Can Tho is known as a key cultural and tourist center in the Mekong Delta region. Not only is it famous for its cultural diversity and scenic spots, but it also leaves tourists with unforgettable memories thanks to its delicious Western dishes. And if you do not know what to eat in Can Tho, let Vietdreamtravel share with you as below!
Hotpot with fermented fish
When you come to this beautiful city, you surely will not be able to ignore the hotpot with a fermented fish dish in the region. With a perfect combination of rustic ingredients such as fish sauce, fish, squid, meat, eggplant, and vegetables, this dish promises to bring your family an unforgettable taste during your trip to Can Tho.
Local chiefs have to use at least three types of fermented fish to make this dish: snakeskin gourami to create aroma, sheatfish used to add a sweet taste and characteristic color, and siamese mud carp to create the special fatty taste of copper fish. After cooking the broth, the chiefs remove all the fish bones. And the standard for a delicious hotpot with fermented fish is not too salty, has a characteristic brown color, is dense with minced garlic and chili, and is combined with lemongrass.
Cylindric glutinous rice cake with magenta leaf
The recipe for this cake has become famous around the country. The cake is made from fragrant, flexible sticky rice, stir-fried with coconut milk and has meat and salted duck eggs as the filling. The cake’s natural purple color comes from the magenta leaf. Under the baker’s skillful hands, select the best glutinous rice grains and combine them with magenta leaves to achieve this characteristic color. Then the baker will use banana leaves to wrap glutinous rice, roll it into a cylinder, and use dry banana bark to tighten it, then steam or cook it in water for a couple of hours. To enjoy this cake, you have to cut it into circles, which look like round flowers with purple petals.
In addition to enjoying the cake directly during your trip to Can Tho, a cylindrical glutinous rice cake with magenta leaf is also a special gift for tourists.
Crispy pancakes
Currently, pancake has become a very popular dish and can be found almost everywhere in Vietnam. But when coming to Can Tho, many tourists still cannot ignore this rustic cake. Why is that? The pancake in Can Tho still has a very unique flavor that you can hardly find elsewhere. The name of this cake comes from the sound when cooking it (Vietnamese: bánh xèo; bánh means cake; xèo means sizzling sound). And the unique ingredient in these pancakes is rice flour mixed with coconut milk and turmeric. After pouring it into a hot old cast-iron pan, the chef added the filling, including shrimp, meat, raw bean sprouts, raw cassava roots, and, in some places, coconut tofu and a slice of duck meat, to make it delicious and create a different flavor.
When serving crispy pancakes in Can Tho, it is essential to have a dipping sauce and fresh vegetables. The dipping sauce requires a beautiful balance between sour, sweet, and salty. It really ties all the flavors together, adding something incredibly special to the crispy pancakes in this region.
Cong cake
A familiar dish of local people, but unique to visitors from all over the world, is the Cong cake. The cake is made of flour mixed with green beans. The flour has to be finely ground glutinous rice flour, mixed with regular flour to create a soft, spongy texture.
Normally, the baker will add shrimp and other items, such as quail eggs and salted chicken eggs, inside to increase the cake’s appeal. Cong cake must be eaten with sweet and sour fish sauce and lettuce, mango buds, bitter cabbage, lettuce, basil… The crispy cake, with herbs and dipped in fish sauce, is really perfect.
Cai Rang Grilled Spring Rolls
Usually, when it comes to Nem Nuong, people often refer to Nha Trang specialties. However, the grilled spring rolls in Cai Rang have a very unique flavor that makes even the most demanding visitors admire them when enjoying.
The best-grilled spring rolls in Cai Rang are made with pork, squished, then skewered on small bamboo sticks and grilled over a charcoal stove. The side dishes and grilled spring rolls are a bit special when eaten with fine rice vermicelli and dipped in lemon, garlic, and chili fish sauce. Anyone who enjoys it once will never forget it.
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Grilled snakehead fish
Grilled snakehead fish is a delicious dish that has deep roots in the culinary subconscious of the Mekong Delta. This dish is not only attractive but also associated with the process of civilizing the southern land in the past. The feature of grilled snakehead fish is that it does not need to be scaled or seasoned.
Fresh fish caught from the river, skewered from mouth to tail, buried in dry straw, and then lit on fire, or stuck on sticks in the ground and covered with straw, and burned until ashes. When the snakehead fish is ripe, it emits a countryside aroma. Snakehead fish is served with rice paper, vermicelli, raw vegetables, and delicious fish sauce. This is a popular dish that is most loved by guests when traveling to Mekong Delta River.
Grilled banana in steamed sticky rice
Unlike in Saigon or My Tho, the Grilled banana in steamed sticky rice in Can Tho is small and beautiful. The recipe for this dish is very simple: wrap a slice of banana in steamed sticky rice, then wrap it in a banana leaf, and grill the cake over charcoal until the banana leaves turn black-brown, a little burnt, and smell fragrant. Inside is a ripe, sweet banana, and outside is a layer of golden, grilled, sticky rice.
Drizzle a layer of coconut milk, then sprinkle a few more sesame seeds and peanuts to eat both sweet and nutty. The smell of sticky rice and bananas blends together. The grilled banana in steamed sticky rice should be eaten warm so the outer layer remains crispy. The price of a piece of grilled sticky rice is very low, ranging from 5,000 to 10,000,000 VND. It is on the list of cheap delicacies in Can Tho that every visitor can enjoy.
Rice noodle
Visiting the “capital of Mekong Delta River”, don’t forget to enjoy delicious bowls of noodle soup of all kinds: chicken noodle soup, pork noodle soup… especially Sa Dec dry clear rice noodles. There are many noodle shops in the city center, but perhaps the best place to eat noodles is at traditional noodle shops.
Traveling to Can Tho, you can visit and learn about the process of making noodles while eating a delicious bowl of noodles. Can Tho noodle factories are concentrated in An Binh and Ninh Kieu Wards, near the Rau Ram bridge, with the most famous being Sau Hoai and Chin Cua noodles.
Grilled escargot with green pepper
The delicious dish, Can Tho, not to be missed, is the grilled escargot with green pepper. This dish is quite popular with young people here because of its irresistible deliciousness.
Snails soak overnight with rice water to remove mud. After that, they are marinated with pepper, fish sauce, etc. to absorb the spices and then grilled on a charcoal stove for a few minutes to enjoy. The dish is served with Vietnamese mint and pairs well with beer.
Duck with fermented bean curd
Duck with fermented bean curd is a specialty in Can Tho with a rich Western flavor that everyone must remember forever. The dish was in the top 100 typical culinary dishes and specialties of Vietnam,” announced by the Vietnam Record Organization. The main ingredient, as well as the way to prepare this dish, is very simple: duck meat and fermented bean curd.
Perhaps for many tourists, fermented bean curd is unfamiliar, but this type of fermented tofu is a typical dish of the Mekong Delta and, in particular, a famous delicacy of this province.
So, what to eat in Can Tho? We believe you may have some options after this post. Wish you a good trip, and don’t forget to contact us when you need a private car to Can Tho or Vietnam visa service.
=>> Read more: What to Buy in Mekong Delta Tour?
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