Tuyen Quang is a region famous for its majestic mountains, the poetic Lo River, and the very famous saying “Thai Tea – Tuyen Girls” that surely many of us have heard. Tuyen Quang is also well-known for being chosen as a safe zone and the resistance capital during the war period. Tuyen Quang is also the birthplace of many famous delicacies of the Tay people, contributing to an attractive culinary culture of the highland people. Here are some famous Tuyen Quang specialties that RuudNguyen.com wants to introduce to you, let’s follow the article!
Delicious dishes in Tuyen Quang
Soi Lam Sticky Corn
Soi Lam sticky corn is known for its small, dense core, thin husks, small ears, and uniformly round, plump kernels. Legend has it that this corn was once a tribute to the king. Soi Lam is a variety of native sticky corn, and when tasting dishes made from it, diners are captivated by the subtly sweet and tender texture of each corn kernel.
Soi Lam Sticky Corn (Photo Collected)
Five-Color Sticky Rice
To make the five-color sticky rice, one must choose freshly harvested hillside glutinous rice with large, even grains and use natural plants for coloring the rice. Co khau leaves are commonly used for this purpose; co khau cam leaves give a purple-blue hue, while co khau deng leaves turn the rice red. For creating the yellow color, locals often use cu han mao leaves and turmeric.
Five-color sticky rice can be easily found in the highland markets (Photo Collected)
Additionally, an indispensable ingredient is a type of aromatic wildflower used in cooking the rice. This flower blooms only once in the second lunar month, so the Tay ethnic people often harvest, dry, and store it for use throughout the year.
The Tay believe that the five colors of the sticky rice, which include bright red, dark red, yellow, brown, and purple, represent the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The more vibrant the colors of the rice, the more prosperous and successful the family is believed to be in the coming year.
Ant Egg Glutinous Rice Cake
Ant egg glutinous rice cake (also known as “Péng Lăng Lay”) is a traditional springtime delicacy of the Tay people in Tuyen Quang. No matter how many times one visits Tuyen Quang, without coinciding with the right season, one might miss the opportunity to taste this unique delicacy. Spring is the breeding season for black ants, and it is during this time that the locals can collect a plentiful supply of delicious ant eggs for making the cakes.
Tuyen Quang Ant Egg Cake (Photo Collected)
The Tay people only use black ant eggs to prepare dishes because not all ant eggs are edible. The eggs of black ants (called “tua rày” by the Tay people), a type of ant with a small body and pointed tail, are considered the healthiest. These ants usually nest and lay eggs on trees that are not too tall, and they are often collected from “ngõa”, “xoan”, cinnamon, “găng”, and “vầu” trees.
The cake’s filling is made from ant eggs. The eggs are sautéed with fried shallots, finely chopped dill, and a bit of salt to make the cake more flavorful and appealing. Sautéing ant eggs requires skillful handling to ensure the eggs do not break or burst. Nowadays, ant eggs are not as abundant as before, so people often mix in other ingredients like minced pork, dried onions, sesame seeds, and crushed roasted peanuts for the filling.
Uniquely, the Tay people do not use banana or dong leaves, but rather use “vả” (or fig) leaves, choosing ones that are neither too young nor too old for wrapping the cakes. If the leaves are too young, they are difficult to peel off, while old leaves make the cake hard and less aromatic. Once prepared, the cakes are placed in a tray and steamed for about 30-45 minutes until cooked.
Field Fish Sauce
When the rice is heavy with grain, it’s also the time to drain the water for fishing. Carp from the fields, with firm, sweet flesh, is cooked with “nếp cái hoa vàng” rice and traditional local ingredients to create a unique regional dish.
Chi Hoa’s Tay Ethnic Group Field Fish Sauce Jar (Photo Collected)
The fish are cleaned, drained, rubbed with salt, marinated with crushed galangal and thinly sliced onions, mixed well, and then put into jars. In summer, they are fermented for about three to five days, and in winter, for a longer period. The fish must be carefully cut to avoid breaking the gallbladder, as this would make the sauce bitter. Sticky rice is cooked, cooled, mixed with yeast, and then fermented in a basket lined with banana leaves.
