truong Yen, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh
- Chinh Thu Quan: Khe Thuong Village, Ninh Xuan, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh Province
Gia Vien Fermented Shrimp Paste
Shrimp paste is a dish that has been present in the lives of Ninh Binh residents for many generations. No one knows how long this dish has been around, but they only know that since they were children, this dish has appeared in many people’s family meals. To make shrimp paste, people first have to go to the sea very early to catch fresh, delicious shrimp. After returning, they will wash it, and begin the fermentation process using salt and fresh water.
The origin of this dish comes from people wanting to reserve shrimp to eat because the shrimp season is usually very short. Although it has a simple origin, over many generations, this dish has gradually become famous and has become one of the famous Ninh Binh Food Specialties. Tourists can go to Ninh Binh Shopping Mall areas such as Rong Market to buy jars of shrimp paste to eat or as gifts for relatives and friends.
Dishes For Dinner In Ninh Binh Food Specialty
Mountain snail
In Ninh Binh, there is a specialty that many tourists and locals seek: mountain snail. But enjoying this dish is not an easy thing. They mainly live in mountains, in small caves or rock crevices, so they are very difficult to catch. They eat the leaves of precious herbs and mosses, so their meat is good for health and has a medicinal aroma. Thanks to that, mountain snails became Ninh Binh’s Food Specialty.
Not to mention the dangerous process of catching them, but they only appear at certain times of the year. Mountain snails only appear during the Ninh Binh Rainy Season, from April to August. So to have the opportunity to eat this snail, visitors will have to come at this time and find a restaurant that sells them. Mountain snails can be processed into many dishes such as stir-fry or salad, but the most delicious is still steamed and dipped in fish sauce.
Goi Ca Nhech (Rice-paddy Eel Salad)
Coming to Kim Son, you cannot miss Ninh Binh Food Specialty which is rice-paddy eel salad. The dish takes a lot of time and requires a lot of meticulousness to prepare it. The chef has to use many ingredients to remove the typical fishy smell, especially when this is a raw dish.
The chef will fillet the fish into bite-sized pieces and mix them with fried glutinous rice flour. Served with the dish will be many types of leaves such as polyscias, guava, fig leaves, and many others. The accompanying sauce will be a special type cooked from the ground or crushed rice-paddy eel bones cooked with lemongrass chili and spices. Creating a combination that couldn’t be more wonderful.
Nem Chua Yen Mac (Yen Mac Fermented Pork)
One of the famous Ninh Binh Food Specialties is Nem chua Yen Mac, a delicious dish made from pork. The chef will choose thinly sliced pork butt meat mixed with thinly sliced boiled pork skin, add spices and wrap in guava leaves or bananas. The dish will be stored for a few days before eating to bring out the best flavor.
In addition, local people will eat it with leaves of ming aralia, prunus, guava and some other leaves. Dip with typical chili and garlic fish sauce, creating a flavor that can’t be found anywhere else. Note, that if you can not eat raw meat, you should not try this dish.
Snacks In Ninh Binh Food Specialty
Crispy rice (Crispy rice)
When talking about Ninh Binh Food Specialty, it is impossible to ignore the crispy rice. A specialty of the ancient capital, although not a fancy dish, it still makes many tourists feel passionate about this dish. It seems simple to eat, with only a few main ingredients: rice, meat floss, and a few spices, but it takes a lot of effort to make this dish.
Unlike crispy rice dishes in other localities, Ninh Binh Crispy Rice is completely different from other provinces. In Ninh Binh, this dish uses both types of rice: sticky rice and dry rice, going through many processing stages to reach customers. The first step is to clean the rice, then dry it, fry it and add spices. You will eat it with meat floss, scallion, and fried shallot to create a delicious taste that is hard to find elsewhere.
In addition, this dish can be kept for a long time if stored properly. So people will pack crispy rice into bags to sell. Visitors can buy them as gifts for their friends after their tour here. The price is not too expensive, only about 20,000 VND to 50,000 VND for a bag.
