Cold wind, determine. Sweater, check. Money, check. It is time for the meals to get’ quacky.’

When you were younger, you most likely found yourself falling and watching in love with Donald, Disney’s world famous duck. As you grew, the love of yours for the duck was no less, but it converted into being exactly about the flavour.

Winter in Hanoi is actually no wonderland. There’s no snow or perhaps Christmas magic, simply the biting wind as well as numbing drizzle which thrust through your hopeless coat.

Grinding your way through the ridiculous traffic while slowly dying on the motorbike simply to get home after a terrible day at work, the sense of yours of existence is as small as the zombies in « The Walking Dead ». At that moment, much more than anything, you understand that merely duck is able to save the day.

You neatly sit yourself down in a tiny restaurant after shoving your bicycle onto the packed pavement. The modest owner greets you with a huge smile as she chops juicy looking duck meat without ceasing. Tell the friends of yours to bypass dinner and come over, since you have just realized you have found duck heaven.

You might be familiar with the famous roasted Peking Duck from China or Duck an l’Orange from France, but in Vietnam, duck can be prepared in many different ways. Neck, blood curd & legs are usually prepared with bamboo shoots to be vit nau mang (duck bamboo shoot soup), even though the majority of the duck is actually grilled to be vit nuong (grilled duck) or even transformed into chao vit (duck congee).

Duck, compared to chicken, is actually a great deal tastier by itself. The meat itself is more, fattier, and richer flavorful. But that’s also why it’s rather challenging to cook. A lot of spices and overcooking is able to make the beef drop its ducky goodness.

A complete duck meal typically begins with vit nau mang. Duck neck, blood curd as well as legs are actually simmered with bamboo shoots in broth for hours so that all of the hidden flavours are actually released, and after that served with green onion as well as cilantro on top. The primary player in this dish isn’t the neck or perhaps blood curb; it is the soup, where all of the « luckiest » flavours might be found.

Have a sip of the comfortable soup simply to really feel the umami flavour evaporate in the mouth of yours, then take a bite of the crunchy bamboo shoots to really feel a lusty warmth action across the body of yours. In only a moment, you have come back again to life.

After the soup, you are able to pick « vit nuong » to keep on the journey of yours. For this particular dish, the duck should be meticulously treated with white wine or ginger to get rid of its distinctive powerful smell. And then, it’s marinated in a blend of honey, garlic, spices and lemongrass before grilling. The grilled duck is actually crispy and charred outside but the internal continues to be soft and juicy. Dip a portion of duck meat into the sour and spicy fish sauce, and then simply clean it down with a bit of rice wine. The genuine satisfaction is going to make you wish to jump up with 2 arms open and begin quacking as a duck.

The very last portion of the combo, chao vit (duck congee), will be the great ending to the duck symphony. Whole grain rice cooked in duck broth until it forms a glutenous porridge. Served bubbling hot with a dash and duck meat of black pepper, you’ll be astonished by just how cute and savory the soup is actually.

The weather may be miserable outside, but good company and good food is able to revive probably the coldest of nights. Having a bowl of hot duck congee in hand, « Sometimes life does not get much better compared to this, » you smile.

This article sponsored by Maison Vie Restaurant, The Best French Restaurant in Hanoi

Based on 28 Tang Bat Ho Street, Maison Vie Restaurant is a common location for French cuisine as well as French society enthusiasts in Hanoi. With twenty years of in depth expertise in French restaurant company, Maison Vie promises amazing services and dishes delivered by dedicated staff and skillful chefs.