Hue mussel rice: Journey from rustic meal to culinary icon

Mussel rice, one of Hue's specialties, was once a poor family dish prepared with dedication and diligence. There have been many historical changes, but today this rustic rice dish has become a culinary symbol of the ancient capital.

Initially, mussel rice was not a royal dish, but it was closely associated with the daily meals of poor families in the ancient capital. More than 200 years ago, a poor family had to dive to catch fish, shrimp, and mussels to make a living. One day, after futile efforts, they had to eat cold rice with mussels. But from this time, they realized that mussels have a special delicious flavor. This dish quickly spread across the Hue dunes and became a part of daily life for many social classes.

During the reign of King Thanh Thai, a woman processed mussels into a rice dish and offered it to the king. When the King enjoyed this dish, he loved this dish and gave him the title and established a Hen ward. From a simple dish of poor people on Hen Islet, mussel rice became a dish for kings and was only enjoyed on special occasions.

It sounds simple, but preparing a bowl of Hue-style mussel rice is not easy at all. The mussels used to prepare this rice dish must be mussels from Hen Islet - a place formed by alluvium from the Huong River. The water of the Huong River flowing through Hen dune is clear, with little silt and alum, and at the foot of the dune there is a deep layer of mud. Due to these favorable conditions, mussels in Hen Islet have a delicious and juicy flavor and were once used as a dish for the king. Every day, from dawn, people start going to Hen Islet to harvest mussels. After that, the mussels are washed several times with water to remove mud before being transported to specialized furnaces. Here, the mussels will be soaked in rice water to remove stomach matter.

After the mussels are cleaned, the chef will boil the mussels to get the juice. Next, the mussel meat will be carefully selected, it must be plump and fresh. The chef will quickly stir-fry the mussel meat with dried bamboo shoots, pork belly and rice vermicelli so that the mussels still retain their crispness.

The mussel broth is also heated, ginger and spices are added to taste. Unlike other dishes, mussel rice uses rice that has cooled overnight and the rice grains must be loose and not stick together. This layer of cold rice creates the perfect foundation to enhance the sweet and crispy flavor of the mussel rice dish.