Goat meat The Truong Yen mountain area (Hoa Lu district) has many limestone mountains that have been formed for a long time. Taking advantage of this, people have formed a habit of grazing goats in the mountains, feeding them natural plants. As a result, Ninh Binh goat meat when processed often has a special delicious taste with herbal smell, sweet taste and firm meat. Goat meat is processed into many attractive dishes by Ninh Binh people such as rare lemon, pan-fried, stir-fried with chili pepper, stewed with traditional herbs or spring rolls… In 2012, Ninh Binh mountain goat was recognized by the Vietnam Record Organization. is one of the “Top 50 Vietnamese specialties”. In 2021, Truong Yen mountain goat also entered the “Top 100 Vietnamese specialties” of this organization. Burnt rice Ninh Binh elderberry was recognized by the Asian Record Organization as one of 12 Vietnamese specialties according to the set of criteria “Asian culinary value” in August 2012. Although burnt rice is a simple dish, in order to cook deliciously and meet the standards, it must go through many complicated stages, completely handmade according to the secret of Ninh Binh people. The rice selected to make elderberry must be fragrant, sticky rice or yellow sticky rice. After the rice is washed and cooked, people take each piece of rice that sticks to the bottom of the pot (burnt), dry it in the sun, then deep-fry it in oil so that the rice grains are crispy. Ninh Binh burnt rice is dipped with a sauce made from goat meat, with a strong consistency, spicy and aromatic flavor creating an unforgettable blend. Gia Vien shrimp paste Gia Vien district is a low-lying area with many rivers. People here have a profession of “riu” (catching) shrimp and making fish sauce for generations. To make delicious shrimp paste jars, people only choose old shrimp, round body, blue color and must be fresh. After washing, draining, people mix the shrimps with hearing and salt and then put them in a crockery jar, close the lid, leave in a cool place for more than a month to be used. Gia Vien shrimp paste has been recognized by the Vietnam Record Organization as one of the “100 Vietnamese gift specialties 2020 – 2021”.

Referring to the specialty of Trang An Ninh Binh, it is definitely indispensable for the famous goat meat dish that anyone who comes to Ninh Binh will have to enjoy. Ninh Binh goats are grazed naturally, eating goat meat feels firm, low-fat, sweet and fragrant. Ninh Binh Goat In addition, goat meat here is also processed into many dishes with many different processing methods such as grilled goat, rare lemon, stir-fried, pan-fried… Processing in restaurants, people often choose 2 types. mountain goats and grass-fed goats. If it is Ninh Binh mountain goat meat, it will feel firmer and more crispy when eaten, whereas grass-fed goat meat will be softer and sweeter. To have a delicious dish, it requires the chef to be very meticulous in processing and cleaning so that the goat meat does not have a bad smell, strong or unpleasant. Each restaurant will have different recipes, but most still retain the inherent characteristic flavor. Many people also say that goat meat can also cure many diseases, so if you have the opportunity to come to Ninh Binh, don’t miss the famous mountain goat meat here. Because it is a famous specialty, it will not be too difficult for you to find a good goat restaurant in Ninh Binh, but according to many people’s experience, delicious goat shops are usually concentrated in central areas. such as Ca Cave, Truong Yen, Hoa Lu. 2. Burnt rice Ninh Binh burnt rice is different from the rice of other regions because it is carefully selected from raw materials to processing methods. If in the past Ninh Binh burnt rice was traditionally made with carpentry to eat with goat sauce, now due to the needs of diners, elder rice is processed with a variety of delicious sauces with cotton wool or shrimp paste on top. attractive momentum. Ninh Binh burnt rice The special thing about the burnt rice dish in this ancient capital is that the chef must be very meticulous in each processing stage. For delicious burnt rice, you must use fragrant glutinous rice, clear and round seeds. Rice must be cooked in a cast iron pot on a charcoal stove. When cooking rice, the fire must be kept evenly to burn evenly, the grain is neither thick nor thin. After getting rice, people take it out to dry in the sun and then bring deep fried rice with lard or cooking oil. The price of each packet of burnt rice is also quite cheap, only about 30,000 VND. You can find yourself a pack of burnt rice at delicious restaurants in Ninh Binh or stalls selling souvenirs and specialties in tourist areas. 