Travelling to Hue, visitors not only enjoy the stunning view of the Huong River but also have chance to eat the taste of one Best Vietnamese Food there. It is the well known as Mussel Rice in Huong River (Cơm Hến Sông Hương). This dish is the very simple and low-priced specialty of Hue.
Mussel Rice is a complicated recipe that includes sweet, buttery, salty, sour, bitter and spicy flavors. Accordingly, the way of serving this special kind of food is of great ancient, simplicity and deliciousness.
Visitors have to arrive to Hen river-islet in the Huong River to have the original of this food. However, travellers can find the dish on some streets in Hue City.
It requires 15 different raw materials to prepare the dish, including mussels, oil, peanuts, white sesame, dry pancake, salted shredded meat, chilli sauce, banana flower, banana trunk, spicy vegetables, peppermint, salad, etc.
This dish is always attractive to many customers since it is tasty and, at the same time, economical to anybody. What makes this simple kind of food popular is revealed in the great endeavor to adopt and process its main ingredient – mussel. Mussels are a sea species, which must be soaked in water for a long while before being processed.
Accordingly, people often say that mussel cooked rice somehow expresses the strenuous work of the maker.
It is very popular everywhere in Hue and these days, elsewhere in Hue restaurants in Vietnam. More favourably, it is a low-priced specialty you can eat in luxurious restaurants in Hue or even by venturing to mobile shops on the streets.
“Visiting Hue you could not miss Mussel Rice in Huong River, or else you have not come to Hue ever,” is the most common remark to visitors.
Source: Nhan Dan