When the sticky rice has fermented and smells like wine, it is mixed with the marinated fish. Essential spices include thinly sliced betel leaves and red rice leaves. Everything is mixed well and put into jars, sealed tightly. After about ten months, the sauce is well fermented, with both the meat and bones thoroughly seasoned. Good fish sauce has a reddish-brown color, a strong and aromatic smell, with the fish remaining whole and the rice grains intact.
There are many ways to enjoy field fish sauce. Besides using it as a dip for meats, vegetables, or cơm lam (sticky rice in bamboo), locals also stir-fry it with de-seeded tram fruit, creating a unique dish characteristic of the Tày people in Tuyen Quang Province.
Stream Goby Fish
The famous grilled folded goby fish, though delicious, savory, and fragrant with mountainous flavors, tends to be slightly dry. Meanwhile, the buried and grilled goby fish is fragrant, moist, and sweet. Therefore, for many connoisseurs, the buried and grilled goby fish truly embodies the rich flavors of the forest, retaining the authentic taste of local cuisine.
Stream Goby Fish can be cooked into many delicious dishes (Photo Collected)
When the bundle of fish is opened, everything is still steaming hot, with a thin layer of vapor rising, faint and hazy like morning mist. The strong, enticing aroma permeates the air, making it visually appealing and mouth-watering, irresistibly tempting one to sneak a taste immediately…
Dried Buffalo Meat
Buffalo meat from the Tuyen Quang mountain region is famous for being clean, fragrant, and sweet. When the buffalo is slaughtered, the lean meat is tenderized and marinated with garlic, ginger, chili, lemongrass, and other spices, then dried over charcoal or smoked in a kitchen loft. The spicy heat of the chili combined with the warmth of the ginger and the aroma of “mắc khén” peppers create the distinctive flavor of Northwestern Vietnam’s dried buffalo meat.
Dried Buffalo Meat (Smoked Buffalo Meat) is a delicious, traditional dish (Photo Collected)
For a long time, this specialty has been popular and frequently sought after. Dried buffalo meat is not only cherished for its delicious flavor but also for the cultural essence it embodies.
Sour Meat
Sour meat is a traditional dish, deeply representative of the Tay ethnic cuisine in Na Hang. To create a delicious and characteristic sour pork dish requires skilled hands and meticulous attention from the locals. In the preparation process, selecting the right quality of meat is crucial – pork belly, a cut that includes both lean and fat (the best being from “lợn lửng” or free-range black pigs, raised by the villagers).
Na Hang Sour Meat (Photo Collected)
With meat that has been marinated longer, when eaten, each piece of meat is removed, discarding the cold rice. The meat becomes firm, pale in color, with the crispness of fat, and the chewiness of the skin and lean meat. It is eaten with betel leaves to fully enjoy the deliciousness of the sour meat, with the fragrance of fresh betel leaves blending into a very memorable flavor.
Da Vi Rice Cake
The rice cake of the Tay people at Da Vi market has long been familiar to locals and tourists. With its unique characteristics such as flavor and crispness, the rice cake from this area has been loved and remembered by many.
Locals selling rice cake at Da Vi market (Photo: Baotuyenquang.com.vn)
The nuttiness of roasted peanuts, combined with the light and rich flavor of the rice, and the creamy taste of the sauce blend together harmoniously, evoking many emotions about a very peaceful land. The rice cake, cut into small pieces and dipped in soy sauce or the Tay people’s special dipping sauce, is absolutely delicious.
Each market day, the women making rice cakes earn from 300,000 VND upwards and are even happier when customers praise their tasty product. The rice cake at Da Vi market has become a distinctive culinary culture of the locality, making every tourist who has tasted it once remember it forever and look forward to returning.
