There are many different types and forms, and candy in Vietnam attracts not only children but also adults, locals and tourists.
In this article, we would like to introduce to you the popular Vietnamese candies, which are processed by the semi-handcraft method to help you enjoy the sweetness of this delightful snack.
1. Ben Tre Coconut candy
As the coconut granary of the country, the coconut of Ben Tre is famous for its sweet and fragrant taste, so the coconut candy produced from this place is always the most popular.
This kind of candy uses the main ingredient of coconut milk, added malt and sugar. From the original only the above elements, today this candy is also added with others to make many different flavors such as pandan coconut candy, durian coconut candy, and peanut coconut candy.
In which, pandan coconut candy with two colors of green and brown is the most well-known. You can find this product in most supermarkets in Vietnam. And if you want to see the production process, you should join a Mekong tour with the destination of Ben Tre to experience.
However, coconut candy melts easily when the weather is hot. And, there is oil around the candy, so it often sticks to your hands, causing discomfort when you peel it.
2. Sesame candy
The next contribution to the list of delicious sweets in Vietnam is sesame candy originating from Hue. Worthy is a sweet gift for all visitors when visiting this city.
The ingredients of Hue sesame candy include sesame, peanuts, malt, glutinous flour, and filtered tapioca. Under the skillful hands of the processor, these simple ingredients create a sweet, fragrant, and delicious marshmallow that attracts locals and tourists.
However, sesame candy has the disadvantage that it is quite flexible, making it difficult to chew. Hue people often joke that this sweet is not for people with dentures.
From small shops to big shopping places in Hue city, you will easily find these candy packages. A package is quite affordable, only about 20,000 VND.
3. Cu Do candy
Cu Do candy is a famous specialty of Ha Tinh province, an interesting gift for those who visit this sunny and windy land.
Visually sandwiched by two pieces of rice paper, Cu Do in Ha Tinh looks more like a cake, but is still called a candy because it has the main sweetness from cane sugar. Besides, you will feel the fatty taste from the roasted peanuts keeping the whole seeds inside. Fragrant and crispy from the outer rice paper. It all blends together perfectly.
However, Cu do candies are hard, especially after you put them in the refrigerator to preserve them. So you should pay attention to choosing new candies, and avoid eating them immediately when taking them out of the fridge.
This product is usually packaged in packages of about 450 grams and costs from 50,000 to 60,000 VND.
4. Banana candy
The banana candy is a typical local food of the Mekong Delta provinces. This type of sweet comes in two popular varieties, a classic one that is usually cut into rectangles with finger-size ones and a round roll of puff pastry.
Banana candy has the yellow color of peanuts and the black-brown of processed bananas. Sweet and fragrant, flexible, and easy to chew. Especially, the curled banana candy adds the crunchy feeling of the puffy rice paper wrappers outside.
This sweet is usually processed without preservatives, so the shelf life is very short, about 3-5 days at room temperature, about 1 month when refrigerated.
These candies are produced manually, so sometimes the quality is uneven, it is easy to burn because the slugs are a bit too much, creating a bitter taste when eaten.
Each small package of banana candy usually costs from 15 to 20 thousand VND. Try it if you travel to Mekong Delta, especially Ben Tre or Dong Thap Provinces in South Vietnam.
5. Peanut candy
Peanut candy is very popular in most of the central and northern provinces of Vietnam, especially in Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Da Nang, Thanh Hoa, Nam Dinh, and Hanoi.
The sweet is fragrant from peanuts and roasted sesame, sweet from sugar and sticky from malt. The cook carefully selects each bean, because just a few damaged beans will reduce the quality and quantity of a whole package of candy, causing discomfort to the eater.
In the past, all processing and packaging stages were done manually, so when roasted peanuts and sesame seeds were easily scorched and unevenly cooked. Nowadays, many establishments apply machines for some necessary stages, so the quality of this candy has been improved.
Peanut candies are often carefully packed in packages, very convenient to carry as gifts. Each package has a very favorable price, only about 20,000 VND.
