5 Best Specialties to Try in Ninh Binh

If you have a chance to visit this ancient capital city, do not miss out on the chances to taste the specialties in Ninh Binh. There is a variety of food in Ninh Binh, from rice crust to goat meat, fish, soup, they are not only yummy but also good for your health. Each dish is like a special gift from nature. Below are the 5 best foods in Ninh Binh, some can be strange but when you try them and you will totally love them!

1. Ninh Binh burnt rice

Ninh Binh burnt rice

It is the most popular dish in Ninh Binh. It is simple, natural, but yummy. To make the dish, you need special rice called “Huong” then cook with the heat of charcoal. After that, the rice is put to dry in the sun several times, then fry the rice in hot oil until they turn yellow and crisp. Other ingredients of this dish are beef, pig’s heart or kidney, some vegetables like mushroom, tomato, carrot, and spices such as fish sauce (nuoc mam), pepper, red chili, onion, salt. The dish has a light yellow and delicious taste of fried rice and a fatty taste of pork floss. You can buy all around the province from the crowded streets to the tourist destinations like Bai Dinh, Trang An, Tam Coc, etc., or even on the highway.

Price range: 35,000 VND – 45,000 VND / pack of 200gr

2. Mountainous edible snails

Mountainous edible snails

It is a new specialty of Ninh Binh, but it is extremely rare and delicious. Mountain Snails live in the limestone mountains in Tam Diep, Yen Mo, and Nho Quan, they only go out for food in the rainy season from April to August. It is 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. The snail is crunchy, has a sweet taste and aromatic herbal smell. They can be cooked with different ingredients to create various dishes of snail such as grilled, fried, steamed ginger, boiled, mixed salad onions. The boiled snail is the most favorite dish. It is usually eaten with fish sauce.

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. Raw goat meat with lemon

Raw goat meat with lemon

Throughout Vietnam, goat meat is the best when you eat in Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh. The ancient Hoa Lu is an abundant land with numerous limestone mountains, which is an ideal place to grow goat. The goat eats many precious medicinal herbs in the mountains, so the goat meat is not only luscious but also nutritious and good for health. Goat meat has a protein content higher than beef and has little fat so that it is loved by many people. Among dishes from goat meat such as fermented goat meat, steamed goat meat, grilled goat meat, rare goat meat with lemon is considered to be the top position of the list. What makes the dish more special than the others is the secret recipe to cooking it and the way to add spices. It is often eaten with a fig leaf, green banana, star fruit, 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

4. Ninh Binh eel vermicelli

Ninh Binh eel vermicelli

Eel vermicelli is another famous dish in Ninh Binh. Although you can find eel dishes in many places in Vietnam, eel rice vermicelli of Ninh Binh is the best, particularly its broth, specially made of stewed bones. Eels are fragrant and yellow after being mixed with spices like red chili, onion pepper, fish sauce, and fried in hot oil. Other ingredients of this dish are banana flowers which make the dish more special and delicious, 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 attractive.

Places to eat: Mrs. Phan Eel Vermicelli Restaurant: 999 Tran Hung Dao Street, Ninh Binh

Price range: 30,000 VND - 35,000 VND

5. Sticky rice with ant’s eggs

Sticky rice with ant’s eggs

Sticky rice with ant’s eggs. Have you ever heard about it? Not many people know about this dish, it is strange but delicious. It is a must if you love to try new food! You can not eat all the ant eggs. It must be the eggs of black ants on the nest built on the tree. People can only find the eggs from March to the lunar New Year. After being washed with warm water, the dried, ant egg will be mixed with spices 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 mixed with the smell of the leaf. It is 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

Above is a list of 5 delicate Ninh Binh specialties that you should have to try. For more information in Ninh Binh, don't hesitate to contact us to plan a tour to Ninh Binh.

Jenny Tran

Image sources: Internet