Hải Dương Province

Crumbly green mung bean cakes made with lard and sugar - Hải Dương's most famous export, sold in distinctive tin boxes and given as gifts across Vietnam, with a melt-in-the-mouth texture unlike any other Vietnamese sweet

Rice vermicelli soup with wild-caught climbing perch from Hải Dương's rice paddies - the fish is fried crispy before being added to a light dill and tomato broth, a Red River Delta breakfast staple eaten at dawn markets across the province

Seasonal polychaete worms harvested from Tứ Kỳ's tidal mudflats in October and November - pan-fried into chả rươi omelettes with egg, pork, and citrus leaves, a rare autumn delicacy so prized that the harvest draws buyers from Hà Nội and Hải Phòng

Heritage breed chicken from Mạnh Hoạch village raised free-range on grain and insects - prized across the north for unusually firm, flavourful meat with golden skin, typically steamed with ginger or roasted with salt and served at family celebrations

Steamed rice rolls from Bắc Sơn village - thinner and more delicate than the Hà Nội version, filled with seasoned pork and wood-ear mushroom and served with a light dipping sauce, a Hải Dương specialty eaten for breakfast at village stalls

Deep-fried pillow dumplings filled with pork, glass noodles, wood-ear mushroom, and hard-boiled egg - the Hải Dương version has an extra-crispy pastry shell and a more generous filling than the Hà Nội style, eaten as a street snack with sweet chilli sauce

Thick white discs of pounded glutinous rice filled with sweetened mung bean paste - a sacred Hùng Kings festival food made by hand-pounding steamed sticky rice until perfectly smooth, eaten at temple ceremonies and Tết celebrations across Hải Dương