3. Nectar salad Nec salad is a dish not everyone knows when coming to Ninh Binh, but this is a very special cuisine in Kinh Do land. The frog is a fish in the same family as the eel, long like an eel. There are species that can live in salt water, there are also species that can live in brackish water, where this fish is famous and the best salad is the salad made in Kim Son district of Ninh Binh. . Frogfish is available almost all year round, summer is the most fish season, but this fish is smooth and very strong, so it is quite difficult to catch, so people often have to use nets to catch fish. Frozen salad The processing stage requires the chef to perform meticulously. Fish is washed with lime water, ash water and bamboo leaves. Then, people cut the fish from the back like an eel, remove the bones and slice thinly. Next, people use turmeric and ginger juice to remove the fishy smell of fish, then lemon juice is used to cook fish meat. The final stage is to mix fish meat with hearing. The special secret of this salad is the dipping sauce, called in the local dialect. This dipping sauce is very special and made quite sophisticated because it is cooked from crushed fish bones, along with batches, minced galangal, garlic, chopped chili along with sugar, main noodles, pepper … when eaten, you will feel You will receive the aroma of spices mixed together and the very characteristic smell of scallions. Enjoy fish salad with rice paper rolls with wild leafy vegetables such as fig leaves, apricot leaves, clove leaves… along with a handful of fish salad, rolled up and dipped into the dipper. You will see a whole culinary sky of Kim Son in the rustic but sophisticated dishes that make diners eat once and remember forever. 4. Yen Mac sour spring rolls Ne Legend has it that the Yen Mac spring rolls were created by the daughter of the senior official Pham Than Duat, Pham Thi Thu. She made this spring rolls based on the Hue royal spring rolls of the Nguyen Dynasty. Different from Thanh Hoa’s famous spring rolls or Phung spring rolls, Yen Mac Ninh Binh’s sour spring rolls are a much more sophisticated and careful dish, that’s why when you enjoy them, you will see the taste of the dish. This dish is very special. Yen Mac sour spring rolls Making spring rolls is not too complicated, but it is picky about people, it is the same ingredient, it is the same stage that not everyone makes the typical delicious spring rolls. After peeling off the leaves, you will see that the spring rolls still retain their characteristic pink color along with the tough and crispy skin fibers that blend with the aroma of guava leaves. When eating, it will be dipped with sweet and sour sauce and added a few slices of chili or rolled with fig leaves to increase the flavor of the dish. Yen Mac spring rolls are often chosen by tourists to bring back as gifts for their loved ones. However, not anywhere in Ninh Binh can make this dish, to be able to enjoy the true traditional flavor, you must definitely visit Yen Mac land, Yen Mo district. 5. Mountain snail Not only famous fried rice or goat meat, but also Ninh Binh mountain snail dish is not inferior. Mountain snails are often found in caves in the limestone mountains of Tam Diep town, Nho Quan, but not always. Ninh Binh mountain snail Snails are only available from April to August every year, and in the rest of the time, mountain snails often bury themselves in thick rock crevices. Therefore, if you visit Ninh Binh during this time, you will have the opportunity to enjoy Ninh Binh mountain snails. The difference of mountain snails compared to other types of snails is that they often eat the main leaves of medicinal plants, so when processing, they should not be washed too thoroughly or else the herbal substances will be lost. Mountain snail meat when eaten is often crunchy, no need to remove the intestines. You have to enjoy it slowly and chew it carefully to feel the aroma of traditional Chinese medicines. Mountain snails can be processed into many different delicious dishes such as water snails, stir-fried with garlic and chili, fried with tamarind or steamed with ginger and dipped in sour and spicy dipping sauce. Come to Ninh Binh to enjoy mountain snails when you have the opportunity because not every season has this special snail