Stone-grilled sausages have become a popular street food among young Vietnamese people recently, creating a new culinary trend. Although sausages are not a new dish, the style of grilling sausages on hot stones has attracted the attention of many people.

This is a familiar dish in China, especially popular in Hekou – a famous destination for Vietnamese tourists when traveling by road. From there, stone-grilled sausage was introduced to Hanoi and quickly became a prominent culinary trend of 2023.

Unlike the traditional way of grilling on charcoal, sausages are grilled on hot pebbles, with an electric stove underneath to generate heat. This helps the stone-grilled sausages not to smell of charcoal smoke and not to be burnt on the outside. According to a restaurant owner, fresh sausages grilled on charcoal may be burnt, but the skin is crispy and the inside is denser due to the melted fat. On the contrary, stone-grilled sausages use fresh sausages, not dried ones, which helps the skin to be crispy, chewy and more fragrant, while the meat inside is soft and moist, and has enough spices.

Once cooked, the hot sausage can be sprinkled with a little Chinese-style chili powder or chili sauce, depending on personal taste. The sausage is usually sweet, combined with a little spicy chili, creating a particularly attractive flavor.

Stone-grilled sausage is a suitable dish to enjoy in winter, but if eaten too much, it can make diners feel bored.

Le Hong Tam, a fan of stone-grilled sausage, shared: “I live near the Hekou border gate (China) so I often eat this dish. At first it was very delicious, but after just one or two pieces, I started to feel bored. If I eat it intermittently, it tastes better.” Currently, the price of stone-grilled sausage is 15,000 VND per piece, a little higher than regular grilled sausage, which costs about 10,000 – 12,000 VND per piece. However, there are still many people willing to pay 15,000 VND to try this popular dish.

In Hanoi, stone-grilled sausages are available at some restaurants on Hang Chieu Street, Hue Street, Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, and Dong Xuan Market. In addition, this street food has also spread to many other cities across the country such as Ha Long, Thanh Hoa, Nha Trang, and Bien Hoa.