Ninh Binh Floating Cake
Ninh Binh Food Specialty is not just about savory food, also has sweet dishes and that is Ninh Binh Floating Cake. This cake is famous during the Cold Food Festival and has become a part of the culture.
The cake smells of aster leaves, grapefruit peel, and the aroma of a cake crust made from sticky rice. The filling uses a combination of sugar, molasses, and peanuts, wrapped in a layer of glutinous rice flour. When eating, you will feel the sweetness of sugar and the nutty taste of peanuts. The price of the offering dish is very cheap, only about 10,000 VND per serving.
Famous Ninh Binh Wine
Ruou Can Nho Quan (Nho Quan Straw Liquor)
Not only does Ninh Binh Cuisine have traditional dishes, but it also has a wide variety of famous wines. Coming to Ninh Binh but not enjoying Nho Quan Straw Liquor and eating a piece of goat meat would be a big mistake. Straw liquor is a type of wine that uses leaves and herbs combined with rice flour, wheat flour, and rice to create wine.
The finished product of this process will produce a drink with the aroma of herbs and the spicy, slightly sweet taste of wine. The way to enjoy this type of wine is also different, people pour the water into the jar, wait 15 minutes, and start drinking. Visitors will use a tube made from bamboo trunks to suck wine from the jar.
Drinking Nho Quan Straw Liquor will be a memorable experience for any visitor. Because of the special way of cooking as well as the way of drinking, it brings something new to visitors. The price for a jar of Nho Quan Straw Liquor will be about 200,000 to 600,000 VND depending on the size. Visitors can go to Thang Long Restaurant located at Trang An, Chi Phong, Ninh Binh to enjoy this wine.
Famous Restaurants To Enjoy Ninh Binh Food Specialty
Ninh Binh has many famous restaurants serving Ninh Binh Food Specialty. If you are wondering which restaurant to choose, let Ninh Binh Private Car give you some suggestions.
Kim Da Cuisine
- Address: Square 2, Kim Da village, Ninh Binh
- Price ranges: 100,000 – 300,000 VND/dish
Binh Dung Restaurant
- Address: Alley 668 Ngo Gia Tu, Doan Ket Street, Ninh Binh
- Price ranges: 100,000 – 500,000 VND/dish
Duc De Restaurant
- Address: 446 Nguyen Hue, Nam Binh, Ninh Binh
- Price ranges: 100,000 – 3,000,000 VND/dish
Note When Eating Ninh Binh Food Specialty At The Restaurant
- Many restaurants in Ninh Binh are owned by local people, so they often do not know English. So visitors can contact tour guides or travel agencies to book a table in advance.
- Ninh Binh Food Specialty in particular and Vietnamese cuisine in general use a lot of ingredients in processing. If you are allergic or cannot eat any ingredients, you should tell the restaurant in advance to avoid unexpected incidents.
- Most restaurants don’t stay open too late, so we recommend eating before 11 p.m.
- If you want a more diverse experience, you can try the set menu or buffet with ticket prices of about 300,000 VND.
Conclusion
When visiting Ninh Binh, you absolutely cannot miss Ninh Binh’s specialties. Visitors can have a great breakfast with Moc noodles soup or sticky rice with ants egg. Next, enjoy lunch with shrimp paste or mountain goat. For dinner, you can walk around the city and try mountain snails or rice-paddy eel salad with a pot of Nho Quan Straw Liquor. In addition, if you want to buy gifts for friends, you can buy some crispy rice or nem chua Yen Mac. In addition to the dishes mentioned above, Ninh Binh also has many other delicious dishes. If you have the opportunity to visit, don’t hesitate to enjoy Ninh Binh Cuisine, this will be a lifetime experience. Ninh Binh Private Car wishes you a delicious meal when trying Ninh Binh Food Specialty.