The old Tet feast was carefully prepared by Hanoians for family reunion after a year of hard work.
According to the book ''Culinary Contemplation: A Cookbook with Three Ways of Cooking: Eastern, Chinese, and Western'' published by Tan Dan Thu Quan in 1930 in Hanoi mentioned that on the occasion of Tet or big parties, homeowners often prepare a tray of food including 6 bowls, 8 plates or 10, 12 plates depending on whether the family has many or few generations.
Middle-class families usually have 6 plates and 3 bowls for 3 generations. The dishes are divided into half mountain and half water (mountain is food from the mountains, water is food from the water), arranged symmetrically and harmoniously.
The order of dishes also has a rule that cold dishes (ham, sausage, boiled chicken) should be displayed before guests arrive. Then, when eating, gradually serve salads, stir-fried dishes, and hot soups (ball soup, bamboo shoot soup, mushroom soup, pigeon stewed with lotus seeds...). Finally, desserts are served.
According to writer Bang Son in the book ''Hanoi people's playfulness'', a feast is a luxurious, sumptuous, and grand meal, usually offered first before eating or inviting guests. A feast is completely Vietnamese, different from a party that has a Western flavor. The food on the feast is usually purely Vietnamese, depending on the family's circumstances and wealth, the food is added or subtracted, more or less fragrant.
Gac sticky rice
Often appearing in Tet dishes with natural red color symbolizing luck, love and a full year.
To make the sticky rice with gac fruit have a beautiful color, you should choose sticky rice with gac fruit, soak the golden flower sticky rice for enough time, then add the gac fruit. The secret to making sticky, soft, and plump sticky rice is to cook it "2 times".
Boiled chicken
A plate of golden, juicy boiled chicken dotted with a few thinly sliced lemon leaves is always the highlight of a traditional Hanoi Tet feast.
The rooster is believed to awaken all things to grow, expressing the wish for a prosperous new year.
Braised fish with galangal
Braised fish with galangal eaten with green banh chung is a unique feature of ancient Hanoi cuisine during Tet.
The pot of braised fish is always carefully prepared by mothers from the stage of choosing the ingredients to marinating and braising 2-3 times. When eaten, the fish is firm, flavorful, and even tastier than chicken.
Winter growth
According to ancient customs, when preparing a feast, there are always enough dishes such as ham, spring rolls, stewed meat, and meatballs... In which, meatballs come in two forms: wet meatballs (mock soup) and frozen meatballs (mock jelly).
The bowl of clear winter mushrooms clearly shows each white and pink mushroom dotted with wood ear and shiitake mushrooms. When eating, you can feel the soft and sweet meat mixed with the crunchy wood ear, the refreshing taste is quite appetizing.
Stir-fried almonds
In the book "Cookbook" compiled by Nguyen Van Niem and printed at Chan Phuong Printing House, 30 Hang Manh Street, Hanoi in 1932, the dish of stir-fried almonds is also known in Chinese as "Hay nhan cay teng". Hanoians always learn, create and transform into beautiful and delicious dishes using leftovers from Tet.
The ingredients for stir-fried almonds are not limited to any particular pattern, but make use of the "leftovers" from other dishes such as chicken gizzards, meatball soup, and stir-fried meatballs. Traditionally, mothers and grandmothers often used roasted peanuts and fermented bean curd to stir-fry leftover vegetables from Tet. After the 90s of the last century, many families used almonds or cashews as they preferred.
Kohlrabi salad
The dry salad plate has eye-catching alternating green, orange and red colors. When eating, the kohlrabi and carrots are crispy and sweet, with a balanced sour, spicy, salty and sweet taste, and the fragrant sesame and peanuts help balance the fatty meat and banh chung and stimulate the taste buds.
When making kohlrabi salad, you should slice it thinly to have a crisp, sweet texture and make the salad more beautiful. Do not use a knife to peel the kohlrabi because it will break and make it less aesthetically pleasing. Marinating with a little salt helps the kohlrabi and carrots release water, reducing the pungent smell and keeping the salad crispy and delicious even after a long time.
Drop ball
Soup with pork balls is one of the four "immortal" dishes that cannot be missed in the old Hanoi Tet feast. A bowl of soup with soft pork balls, naturally sweet broth, and delicious crispy vegetables.
The colors of the soup bowl are harmonious with the soft green of cauliflower, the bright orange of carrots and shrimp, the pink and white of pork loin, the golden brown of shiitake mushrooms... like a colorful and attractive painting.
Bamboo shoot soup
A bowl of bamboo shoot soup with pig's feet brings the taste of memories, the scent of the homeland and conveys the love of mother and grandmother in it. The dish is meticulously prepared from the steps of choosing bamboo shoots, soaking bamboo shoots, boiling bamboo shoots, stir-frying bamboo shoots and then stewing with pig's feet.
The bowl of soup is decorated with blanched onions and a few vermicelli noodles squeezed on top, both elegant and beautiful. When eaten, the bamboo shoots are flavorful, soft and crunchy, the stewed pig's feet are just the right amount of crunchy, and the soup is naturally sweet.
Pigeon stewed with green rice and lotus seeds
A hot bowl of soup with soft and sweet pigeon meat mixed with soft stuffing made from green rice, rich lotus seeds, crunchy wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, natural sweet taste.
This is a common dish on special occasions and Tet holidays of Hanoi people.
Soup with mushrooms
Canh moc tha also has another name, canh moc tha mui, is also one of the four indispensable bowls on the Tet tray. The meatballs are even, chewy and crispy, the broth is clear and fragrant with the aroma of shiitake mushrooms. An elegant, aromatic dish that helps balance the dishes on the "full tray of food".
Besides its own special dishes, Hanoi's ancient dishes also include traditional Vietnamese Tet dishes such as pork roll, fried pork roll, banh chung, and pickled onions, helping to make the family reunion feast full and flavorful.
HQ (according to VnExpress)