Updated: 06 Jul 2023

The land of Hoa Lu ancient capital attracts Ninh Binh tourists with many famous historical sites, beautiful landscapes and delicious food. Talking about Ninh Binh cuisine, there are countless stories if you come to Ninh Binh for the first time or do not know what to eat, please read this article to the end. We will introduce you to the specialty dishes as well as famous restaurants here.

_{Top 5 delicious Ninh Binh specialties:}

1. Ninh Binh mountain goat

Mountain goats have been recognized by Vietnam as the top 50 specialties of the country in 2014. The goats here are grazed a lot, so the meat is firmer. Besides, here goats eat many precious medicinal plants, so they are also more nutritious than other places. other. Referring to Ninh Binh mountain goat specialties, you can process more than 20 different dishes such as: blood pudding, lemon juice, grilled all... but goat meat still retains its freshness. This dish is often served with ginger sauce or cork sauce, and with apricot leaves, fig leaves or chat bananas to mask the bad taste of goats.

*Goat meat - the most famous food in Ninh Binh*

2. Sticky rice with ant eggs

This is a rare dish that is hard to find. You can only enjoy it around February - March of the lunar calendar because the main ingredients are sticky rice and ant eggs, but brown ant eggs are often found in Nho Quan forest. This dish is served with fried onions. At first glance, you may find it a bit disgusting, but eating it is fascinating, you can feel the plasticity of sticky rice, the fatness of ant eggs and the crispiness of fried onions.

3. Braised fish with shells

Warning, this is a very wasteful dish. The shell here is not a coconut shell in the West but a somewhat sour, cool and lightly aromatic fruit that is often used by Ninh Binh people instead of tamarind to cook sour soup or fish stock. Braised fish with shells is also processed like other braised fish, but with additional slices of sand at the bottom. Stocking with dipper will eliminate the fishy smell of fish and bring back the cool taste that has made the reputation of this rustic Ninh Binh specialty.

4. Roasted copper crab with guise leaves

Again a special dish that brings rice in Ninh Binh, the dish is not delicious, but it is incredibly delicious. Commercial crabs appear in many fields in Ninh Binh. Although the crab here is small, it is firm and incredibly delicious, roasted with pungent guise leaves, which has increased the specificity of the dish in this ancient capital, making it easy for diners to eat without getting bored.

5. Bun Cha fan

Bun cha here is different from Hanoi bun cha. After marinating, the meat will be grilled on charcoal, fanned by hand, not washed as in Hanoi, so it is both scorched and fresh and sweet without being dry. The accompanying vermicelli is vermicelli cut into pieces, not tangled vermicelli. You will eat it with raw vegetables, sweet and sour fish sauce and pickles.