Launched in late December, 2019, Bep Nha Chau has showcased recipes from traditional and iconic Vietnamese dishes such as banh chung (glutinous rice cake), canh mang (bamboo shoot soup cooked with pork legs), nem ran (fried spring rolls), green papaya salad, and xoi gac (red glutinous rice).
Nguyen Phuong Hai was born into a family going back eight generations in Hanoi. He first learnt basic culinary skills from his grandmother and began studying to become a professional chef at the age of 18.
He has established himself as a culinary expert at several well-known restaurants in the capital and is widely known for his cooking skills and knowledge of Hanoi’s traditional cuisine.
Over the last ten years, he has featured on national and international television cooking shows. He also published a cookbook presenting his 36 recipes representing the traditional dishes of Hanoi.
The 44-year-old chef said that through the Bep Nha Chau channel, he wanted to share his cooking experience regarding the traditional dishes of Vietnam and Hanoi in particular to everyone, thus helping to keep Vietnamese food traditions alive.
‘Moc van am’ was a popular Tet delicacy prepared by wealthy families in Hanoi in the past.
His videos also provide home cooks with useful kitchen tips and tricks to inspire their love for cooking as well as their love for Vietnamese food.
Hai has developed a great interest in the food offerings of Vietnamese people on special occasions, particularly Tet festival. According to him, each offering leaves an unforgettable memory in one’s life.
Therefore, in addition to giving cooking instructions, Hai also shares his own stories and memories about dishes as well as the cultural and historical background behind them.
In his most recent video, he introduced viewers to ‘moc van am’ (pork meatballs with five different ingredients in five colours representing the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth), used as a popular Tet delicacy prepared by wealthy families in Hanoi. However, the dish is now known by only a few people in modern life.
With its interesting content, it is no surprise that the Bep Nha Chau Channel has up to 147,000 subscribers, all of whom share a common love for Vietnamese cuisine. Each video attracts hundreds of thousands of views, encouraging Hai to continue working and further advertise traditional Vietnamese delicacies to people worldwide.
