And perhaps as we joked, my grandmother was also a "specialty" of Phu Yen that I was lucky enough to meet. And then when I returned to Saigon, I missed her.

Phu Yen pancakes

Starting our culinary journey at home, my grandmother treated us to a hot dish of banh xeo, freshly baked, in the chilly early morning air when we first arrived.

Unlike Western pancakes, which are usually big and have a turmeric yellow color, Phu Yen pancakes are small, just the size of a hand, and are white.

This cake not only retains its rustic simplicity with the familiar shrimp and meat filling, but the small cakes like this also keep us from getting bored, and we can eat several at a time.

The crust of Phu Yen pancakes is thin and crispy, with the fatty taste of the dough that grandma prepared the night before, plus the fresh taste of shrimp and meat filling and especially the chewy and fragrant taste of chives.

Banh xeo is eaten with a basket of fresh green vegetables and a bowl of fish sauce with garlic and chili or spicy fish sauce.

Rice vermicelli with pork offal

A visit to Phu Yen cannot be complete without rice vermicelli with pig offal, a dish that seems simple but requires meticulousness, delicacy and thoroughness.

Banh hoi is made from finely ground rice, steamed and arranged in thin layers, which she buys at the market.

Between each layer of rice vermicelli, she adds a layer of chive fat instead of onion as is commonly seen in Saigon, along with fried onion, which further increases the aroma and attractiveness.

The rice vermicelli is served with pig intestines, including tripe, heart, liver... boiled with shallots and a little ginger to remove the characteristic odor. The pig intestines she makes are rich in flavor, both crispy and soft, melting in your mouth.

End the meal with a bowl of hot porridge with green onions and cilantro and a little pepper, everyone will be amazed and crave it.

Chicken rice

Phu Yen chicken rice is an indispensable dish in the "specialty" dishes of grandmother's kitchen.

Before enjoying it, I heard a lot of compliments from everyone for this dish.

From Uncle Ut, Aunt Tu to the children, everyone loved the chicken rice that grandma cooked so much that they could eat it continuously for many days. And as "advertised", grandma's chicken rice was really delicious.

The chicken is carefully selected by her, the meat is firm, sweet and fragrant with crispy skin, this breed of chicken is rarely seen in Saigon.

She cooks chicken rice in the traditional way, sauteing garlic and onions with rice, adding a little turmeric powder and cooking it with chicken broth, so the rice grains are sticky, shiny and have a light yellow color.

Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and serve with hot rice and pickles. Fish sauce mixed with lemon, garlic and chili further enhances the flavor of the dish.

In particular, Phu Yen chicken rice is eaten with pickles made from bean sprouts, chopped carrots, and pickled onions, balancing the fatty aroma of the rice and chicken, making it impossible for us to put down our chopsticks.

Banh xeo, banh hoi long heo and com ga are not only delicious dishes but also the love of a grandmother for her family and for her children and grandchildren's guests.

She not only let us taste the typical flavors of Phu Yen but also sent warm emotions through each dish she served to the children.

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