Nem Chua Bia Hơi (Beer Snack Plate)

Nem Chua Bia Hơi (Beer Snack Plate)

Recipes with Nem Chua

This is nem chua in its most direct form: the sausage unwrapped onto a small plate, the pickled garlic set alongside, a few chilli slices, and a cold glass of bia hơi within reach. No cooking, no assembly. The plate replicates the setup at any pavement bia hơi stall in Hanoi. Pickled garlic is the key element that most home versions skip, and its absence changes the plate considerably.

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

0 min

Servings

2

Difficulty

Easy

Ingredients

  • 6 nem chua parcels
  • 1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
  • 100ml rice vinegar
  • 100ml water
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 bird's eye chillies, sliced into thin rounds
  • Small handful of rice crackers (bánh đa) to serve
  • Cold bia hơi or light lager

Steps

1

Make the pickled garlic at least 20 minutes ahead (or up to a week in advance). Combine rice vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool for five minutes.

2

Place the peeled garlic cloves in a clean jar or bowl. Pour the warm pickling liquid over them. The cloves should be submerged. Leave to cool to room temperature.

3

Unwrap the nem chua parcels and place the sausages whole on a small plate. They can be served whole — diners use a toothpick to eat. Or halve each sausage lengthwise for easier sharing.

4

Arrange pickled garlic cloves alongside the nem chua. Add the chilli slices and a few rice crackers.

5

Serve the plate cold alongside iced bia hơi. The eating pace is slow: one bite of sausage, one bite of garlic, a sip of beer.

Tips

Pickled garlic made the day before is better than garlic pickled for only twenty minutes. After 24 hours, the sharpness mellows and the cloves turn slightly translucent. If time allows, make a jar a day ahead. The rice crackers are not essential but add a dry crunch that cleans the palate between bites of fatty pork skin.