"Mứt" - sugar-coated fruits are indispensable in Vietnam's Tet tray. The snacks are kept in beautiful boxes or bowls, placed on the guest tables, and enjoyed while the landlords welcome guests to their house on this special occasion. The dish is often paired with hot green tea.

Mứt can be made from many kinds of fruits, from coconut, carrot, kumquat, orange. In this article, Vietnam Times introduces the five most well-known and beginner-friendly recipes.

Candied lotus seeds (Photo: Cooky)

Lotus seeds

Ingredients:

- 600g of fresh lotus seeds

- 300g of white sugar

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla attract

Instructions:

- Remove the lotus core. Wash the seeds then boil them for 10-15 minutes. Take the seeds out, put them in cold water for several minutes to cool down.

- Put the seeds and white sugar into a big bowl then stir the mixture until the sugar is absorbed into the seeds. Marinate the seeds for 1-2 hours.

- Once the sugar completely dissolves, pour the mixture into a pan, turn on the heat and well stir until the mixture gets thickened.

- Lower the heat, stir gently to avoid breaking the lotus seeds.

- Keep string for a few more minutes, then the vanilla attracts in. When the sugar starts to dry, turn off the heat while keep on stirring until the seeds are completely dry.

Sugar-coated ginger slides (Photo: Cooky)

Ginger

Ingredients:

- 400g of fresh ginger

- 1/4 pineapple

- 300g of white sugar

- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Instructions:

- Peel and slice the ginger, wash and soak them in saltwater for 5 minutes. Pich the ginger slides out and let them dry. Dice or ground pineapple.

- Boil a pot of water with lemon juice, then boil the ginger for 3-4 minutes. Take the ginger out, change the water and boil the ginger again to reduce the pungent taste. Then put the well-boiled ginger in a bowl of cold water for ten minutes, then take them out to drain.

- Put ginger, pineapple, and sugar into a large bowl, stir well and marinate for about two hours, stirring occasionally for the ginger to absorb sugar. Put everything in a pan, turn on the heat and leave the mixture to boil, then lower the heat, stir once every 3-5 minutes until the water drain.

- Turn off the heat, keep stirring until the ginger slides become dry.

Sugar-coated carrot (Photo: Kho quet)

Carrot

Ingredients:

- 1kg of carrot

- 500g of white sugar

- 2 tablespoons of limestone flour

- 1 tablespoon of alum

Instructions:

- Peel wash and cut the carrots into round or square pieces. Dissolve limestone flour with 1.5 liters of water and then use the clear water to soak the carrots for about 30 minutes. Take the carrots out and wash them with clean water to remove the limestone smell.

- Dissolve alum in a pot of water, bring it to boil, then put the carrots in for two minutes.

- Take the carrots out, wash them with cold water and leave them to drain.

- Mix the carrots with sugar and let the mixture rest for 3-4 hours.

- Put the mixture in a pan, turn on the heat until the sugar water starts to thicken. Lower the heat, gently and continuously stir until the carrot becomes dry.

- Bake the carrots in the oven at 120 Celcius degrees for 40 minutes. If you do not own an oven, dry the dish under the sun for a day.

Sticky candied mango

Sticky candied mango

Ingredients:

- 1kg of green mango

- 2 tablespoons of limestone flour

- 600g of white sugar

- 1 tablespoon of alum

Instructions:

- Wash the mango, peel off the skin and cut the flesh into thick and long pieces. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of limestone powder into 2 liters of water, wait for it to settle. Take the clear limestone water into a different bowl. Soak the mango in for 3 hours.

- Take out the mango, wash it to remove the limestone smell.

- Dissolve alum in a water pot, put the mango in, and bring it to boil. Then wash the mango several times to reduce all the limestone and alum smell.

- Mix the mango with 600g of sugar, let the sugar dissolve, occasionally shake or stir the mixture to ensure the mango evenly absorbs sugar.

- When the sugar is completely dissolved, put the mixture on the stove on low heat, stirring occasionally so that the mango pieces are evenly cooked. When the mango becomes crystal, turn off the heat.

- Take the mango pieces out. Dry them in an oven at 100 degrees Celsius for 40-60 minutes.

Wax gourd. (Photo: Cooky)

Wax gourd

Ingredients:

- 1.5kg of gourd

- 400g of white sugar

- 1 tablespoon of limestone flour

- 1 teaspoon of grapefruit attract

Instructions:

- Dissolve powdered limestone with 1.5 liters of cold water, filter to get the clear water. Peel off the gourd's skin. remove the soft core and cut the flesh into finger-sized sticks. Wash the gourd pieces in cold water and soak them in limestone water for at least 8 hours.

- Remove the water, wash the gourd to remove the limestone smell. Dry the gourd under the sun for 4-5 hours.

- Dissolve the sugar in a pot of water, bring it to boil then, put the gourd in until they are well-cooked.

- Take the gourd pieces out, put them in a sunny and airy space for 4 hours.

- Put the remaining sugar water into the pot, boil them for 2 minutes then put the dried gourd pieces in. Put the grapefruit attract in and keep stirring until the sugar crystallized.

- Put the gourd in an airy space for a few hours until they are completely dried.

Raising Funds and Hope: How NGOs Strive to Give Families a Happy Tet Thanks to such initiatives, a happier Tet is brought to the less fortunate lives across Vietnam.

Tet Gifts Delivered to Truong Sa Islanders A delegation of military officers and soldiers departed for the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago on December 25, bringing essential goods for the Lunar New Year ...

Little Budget, Big Fear of Covid: Overseas Vietnamese Students Miss Celebrating Tet in Homeland Due to the expensive cost of flight tickets and the risk of coronavirus, many Vietnamese students abroad have to stay in the host countries for ...