How do historical, geographical, and cultural ingredients combine to make Hue cuisine unique?
Huế, Việt Nam's capital during feudal times, is the cultural and culinary heart of the country's central region, where a complex history and rich tradition have produced foods that are both simple and sophisticated. According to researcher Trương Định Giản, Vietnamese cuisine has 1,700 different dishes. Of these, 1,400 come from Huế. Some people believe Việt Nam even has 3,000 dishes.
Huế lies on the Kiang (Perfume) River in a narrow, fertile valley between forested mountains to the west and the marshes and sea to the east. Huế residents combine products from these distinct geographical sources to form a rich and varied cuisine found nowhere else in Việt Nam. Scholars think ancient Chăm cooking may have influenced Huế cuisine, especially in methods of making fish and shrimp pastes. In addition, according to ethnologist Từ Chi, Huế's local habit of eating many raw vegetables may have arisen from the Muting ethnic minority group, which some scholars consider the source of Kinh (Vietnamese majority) culture.
In the early seventeenth century, Viet Nam was divided into northern and southern kingdoms. The Kim Long - Phu Xuan region near present-day Hue was the capital of the southern kingdom for about 150 years, until 1777. When Gia Long (Nguyen Anh) ascended the throne in 1802, he established the Nguyen Dynasty and moved the capital back to Hue, where it remained until King Bảo Đại abdicated in August 1945.
During Hue's three centuries as royal capital, the city's upper and middle classes developed a unique and elaborate culinary culture. Unlike the majority of Vietnamese people, the mandarins and scholars at court ate not only to fill their stomachs but also to express their social rank and artistic sensibilities. Cooking became highly refined, with meals consisting of many, many courses.
According to the Đại Nam thực lục (Veritable Records of Viet Nam) compiled by the Nguyễn Court, a grand banquet to welcome foreign envoys or new doctoral laureates typically included 161 dishes. A small banquet had fifty dishes, while avegetarian feast had only between twenty and twenty-five choices.
The ingredients of royal court cuisine were also extraordinary: peacock spring rolls, grilled "phoenix," rhinoceros skin, bear paws, deer sinews, elephant legs, and orangutan lips. These dishes are no longer served, and their recipes have been lost. However, other dishes such as birds' nests, abalone, oysters, and lobster still appear in the "royal meals" served to guests at exclusive Huế restaurants.