6. Areca candy
As a unique snack of Hue, areca candy impresses everyone by its shape like a forked-four piece of areca. Maybe that’s why it got its name, Keo Cau meaning areca candy in English.
In the past, there was a small piece of real areca in the candy, but because the taste is difficult to eat, today only the main ingredient is cane sugar.
The sugar is carefully processed to make the yellow core, the cover is milky white and very eye-catching. Areca candy has a strong sweet taste. However, the candy is a bit hard so it is not easy to chew; often used to suck.
The price for each small bag is only about 10,000 VND, and you can easily find it at the candy store in Dong Ba market.
7. Pull candy (Keo Keo)
This is another interesting candy made by hand in Vietnam. When eating, people will use force to pull out candy into the size of a finger. It is the pulling action that makes this candy called Keo Keo, meaning pull candy.
This sweet only has 2 ingredients: sugar and peanuts. When processing, the worker drags and drops many times to make the sugar turn into a beautiful milky white color.
Outside is sugar and peanuts inside. Marshmallows, chewy, fragrant from peanuts, and sweet from sugar, all create interesting feelings.
Keo Keo is rarely sold in the mass market, so it is difficult to find. Sometimes at the local restaurants, some young people sing a few songs to sell this candy.
8. Pea roll candy
It can be seen that Keo Doi Lac, called Pea roll candy in English, is the brother of pull candy above; however, Doi Lac candy is processed more sophisticated, more porous, and with more peanuts in it.
If Keo Keo sweet is hard to find because it is only handmade, then Doi Lac candy is available in most shopping centers even though it is a specialty of Nam Dinh, a northern province of Vietnam.
Doi Lac candy is packaged looking very eye-catching. Due to the high demand, many candy manufacturers apply semi-manufacturing methods to offer more products to consumers.
A bag is only about 25,000 VND. However, one thing we don’t like is that the candy has a scent of banana oil, which is a bit heavy.
9. Powder candy (Keo Bot)
Powder candy is considered a popular sweet in the sugarcane-growing countryside in central Vietnam, especially in Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, and Binh Dinh.
Candies are completely handmade with a layer of rice or flour on the outside to prevent sticking, so they are called powdered candies. There are some areas also called this candy Keo U because of their big and firm shape.
The sugar for making Keo Bot is not like white sugar in other Vietnam candies; it is black or brown sugar made from sugarcane in the homeland.
Powdered candies are added little ginger, creating a very pleasant aroma. This type of candy is very hard so it is difficult to chew, just let it melt in the mouth. Along with the ginger taste, the powder candy gradually penetrates in the mouth with a little spicy, sweet, slightly fragrant flavor.
For this sweet, you will not find it in shopping centers in Hanoi or Saigon. Only when you pass by Quang Ngai or Quang Nam, you may be lucky enough to come across them in a few small roadside confectionery shops.
10. Malt candy
Malt candy is a famous specialty of Quang Ngai, a central province not yet famous on the tourist map for international visitors. This candy has typical plasticity, the most flexible of the Vietnamese candies introduced above.
Malt candy is made from rice germ and cane sugar, and is stored in cans, like cans of condensed milk in Vietnam.
When eating, locals often use chopsticks to pick up each roll and spread it evenly on the baked rice paper to enjoy. The concentrated sweetness of malt candy mixed with the crispy aroma of baked rice paper is an attractive snack for many people.
The disadvantage of malt candy is that it is too flexible, so it is very difficult to take it out of the can to eat with chopsticks or other utensils. Moreover, it is very sweet so it is not for you who are afraid of being fat. Besides, it is very sticky, so it is not for those who have dentures, too.
Malt candy is sold by the can, depending on the quality will cost from 30,000 to 50,000 VND a can. You only find them in supermarkets, markets, or shops in Quang Ngai province.
Which types of candy in Vietnam would you like to taste?
Stay up-to-date on the latest news and insights in Vietnam by following @vietnamdrive on Twitter and @vietnamdrive on Instagram today!