Ly Tu Trong Street in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho is the best place in Vietnam to get vit nau chao – duck and soybean paste soup. The dish has chao (soybean paste), a spice too strong to stew with any meat other than duck.

To make vit nau chao for four to six diners, pick out a lean 2.5-kilogram duck.

Soak the bird in rice wine or vodka and rub it with smashed ginger to remove the smell of its feathers.

Next, chop the duck and sauté the meat with red onion and garlic.

Prepare a mix of white soybean paste and red soybean paste by mixing the pastes with refined sugar, salt, pepper and red onion.

Then marinate the meat in the mixture for an hour. Remember not to use fish sauce as it will overpower the flavors of the meat and soybean paste.

Meanwhile, fry a yam for a few minutes but make sure it doesn’t break. Fry it quickly so that it maintains its natural flavor.

Next, stew the seasoned meat and fried yam in a pot of water. To make the dish tastier, you can add some coconut milk, mushrooms or dried apples. Cook until the broth is thick. You should be able to taste the spicy soybean paste and the sweet duck meat.

The cooked soup is accompanied with bun (rice vermicelli), mi (fresh wheat noodles) or bread and vegetables, especially morning glory. Extra soybean paste or soybean paste mixed with some chili and oil is also used for dipping.

The dish has become popular across southern Vietnam but is best on Ly Tu Trong Street in Can Tho. A pot for four customers should cost VND60,000-70,000 (US$3.80-4.40).