‘Nem nuong (Vietnamese grilled pork sausage) is an indispensable dish to create the culinary culture of Nha Trang City in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Viet Nam.

A plate of Nha Trang grilled pork sausage is served at the Cong restaurant on Y Lan Nguyen Phi Street, Da Nang. Photo: H.L

The special thing that makes this dish attractive comes from the golden, fragrant skewers of grilled pork sausage, served with raw vegetables, a special dipping sauce made from sticky rice, soybeans, tomatoes, lean meat, minced pork liver mixed with sugar, garlic and chili.

The secret to making Nha Trang grilled pork sausage is the recipe of pork thigh mixed with minced pork skin, then marinated with sugar, salt, seasoning powder, pepper, then rolled into long balls, skewered on bamboo sticks and grilled over charcoal.

The recipe for the dish is quite simple, but according to locals, the pork must be pounded by hand so that when grilled, it retains its fragrant, sweet, chewy and crunchy taste.

Along with that, the dipping sauce made from sticky rice, soybeans, tomatoes, shrimp, lean meat, pork liver and some finely ground spices also contributes to the special flavour of the dish.  Grilled pork sausage is rolled with thin rice paper, raw vegetables, sour star fruit, green banana, cucumber, mango, creating a harmony of sour, spicy, salty, sweet and astringent flavors to prevent boredom.

A portion of this rustic delicacy includes thinly sliced  grilled pork sausage, crispy fried rice paper, raw vegetables, pickles, rice paper and dipping sauce. In particular, the crispy fried rice paper is a sweet type of rice paper, when fried, it turns dark yellow. To enjoy this dish, you just need to place the rice paper on the palm of your hand, then arrange the vegetables, grilled pork sausage, crispy fried rice paper, then roll it up and serve with dipping sauce.

Thanks to the delicate combination of rustic ingredients, grilled pork sausage is available in almost Vietnamese cities and provinces. You can visit Ut Nau on Huynh Thuc Khang Street or Cong Restaurant on Y Lan Nguyen Phi Street to enjoy this dish. Each venue has its own variation but still retains the characteristic flavour of the original Nha Trang grilled pork sausage.

Reporting by HUYNH LE - Translating by A.THU