Continuing the article about dishes to enjoy in Ha Giang. In this article, Halo will introduce the next 5 dishes to try when visiting this northeastern region.
1. Au Tau porridge
Au Tau porridge is also known as “poisonous porridge” or “deadly porridge” because it is made from Au Tau tubers with high levels of toxins found only in the Northwest region and can cause adverse effects on health, however, if prepared properly, it is a valuable medicine for health. Through the skillful hands of the Mong people, this dish has become a mountainous specialty with the characteristics of the rocky plateau.
The au tau root itself, if not cooked properly, will be very bitter and very poisonous, but if cooked well, it will be very delicious and nutritious. The porridge has a bitter taste because this is an extremely precious medicinal herb on the rocky plateau, with only one crop per season. People say bitter medicine cures disease, so you should try this dish.
This type of porridge is usually sold in the evening because according to local experience, this porridge has the best effect after a night’s sleep. Eating this porridge at night will help you sleep well, helping you regain your strength after a day of exploring the rocky plateau.
2. Thang Co Ha Giang
Thang Co is one of the local specialties in Dong Van Stone Plateau. If you want to experience the local culinary culture, thang co is definitely one of the specialties of Ha Giang that you cannot miss!
Thang co is a traditional dish of the H’Mong people in Ha Giang and Sapa. Initially, it was just a rustic dish during important holidays and fairs, but then thang co became known to tourists and spread by word of mouth, gradually becoming the most sought-after dish to enjoy when coming to the Northeast highlands.
Thang co is a dish originating from the H’Mong people, cooked from horse meat but today beef and buffalo are also used. Traditionally, the name “thang co” means bone soup. It is used in important holidays and fairs and is currently very popular with tourists from all over the world.
Not only is it a specialty of Ha Giang, Thang Co has become a very unique traditional cultural beauty of the local people. Usually, Thang Co can be eaten with men men or grilled corn cakes. Visitors can experience the feeling of a H’Mong person through the experience of eating Thang Co and enjoying it with a cup of corn wine.
The warm and slightly sweet wine when combined with the fragrant and crispy Thang Co dish stimulates the taste buds even more. In Sapa, people will eat Thang Co with a unique dipping sauce made from Muong Khuong chili. However, this specialty in Ha Giang has been seasoned extremely richly so there is no need to dip it with any spices.
3. Five-color sticky rice
Five-color sticky rice is a famous dish of the Tay ethnic group and has become an indispensable specialty in the Tet tray of ethnic people in Ha Giang. It is called five-color sticky rice because this dish is made of 5 different colors: red, blue, white, purple, yellow symbolizing the five elements. Except for white, the remaining colors are soaked in leaves and roots of forest trees to create color without using colorants. With its eye-catching five-color appearance and the fragrant stickiness of sticky rice, five-color sticky rice has become a traditional dish during Tet holidays and community activities of the people here.
Behind the eye-catching colors of sticky rice is the hidden meaning of praying for a prosperous new year of the Tay people. Five-colored sticky rice represents the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
Red symbolizes aspiration. Green symbolizes the green of the mountainsforest, praying for lush trees, full fields of rice, full barns of corn. Purple symbolizes rich, fertile land. Yellow symbolizes warmth, fullness. White symbolizes loyalty in love. According to the Tay people’s concept, the more beautiful the color of the sticky rice dish is, the more it symbolizes prosperity and success for the family.
4. Buffalo skin salad
Buffalo skin salad is not simply a delicious dish, but it also shows the sophistication of the people in the remote Northwest mountains. Buffalo skin, once pre-processed, is used to make a unique delicious dish. To make this salad, you must be patient and skillful to be able to make a complete delicious dish.
The salad is a combination of buffalo skin and other mountain ingredients. Therefore, this delicious dish is delicious in flavor and attractive in color, making many people fall in love. The weather is cool, sitting by the fire and eating this dish is the best.
The unique feature of this salad is the rich, diverse spices of the Northwest. The ingredients required to create a delicious flavor are chili, roasted peanuts, banana flowers, ginger, fern, coriander, and mac khen seeds. To make the dish more delicious, the buffalo skin is crispy and soft, don’t forget to add sour bamboo shoot juice.
5. Egg rolls
Ha Giang rolls are different from the rolls in the lowlands that we have enjoyed. Ha Giang rolls are elaborate, especially when they are made on the stove, they will add an egg and then roll them up. If the lowlands rolls are simply dipped in a bowl of fish sauce, Ha Giang rolls are eaten with a bowl of hot broth with many pieces of fatty white ham. Just looking at them makes you ecstatic! Banh cuon trung ha giang is considered a “cold dish”, so eating it with a bowl of hot ham broth will make diners feel warmer than ever!
Going to Ha Giang, finding a small roadside stall and ordering a plate of egg banh cuon, the feeling of sitting and waiting in the cold weather, then looking at the plate of egg banh cuon next to a bowl of steaming hot broth is so warm. In Ha Giang cuisine, egg rolls are especially meant to be eaten hot, so they are not made in advance, but have to wait, perhaps that is also part of what makes diners from all over the world feel more excited when enjoying this dish!
Eat a piece of egg rolls to absorb the unique flavor, which is the rich, fatty taste of the egg yolk, then the chewy taste of the outer layer of rice flour. You have to eat it right away, quickly dip it in the broth and then enjoy it. After finishing the piece of cake, slurping the broth, and eating a piece of hot ham, there is nothing better.
0 Comment