Can Tho is known as a key cultural and tourist centre in the Mekong Delta region. Not only is it famous for its cultural diversity and famous scenic spots, but Can Tho also makes tourists become unforgettable with its delicious Western dishes. And if you do not know what to eat in Can Tho, let Vietdreamtravel share with you as below!
Table of Contents
Hotpot with fermented fish
When coming to this beautiful city, surely you will not be able to ignore the hotpot with 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.
Source: Collected
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 colour, and siamese mud carp to create the special fatty taste of copper fish. After cooking the broth, the chiefs remove all bones of the fish. And the standard for a delicious hotpot with fermented fish is not too salty, has a characteristic brown colour, dense with minced garlic and chilli, 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 natural purple colour of the cake is made from the magenta leaf. Through the skilful hands of the baker, select the best glutinous rice grains and then combine them with magenta leaves to have this characteristic colour. Then the baker will use banana leaves to wrap glutinous rice, filling it into a cylindrical roll, using dry banana bark to tighten, steamed or cook 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.
Source: Collected
In addition, to enjoy the cake directly during your trip to Can Tho, a cylindric 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? Because the pancake in Can Tho still has a very unique flavour 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 down into a hot old cast iron pan, the chef added the filling including shrimp, meat, raw bean sprouts, raw cassava roots, even some places also put coconut tofu, and a slice of duck meat to make it delicious and create a different flavour.
Source: Collected
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 flavours 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 Cong cake. The cake is made of flour mixed with green beans. The flour has to be finely ground glutinous rice flour mixed with flour to create a soft and spongy texture.
Source: Collected
Normally, the baker will add shrimp and other items such as quail eggs, and salted chicken eggs…inside to increase the attractiveness of the cake. Cong cake must be eaten with sweet and sour fish sauce and lettuce, mango buds, bitter cabbage, lettuce, basil… The crispy cake, adding herbs and dipping fish sauce is really perfect.
Cai Rang Grilled Spring Rolls
Usually, when it comes to Nem Nuong, people often refer to Nha Trang specialities. However, the grilled spring rolls in Cai Rang have a very unique flavour that makes even the most demanding visitors admire when enjoying.
Source: Collected
The best-grilled spring rolls in Cai Rang are made from pork, squished, then skewered with small bamboo sticks and grilled on 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 chilli fish sauce. Anyone who enjoys it once will never forget it.
Get 10% off with our daily Mekong Delta 2 days: HCMC – Ben Tre – Can Tho – Cai Rang – HCMC
Grilled snakehead fish
Grilled snakehead fish is a delicious dish that has gone deep into the culinary subconscious of the Mekong Delta River. 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.
Source: Collected
Fresh fish caught from the river, skewered from mouth to tail, buried in dry straw and then lit on fire or stuck sticks in the ground and covered with straw and burned until ashes. When the snakehead fish is ripe, it creates an aroma of the countryside. 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 travelling to Mekong Delta River.
Grilled banana in steamed sticky rice
Unlike in Saigon or My Tho, Grilled banana in steamed sticky rice Can Tho has a small and beautiful shape. The recipe for this dish is very simple: wrap a slide of banana in steamed sticky rice, then a layer of banana leaf wrap, and grill the cake on charcoal until banana leaves turn black-brown and a little burnt and smelling. Inside is a ripe sweet banana, and outside is a layer of golden grilled sticky rice.
Source: Collected
Drizzle a layer of coconut milk, sprinkle a few more sesame seeds and peanuts to eat both sweet and fleshy. The smell of sticky rice and bananas blends together. The grilled banana in steamed sticky rice should be eaten warm so that the outside layer is still crispy. The price of a piece of grilled sticky rice is very cheap, only from 5,000 – 10,000,000VND. It is on the list of cheap Can Tho delicacies 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 centre, but perhaps the best place to eat noodles is at traditional noodle shops.
Source: Collected
Travelling 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 ward, Ninh Kieu district near Rau Ram bridge, of which the most famous ones are Sau Hoai and Chin Cua noodles.
Grilled escargot with green pepper
The delicious dish Can Tho not fail to mention is the grilled escargot with green pepper. This dish is quite popular with young people here because of its irresistible deliciousness.
Source: Collected
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 speciality in Can Tho with a rich Western flavour that everyone must remember forever this unique taste. The dish was in the top “100 typical culinary dishes and specialities 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.
Source: Collected
Perhaps for many tourists, fermented bean curd is quite unfamiliar, but this type of fermented tofu is a typical dish of the Mekong Delta and especially 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 have a good trip and don’t forget to contact us when you need private car to Can Tho or Vietnam visa service.
=>> Read more: What To Buy In Mekong Delta Tour?
