The first specialty sold out in Ninh Binh's feast, guests praised it as delicious, bought it as a gift

Not only present in daily meals, this specialty also appears commonly in death anniversary and wedding trays in Giao Thuy commune (Ninh Binh province), loved by diners and often enjoyed first.

Attending a colleague's wedding for the first time in Giao Thuy commune, Ninh Binh province (Giao Thuy district, former Nam Dinh province), Ngoc Anh (Hanoi) was impressed by the full tray of food with some strange and delicious dishes such as compressed sticky rice, pork leg sausage, fingernail spring rolls...

Among them, she was most impressed with the nem nam dish.

“I have enjoyed some traditional spring rolls such as Bac Ninh spring rolls, Thanh Hoa sour spring rolls, but I find Giao Thuy spring rolls more to my taste.

The dish has a unique flavor. Even though it is dipped with Sa Chau salty fish sauce - a famous specialty of Giao Chau commune, old Giao Thuy district - instead of using sweet and sour sauce or chili sauce like many other places, I still find it attractive," Ngoc Anh said.

Nem nam is a dish that often appears on the feast tray in Giao Thuy commune, Ninh Binh (Giao Thuy district, old Nam Dinh province). Photo: Giao Thuy Movement

According to the young girl's observation, on the tray there were some hot dishes such as steamed shrimp, stir-fried squid but nem nam was the dish that was eaten the most and finished the fastest.

The guests were even more intrigued to learn that nem nam is a dish that appears in the daily meals of local families. However, when presented on the tray, this rustic specialty is still the most popular.

Ngoc Anh also commented that Giao Thuy spring rolls are wrapped in fig leaves, and lined with banana leaves. When eaten, she found the spring rolls to be fatty, soft, fragrant with roasted rice powder and rich enough to not need any additional seasoning.

“I found the nem nam dish very impressive, so I asked for the address of a reputable local restaurant and promptly bought 10 nem nam as gifts for my family and friends in Hanoi to enjoy,” the female tourist shared.

Giao Thuy spring rolls were recognized as one of the top 100 Vietnamese specialties in 2021-2022 by the Vietnam Records Organization (Vietkings) and Top Vietnam Organization (VietTop). Photo: Hieu Van

Mr. Phan Tuan - owner of a long-standing nem nam making facility in Giao Thuy commune said that almost every household in the area knows how to make this dish.

However, to make delicious spring rolls requires the chef to have experience and skills, from choosing ingredients to processing and packaging.

According to Mr. Tuan, pork used to make nem nam must be clean, fresh, slaughtered every day and absolutely cannot use meat from the previous day.

Wash the meat, boil it until cooked to retain its natural moisture and sweetness. Then slice the meat into thin slices and use the back of a knife to soften it.

“The meat must be ground, not minced, to ensure it is tender and not too pureed or crushed. This method also helps the meat to be juicy and not too dry or crumbly,” said Mr. Tuan.

Giao Thuy spring rolls have a sweet taste, crispy skin, fragrant smell of rice powder, faint smell of Sa Chau village fish sauce, served with soft, fatty pieces of fat, and rich, astringent fig leaves. Photo: Spring Rolls - Giao Thuy spring rolls specialty

In addition to meat, pork skin is also an indispensable ingredient in nem nam. The skin must be carefully scraped of the hair and outer horny layer, then soaked and washed in salt water.

Next, people boil the skin until it is cooked, just enough time so that the skin is not tough and loses its crispiness.

After boiling, soak the skin in ice water to increase crispiness and maintain its beautiful ivory color. Then, remove the skin, drain, and slice thinly before mixing with the spring rolls.

“Currently, some local nem nam establishments have used skin-slicing machines instead of hand-slicing to increase productivity and save time and effort. However, my family still maintains the traditional method of manually slicing nem so that the skin is thin, crispy and all remaining hair is removed.

Thanks to this, my family's spring rolls are remembered by diners for their uniqueness," Mr. Tuan added.

Not only appearing in daily meals, nem nam has also become a delicious dish to entertain guests on the feast tray on death anniversaries and weddings of Giao Thuy people. Photo: Challenge Me

Because it cannot be preserved for long, nem nam is mainly consumed within the commune and province and transported to some neighboring localities such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Hung Yen, etc. Photo: Nem nam Giao Thuy

The owner of this nem nam facility also revealed that the prepared meat and skin are mixed with garlic, MSG, rice bran and fish sauce.

The fish sauce used is the essence of Sa Chau village. Mr. Tuan also chooses shrimp sauce to avoid the fishy smell of fish sauce.

The final step is wrapping the spring rolls. The maker must be skillful in wrapping the spring rolls to make them look nice and ensure that they do not break, tear or burst open during transport.

Each spring roll package will have a handful of fig leaves inside.

Mr. Tuan said that Giao Thuy spring rolls are sold for about 50,000 VND/bunch. Depending on the weight and the customers' requests, people also make spring rolls in different sizes, with prices ranging from 40,000 to 60,000 VND/bunch.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/dac-san-het-dau-tien-trong-mam-co-ninh-binh-khach-khen-ngon-mua-ve-lam-qua-2449397.html