At first glance, this dish looks quite similar to sticky rice because it is served with finely grated beans and fried onions. However, this is a famous specialty in Hai Phong with eye-catching colors and rich flavors.

Referring to Hai Phong, visitors not only remember famous tourist destinations but are also deeply impressed with the diverse cuisine of the city of red phoenix flowers.

Besides “branding” specialties such as crab cakes, spicy bread, crab spring rolls…, in Hai Phong, there are many street foods with affordable prices that are very delicious. One of them that cannot be ignored is the favorite porridge. 

Porridge is a simple, rustic dish associated with the childhood of many generations of Hai Phong people (Photo: @anhngfood).

No one knows when porridge appeared, only know that it has long been associated with generations of people in the Port. Although it is the same porridge, this dish has a beautiful green color, different from the traditional white porridge.

To create a soft and attractive green color for porridge, local people use freshwater spinach leaves, washed, then pureed and squeezed to extract the juice. When the porridge is almost cooked, start pouring a little water of the spinach in a moderate amount so that the dish has a light green color, not too dark.

The juice from the watercress helps the porridge to have a characteristic green color, aromatic and cool taste (Photo: Hai Phong delicacies).

In some places, congee is also cooked from sticky rice leaves (pineapple leaves) to create a unique green color and make up the nose. Also thanks to the raw materials of sweet potato or sticky rice leaves, the dish becomes more nutritious with the nutrients found in green vegetables.

Not only has the attractive color, but the process of making delicious porridge also requires feats and sophistication and ingenuity of the cook. Instead of cooking from whole grain rice, people have to choose fragrant rice, grind it into a fine powder to make porridge.

The porridge has a thick, smooth consistency because it is cooked from ground rice flour (Photo: Hai Phong delicacies).

This cooking method is quite similar to the rib porridge of the Hanoi people but still creates a different flavor for the porridge dish that loves the land of the port. Thanks to the processing of fine flour, the porridge has both a smooth consistency and a pleasant aroma of carefully roasted and ground rice.

Although it is a dish sold mainly on the street at an affordable price, to make a bowl of porridge that is smooth and delicious also requires the same feat as other famous specialties. 

The porridge has a beautiful green color, a strange taste and smells of rice, hot vegetables, and bone broth (Photo: @eatwpeach).

Plain rice must be ground into a fine powder. Pork bones are washed, stewed thoroughly with low fire. A small trick to make the bone broth clear and fragrant is when the bone broth is not covered. Besides, you must regularly skim off the foam floating on the surface of the water pot.

When the stew bone is thoroughly cooked, out of freshwater, take out the bones and then slowly pour in the rice flour, while pouring, gently stir the dough to cook evenly, to avoid clumping.

When the cook notices that the porridge is almost cooked, he adds hot water or pandan leaves (glutinous leaves), stir well, and then taste the seasoning to taste. This coloring water must be added to the porridge at the right time to make the dish fragrant and delicious.

The way to enjoy congee is quite similar to the sticky rice dish of Hanoi people because they are all served with green beans and dried onions (Photo: @ryndo63).

Besides, congee also has a special way of enjoying, not mixed with any porridge. That is, diners will eat porridge with pureed green beans and fragrant fried onions, quite similar to the way of enjoying sticky rice of Hanoians.

Peeled green beans, steamed, then pureed, molded into large balls. Finely chopped purple onion, fried until golden crispy. When eating, the seller scoops up the porridge into a bowl and then uses a knife to slice a thin layer of green beans on top. Finally, add the dried onion, mix the ingredients and enjoy.

The porridge “eat is pleasure” has become a famous specialty of Hai Phong (Photo: @khanhnguyen_64).

The porridge is smooth, rich in the flavor of simmered bones, mixed with a bit of flesh and fat of green beans and the aroma of fried onions makes it easy for diners to enjoy and enjoy.

Porridge can be enjoyed all year round, but it is best in winter and eaten while still hot. The steaming bowls of porridge with the sweet taste of simmered bone broth mixed with the cool taste of hot vegetables can become the afternoon snack of Hai Phong people. 

Porridge is a nutritious dish, suitable for both the elderly and children (Photo: Hai Phong delicacies).

If you have the opportunity to visit Hai Phong, you can enjoy porridge specialties at roadside eateries, on-street vendors or in traditional markets. Each serving of hot porridge costs about 15,000 VND. Follow Dan trí