1.Ao tau porridge (Cháo Áo tẩu)
This is a traditional dish of ethnic communities in Ha Giang. It’s striking because it has such an interesting name; it might confuse a lot of Vietnamese people, and even more foreign travelers. The dish’s main ingredient – au tau – is a tuber root of Chinese aconite or also known as wolfsbane. Mountainous terrains and climate conditions in this northern city are an optimal natural habitat for this plant.
Here is a fun fact for you, au tau is one of most poisonous plants in its flowering breed, with immediate symptoms in just about one hour. But don’t worry, it should be perfectly edible and delicious if properly treated and prepared. Skillful au tau cooks in Ha Giang know just how to do it. A 30-year experienced vendor and owner shared her secret: soak the tubers in rice water and then boil them in low heat until they slowly become mushy. This is when you know they are detoxified and will serve your hungry stomach the best.
2.Steamed egg rolls (Trứng cuộn)
Ha Giang is a mountainous area in the Northwest of Vietnam that has extremely cold climate. This is why the local people prefer to eat hot food and Steamed egg rolls is one of them. As its name refers, this dish is made from egg which is well steamed and rolled up. Steamed egg roll is also eaten with the pork bone based sauce which suprisingly enhances the flavor of the dish.
You just have to pick up a piece of thin egg roll that looms the red of soft-boiled inside with chopsticks and dip it into the dipping sauce to enjoy.
3.Thang Co (Thắng Cố)
The aroma of cardamom seeds and lemongrass, mingled with the flavor of grilled pork will make any tourist fall in love with this dish. Thang co is sold in many food vendors in the Dong Van market at a cheap and cheerful price. The food is absolutely unreal as it's only served in Ha Giang with a unique taste. Thang Co usually served on a long wooden table with salt and red hot pepper and people here like to sit on their heels and hang out with their friends. The local people usually have Thang Co with Khen wine. It's such a traditional way of eating in this highland area.
4.Five-color sticky rice (Xôi ngũ sắc)
People who live in Northern mountain area have an extremely diverse and unique cuisine. In particularly, five-color sticky rice which converges not only the traditional values but also the meaning concept of the universe, Ying and Yang philosophy and the lofty and beautiful meaning of human livelihood.
This dish is made from rice that has 5 different colors; red, yellow, green,purple and white. It's an absolutely perfect architectural masterpiece of sticky rice that you can hardly see in other lands.
5.Buckwheat cake (Bánh tam giác mạch)
In other countries, you may know buckwheat through their processed form as small brown seeds resembling quinoa or rice. In Ha Giang, you’ll have the chance to see buckwheat in the form of grand flower fields covering the magnificent stone plateaus.Other than pleasing your eyes, buckwheat also makes a great pastry dish if prepared by the hands of the Ha Giang people. Because of their raw and hard skin, buckwheat seeds must be ground carefully and go through many manual filtering steps to get rid of all the broken and deformed seeds. This will prevent the cake from being rough and thus create an unwrinkled and creamy texture for the cake.
Buckwheat cake is often steamed for storage and people will bake them again whenever they want to eat. This extra step adds a beautiful dark brown color to the cake that will make you hungry for more. These cakes are also finished in a charcoal oven! It creates a soft and foamy touch on the inside, balanced with a slight crispness on the outside. This will serve as a perfect snack on your way exploring the city. Get yourself some when you set foot in Ha Giang and I’m sure you’ll want to bring loads of them home!
Ha Giang is indeed a place with every suitable trait for an adventurous traveler and jungle lover. From its scenery to cuisine culture, everything is just so wild and free. Add this place to your bucket list and you’ll never regret it!
Not only dishes, but also the itinerary in Ha Giang will be the best choice in the Northern Vietnam. Try this link to check and join the journey with us !!
http://www.vietspacetravel.com/en/tours/discovery-the-north-vietnam.967.html
Other News
