Having a natural yellow colour (normal vermicelli is white), the ‘bun day’ threads are tough and fragrant with the buttery fat of roast peanuts, hot chili and sour from the dipping sauce.

‘Bun day’: A must-try dish in Binh Dinh.

The process for making ‘bun day’ is rather complicated. The main ingredient is old rice. The best rice is left from the last rice season because it helps make the ‘bun day’ more tough compared to that made from new rice. The rice should be soaked in water for an hour and then dried before soaking it again in ash water for six hours.

The ash water should be made from wood charcoal, particularly coconut charcoal because it helps give the vermicelli a special fragrance.

After soaking it in ash water, the rice should be ground into a wet dough, then cooked over a small fire, regularly stirring it to ensure it doesn't get burned. This is the most difficult stage involved in making the ‘bun day’ tasty, she said, noting that after the wet dough is done, the maker has to take it out from the pot, let it cool, then knead it well before putting it in a frame to be pressed into thin threads.

The threads are round, the size of your palm. They are usually steamed.

The dish is tastier when eaten cool and dipped in sauce which includes fried dried minced onions in cooking oil and fish sauce plus lemon juice, minced garlic, chili and sugar. Many diners, particularly young people, like mixing boiled pork belly and shrimp with the dish.

It is more enjoyable when topped with roast peanuts and fragrant herbs such as basil and coriander.

Raw fish fermented with maize powder: A mouthwatering dish in Vinh Phuc province

Lap Thach raw fish fermented with maize powder is a specialty in Van Quan commune, Lap Thach district, northern Vinh Phuc province.

Grilled fish rice paper a signature Quy Nhon dish

Grilled fish rice paper, eaten with Vietnamese coriander and chili sauce, is a delicacy distinctive to coastal town Quy Nhon.

Black glutinous rice cake: A unique dish of Tay ethic people in Lao Cai

Black ‘chung’ (glutinous rice) cake, made with the ashes of nuc nac trees, is an indispensable dish of Tay ethnic people in Bac Ha District, Lao Cai Province, during their Lunar New Year festival.

Teenage boy escapes beatings, starvation dished out by employers

A 14-year-old boy in northern Bac Ninh Province had been beaten by his employers with pestles and fish scaler for a month before he managed to break free.

Source: NDO/VNA