The taste of the countryside in every noodle

A hot bowl of Xiem Lo noodles with golden broth and fragrant snakehead fish meat

Bun Xiem Lo - a delicious dish from the border region

The cuisine of the Southwestern border region always contains many interesting things and Bun Xiem Lo is a living proof. Just hearing the name, diners can feel the culinary exchange between Vietnam and Cambodia. Bun Xiem Lo is not only a delicious dish but also a story told through flavors, conveyed by the people here in rustic verses:

Golden, eye-catching, appetizing,

Fragrant bowl of noodles with young vegetables.

Fresh snakehead fish,

Add a pair of fish eggs for eye view.

Bun Xiem Lo of my hometown,

The broth has the sweet aroma of Long An .

Please come back,

Let's enjoy my hometown products together.

(Bui Thi Ngoc Diep)

The unique flavor of Bun Xiem Lo is made entirely from fresh snakehead fish and red turmeric. The broth is not made from pork bones but from the head and bones of the fish that have been stewed. The snakehead fish is pounded into patties, rolled into balls or cut into pieces, and cooked with finely chopped old turmeric to create a golden yellow color and a distinctive aroma - in which red turmeric is the "soul" of the dish. The noodles are small, soft and chewy, soaked in the flavor of the broth.

To have a more realistic view of this special dish, we had a short conversation with Mr. Lieu Minh Tuan, owner of the Xiem Lo noodle shop in Long An ward. His maternal family is in the border area, so Mr. Tuan has known the taste of Xiem Lo noodle since he was young and when he grew up, he became the one who spread the taste of his hometown to the city.

“This noodle recipe is a family heirloom, passed down by my aunt. She taught me how to cook it quickly but with a rich flavor... She has been selling Xiem Lo noodles in Kien Tuong ward for more than ten years now,” said Mr. Tuan.

According to him, the “secret” to cooking Bun Xiem Lo is to use fresh turmeric, not powdered turmeric. Stir-fry the turmeric until fragrant, then add it to the pot of broth with the fish bones. Fresh turmeric is considered the “soul” of Bun Xiem Lo.

A bowl of authentic Bun Xiem Lo is a delicate blend of many flavors and ingredients. The snakehead fish broth cooked with turmeric has a sweet taste, the noodles are small and soft, the fish cakes are golden yellow, served with typical Western vegetables such as water mimosa, elephant ear, sesban flower, bean sprouts,...

In particular, a bowl of spicy salt and chili is indispensable, usually made from coarse salt mixed with finely ground chili. When eating, diners add water mimosa, salt and chili and a little kumquat to the bowl and mix well. The aroma of turmeric blends with the sweetness of fish, the slight bitterness of water mimosa, the spiciness of salt and chili and the richness of peanuts, all creating a rich, unforgettable flavor.

Bun Xiem Lo is not only a delicious and unique dish but also has cultural value, a testament to the culinary culture exchange in the border region. With the main ingredients of snakehead fish and fresh turmeric, this dish is also considered beneficial for health, especially for people with stomach pain, diabetes or asthma.

If you have the opportunity to visit Tay Ninh province, especially the southwestern border region of Dong Thap Muoi, do not forget to enjoy a hot bowl of Bun Xiem Lo. The rustic, rich flavor of this specialty dish, which was once in the Top 100 Vietnamese specialties in 2022, will definitely leave an unforgettable impression and make you want to come back again.

Simple Ninh Son noodle soup

Ninh Son vermicelli soup served with rice paper

If you are too familiar with meat and fish dishes, please come to Tay Ninh, enjoy the light noodle soup in Ninh Trung quarter, Binh Minh ward. Around 4 pm, go to Ninh Son market area, ask for the noodle soup shop, it is not difficult for you to find. This is a dish of Binh Dinh people (now Gia Lai province) who came here to make a living, then created and processed it.

Initially, the restaurant opened perhaps to serve those who were far away from home - to eat to ease their homesickness. Gradually, through word of mouth, the rustic, simple taste of Ninh Son noodle soup attracted diners from near and far, and after eating it once, they would remember it forever, and become addicted without realizing it.

Ninh Son noodle soup is a “simplified” version of Binh Dinh noodle soup. Anyone who sees it for the first time will be surprised because there is no “topping” at all. The bowl of noodles is exactly as its name suggests: noodles, water, a few spices and some fresh onions and crushed chili.

“In my hometown, people cook vermicelli with river shrimp, very sweet without fishy smell, but here it is hard to find fresh shrimp, so I just cook vermicelli with water and add shrimp seasoning powder. If anyone is vegetarian, I will add salt and chili. So not only people in the Central region eat it, but also people here really like it” - Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhi, owner of a vermicelli shop in Ninh Trung, shared.

What makes Ninh Son noodle soup special and "attracts customers" is the way the noodles are made and the unique flavor of the broth. The noodles are not bought from the market but are prepared on the spot by the shop owner. The flour used to make the noodle soup is made from rice that has been soaked for 1 day and 1 night. Then, the flour is boiled. This is the most important step to create the characteristic chewy and delicious taste of the noodle soup.

“If boiled for too long, the cooked dough will be hard and you won’t be able to press the noodles; if boiled too soon, the dough won’t be ready and won’t stick together when pressed, making the noodles loose and not chewy,” Ms. Nhi explained.

After the rice flour is boiled, it is put into the mixer with a little tapioca starch. Each stick of rice flour is rolled into a ball and kept ready. Only when there is a customer, is the rice flour put into the mold and pressed into smooth noodles. The smooth, even noodles fall straight into the pot of boiling water below. The noodles are boiled for a few minutes, then quickly rinsed in cold water to loosen each noodle, scooped up to drain. As the customer eats, the noodles are "baked" right away. Like that, every time there is a customer, the owner gently takes a little bit of noodles and puts them in a bowl, seasoning to taste, then scoops a ladle of broth from the pot of boiling rice flour. The bowl of noodles is topped with some green onions and finely ground chili.

The light taste of the broth mixed with a little spiciness of chili, the aroma of onion and the natural sweetness of shrimp powder, creates the characteristic aroma of Ninh Son noodle soup. This simple and frugal dish, thanks to the ingenuity of the cook, becomes different and unmistakable.

Each dish is a slice of culture, carrying within it the story of the land and the soul of the indigenous people. Tay Ninh still has many attractive dishes, many interesting stories from cuisine waiting for you to discover. Come to feel, to understand and love more this simple but warm land at the gateway to the Southwest./.

Ngoc Dieu - Huynh Mai

Source: https://baolongan.vn/vi-que-trong-tung-soi-bun-a204503.html