Ninh Binh is always on the top destination list in Vietnam for foreign travelers, thanks to its world-famous places like Trang An, Hoa Lu, Tam Coc, Bich Dong, Bai Dinh. This is also home to plenty of special and delicious food in Vietnam.There are many famous dishes in Ninh Binh, from bamboo-tube rice to goat meat, fish, soup. They are not only tasty but also nutritious. Each dish is like a special gift from nature. Let’s deep dive into 5 most delicious foods in Ninh Binh, some can be strange but when you try them, you will absolutely love them!
1. Burned rice (C?m cháy)
This is the most common dish in Ninh Binh. It is simple, natural, but really yummy. To make the dish, you need a special rice called “Huong” and cook it with the heat of charcoal. After that, rice will be sundried many times and then fried in hot cooking oil till yellow and crispy. To make it more flavour, the cooks can add a final touch with other ingredients such as beef, pig’s heart or kidney, some vegetables like mushroom, tomato, carrot, and spices such as fish sauce, pepper, chili, onion and salt. The dish has a light yellow color and delicious taste of fried rice and fatty taste of pork floss. You can buy this product at all provinces in Vietnam, from the crowded streets to the tourist attractions like Bai Dinh, Trang An, Tam Coc, etc., or even on the highway.
Price range: 35,000 VND – 45,000 VND / pack of 200gr (about 2$)
2. Mountainous edible snails
Despite being a new specialty of Ninh Binh, snails stole many travelers’ hearts for its extremely delicious and memorable taste. Mountain Snails, only going out in search of food from April to August, live in the limestone mountains in Tam Diep, Yen Mo, and Nho Quan… It is very hard to catch them when they are still in the holes, so you need to wait for them to crawl out of the holes in the early morning. Crunchy, sweet and herbal are your feelings when savoring this dish. They can be cooked with different ingredients and in different ways to create various dishes such as grilled, fried, steamed ginger, boiled, mixed salad onions. Among all, the boiled snail dipping in fish sauce is one of the most favorite.
Places to eat:
- Family Restaurant: Ninh Hai, Hoa Lu District, Ninh Binh Province
- Quoc Quan Restaurant: Trang An, Truong Yen, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh
Price range: 80,000 VND – 100,000 VND / plate (3-4$)
3. Fresh goat meat with lemon
It is well-known in Vietnam that goat meat is best cooked and served in Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh. The ancient Hoa Lu is an abundant land with numerous craggy limestone mountains, making it an ideal place for goat farming. Goats eat many valuable medicinal herbs on the mountain, so their meat is not only delicious but also nutritious.
More protein-rich and less fatty than beef, goat meat is , it one of the most favorite foods for who????. Among dishes from goat meat such as fermented goat meat, steamed goat meat, grilled goat meat, fresh goat meat with lemon is considered to be the top ranked of the list. What makes the dish more special than the others is the secret recipe to cook and flavor it. This dish tastes best when being served with fig leaves, green bananas, star fruits, particularly soybean jam.
Places to eat:
- Hoang Giang Restaurant: Nui Hang Ca, Truong Yen, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh
- Thang Long Restaurant: Trang An, Truong Yen, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh
Price range: 110,000 VND – 220,000 VND (5-10$)
4. Eel vermicelli noodle
Eel noodle is another famous dish in Ninh Binh. Although eel dishes can be found across Vietnam, ones made in Ninh Binh are the best, especially with the broth made off bones.
Eels are fragrant and yellow after being mixed with spices like red chili, onion pepper, fish sauce, and fried in hot oil. This dish would be incomplete without banana flowers, spices and additives like fish sauce, salted shrimp sauce, lemon, pepper, chilly, and herbs. The flavor of the banana flowers combined with lots of fine herbs and additives makes this dish really appealing.
Places to eat: Mrs. Phan Eel Vermicelli Restaurant: 999 Tran Hung Dao Street, Ninh Binh
Price range: 30,000 VND – 35,000 VND (1.2 – 2$)
5. Sticky rice with ant’s eggs
Sticky rice with ant’s eggs. Have you ever heard about it before? Strange yet delicious, it is a must if you are adventurous foodies.
One thing you should know is that not all ant eggs are edible. It must be the one of black ants nesting on the tree, which can only be found year-round except in the first and second month of the lunar New Year. After being washed with warm water and wiped, ant eggs will be spiced and cooked until the eggs spread a nice aroma. The eggs are often put on a banana leaf, so the nice smell of eggs is blentwith the scentof the leaf. The dish is now ready to be served with steamed sticky rice and fried onions.
Places to eat: 12B, Ngoc Luong, Nho Quan, Ninh Binh
Price range: 50,000 VND – 100,000 VND (2 – 4$)
Above are the top 5 must-try specialties in Ninh Binh. If you are planning to visit Ninh Binh, feel free to contact us to plan your Ninh Binh trip.