Nghệ An Province

Eel rice porridge from Vinh city - field eel stir-fried with turmeric and lemongrass before being added to a silky rice broth, topped with fried dough and fresh herbs, a Nghệ An breakfast so beloved that dedicated cháo lươn restaurants operate from 5am

Fermented young jackfruit pickle from Thanh Chương district - shredded unripe jackfruit salted and fermented with chilli and garlic in clay jars for weeks, producing a sour, crunchy condiment eaten with boiled pork and rice throughout Nghệ An, so beloved that locals say a meal without nhút is incomplete

Silky steamed rice sheets from Diễn Châu district - rolled around a filling of seasoned pork and wood-ear mushroom or eaten plain with spring onion oil, the batter is fermented overnight giving a slight sourness unique to the Diễn Châu version, eaten at dawn market stalls along the Nghệ An coast

Crispy sesame rice crackers scooped through stir-fried baby mussels with lemongrass, chilli, and fresh herbs - the mussels are harvested from Nghệ An's river estuaries and cooked with a fiercer chilli heat than the Hà Tĩnh version, eaten as a street snack at coastal market stalls throughout the province

Fresh clam rice porridge from Cửa Lò beach - clams pulled from the sand that morning cooked into a silky ginger broth with rice, topped with fried shallots, dill, and a drizzle of chilli oil, eaten at dawn shacks right on the Cửa Lò seafront before the beach crowds arrive

Black sticky rice cakes made with gai leaf and fresh coconut from Nghệ An's coastal coconut groves - the gai leaf powder turns the dough a deep inky black while shredded coconut is mixed into the sweetened mung bean filling, wrapped in dong leaves and steamed, with a richer coconut fragrance than the Nam Định version due to the abundance of local coconut