Hà Tĩnh Province

Raw sillago fish salad cured in lime juice and mixed with green banana, roasted peanuts, herbs, and chilli - the fish is caught fresh off Hà Tĩnh's rocky coast and eaten immediately, a coastal delicacy that locals insist tastes different here than anywhere else

Beef noodle soup from Đò Trai village - a Hà Tĩnh variation with a lighter, sweeter broth than the Huế version, topped with thinly sliced beef, pork hock, and lemongrass, eaten at riverside stalls that have served the same recipe for generations

Thick rice flour noodle soup in a rich pork and crab broth - unique to Hà Tĩnh and Quảng Bình, the noodles are hand-rolled and chewy, eaten for breakfast at market stalls with fresh chilli and lime

Eel soup with glass noodles, turmeric, and roasted peanuts in a light ginger broth - eel from Hà Tĩnh's river canals is prized for its sweetness, served at tiny specialist stalls that open only in the early morning

Steamed rice flour saucers topped with shrimp powder, pork crackling, and spring onion oil - the Hà Tĩnh version is slightly thicker than the Huế original and served with a saltier dipping sauce, eaten stacked in towers at afternoon street stalls

Crispy fried rice paper rolls served alongside silky steamed rice sheets - the contrast of textures is the point, dipped together into a sweet fish sauce with chilli, a distinctly Hà Tĩnh pairing eaten at breakfast and as a street snack

Chewy glutinous rice dumplings coated in a sticky ginger and malt sugar syrup - a traditional Hà Tĩnh sweet eaten at festivals and cold-weather markets, warming and intensely sweet with a sharp ginger heat

Stir-fried baby mussels with lemongrass, chilli, and herbs scooped up with crispy sesame rice crackers - the combination of briny mussels and shatteringly crunchy bánh đa is a Hà Tĩnh coastal specialty eaten as both snack and meal

Peanut and sesame brittle set on rice paper with local honey - Hà Tĩnh's most famous export, made with Hương Sơn honey and toasted peanuts, sold in distinctive red-wrapped packages and recognised across Vietnam as the taste of this province