Nam Định Province

The phở Nam Định locals insist predates Hà Nội's version - a richer, deeper bone broth simmered with charred ginger and star anise, wider and softer noodles than the capital's, with more generous beef portions, eaten at wooden-table dawn stalls where the same families have served the same recipe for three generations

Chopstick-thick round rice noodles unique to Nam Định city - served in a clear pork and crab broth with fried tofu, pork belly, and fresh herbs, the noodles are chewier and more substantial than regular bún, a Nam Định street food eaten at market stalls inside the old city walls

Black sticky rice cakes made with gai leaf - the leaf is dried and pounded into a powder that turns the glutinous rice dough a deep inky black, filled with sweetened mung bean, coconut, and pork fat then wrapped in dong leaves and steamed, with an earthy herbal flavour unique to this southern Red River Delta specialty

Steamed rice rolls from Kềnh village - made with a centuries-old recipe using single-crop rice ground by hand into a batter fermented overnight, producing a thinner and more delicate sheet than any other bánh cuốn, filled with pork and wood-ear mushroom and served with a dipping sauce sweetened with sugar cane

Sticky rice topped with Chinese-style char siu pork - a legacy of Nam Định's Cantonese trading community, the barbecued pork is lacquered in five-spice and honey then sliced over fragrant steamed sticky rice, eaten as a filling breakfast at old shophouse stalls in the city centre

Whole fish grilled under an inverted clay pot - the pot traps heat and smoke around the fish creating a unique combination of grilling and smoking, the skin crisps while the flesh steams inside, a Red River Delta technique unique to Nam Định eaten with rice paper, fresh herbs, and fermented shrimp paste