Rocket Pigs
Raising black pigs under the forest canopy has been a traditional occupation for generations of the Tay and Dao people in the highland areas of Tuyen Quang like Lam Binh, Na Hang. While many people choose industrial or semi-industrial farming due to market demands, most locals in these communes still maintain the tradition of raising black pigs through natural free-range methods. That’s why every Tet holiday, connoisseurs from lower regions seek out black pigs from Lam Binh…
Due to its slender shape, this pig breed is known as the rocket pig (Photo Collected)
Na Hang Fiddlehead Ferns
The Tay ethnic people of Na Hang refer to fiddlehead ferns as “Phéc cút”. This plant is found only in the high mountain regions, near the origins of rivers and streams, and typically grows on the banks of streams and in damp, moist areas. From fiddlehead ferns, various rustic dishes can be prepared, such as boiled fiddlehead ferns, fiddlehead fern salad, fiddlehead ferns sautéed with garlic, and fiddlehead fern soup.
Fiddlehead Fern Salad (Photo Collected)
Fiddlehead ferns, at a glance, resemble fern plants with large stems, wide fronds, and smooth green leaves. This type of plant only grows on the banks of streams and in high humidity areas. The fiddlehead fern salad is one of the special delicacies waiting for you to enjoy when visiting Na Hang. The salad has a distinctive aroma of greens, the nutty taste of fiddlehead ferns, and a sweet and sour flavor mixed with a hint of spiciness from chili, making it delicious and unique.
Sticky Rice in Bamboo
Sticky rice in bamboo, or ‘cơm lam’, is made from hill-grown glutinous rice, thorny bamboo tubes, and well water. To make a delicious bamboo sticky rice, one must choose the right type of bamboo, usually the solid kind; the glutinous rice should be white, sticky, and aromatic, soaked, rinsed clean, then mixed with a bit of salt for flavor before being put into the bamboo tubes.
Grilled Bamboo Sticky Rice can be found throughout the northern mountainous regions (Photo Collected)
When adding rice into the bamboo, it should not be packed too tightly, and water should be poured in, leaving a space of 2 – 4 cm from the top of the tube, then sealed tightly with dong leaves or banana leaves. However, grilling bamboo sticky rice is an art that not everyone can master.
Doi Seeds
It’s not without reason that Doi seeds are called “black gold.” Doi seeds are a spice used for dipping sauces and marinating food. Those who have experienced the rich fragrance of Doi seeds and tasted dishes seasoned with this spice will understand their precious value. With extensive forest coverage, many pristine woods, and suitable soil and climate conditions, the forests in our province are rich in Doi trees.
Na Hang Doi Seeds are very aromatic and delicious (Photo Collected)
It is often said that doi wood is second only to ironwood and above rubberwood in terms of quality. Due to the value of its sturdy, long-lasting wood with beautiful grain and color, doi wood is eagerly sought after by carpenters for making high-quality furniture. This has led to rampant logging and a severe decrease in the number of doi trees. Not only is the doi tree known for its high-quality, attractive wood, but its seeds are also of value.
Wild Bamboo Shoots
Tuyen Quang is covered by over 60% forest area. Therefore, bamboo shoots are a familiar food item to the locals here. Depending on the type, such as bamboo shoots, Mai shoots, Hop shoots, Giang shoots, Nua shoots, and Vau shoots, they can be stir-fried, cooked, boiled, grilled, stuffed with meat, or pickled to create many delicious and enticing dishes.
Bamboo shoots can be used in many dishes, but stuffed bamboo shoots are the most uniquely delicious (Photo Collected)
Harvested mainly during the rainy season around July-August, bamboo shoots are a favorite food of the local people in Na Hang and are used in many delicious dishes like stuffed bamboo shoots, bamboo shoot soup, or dried bamboo shoots.
Minh Huong Muscovy Duck
Minh Huong Muscovy Duck, also known as stream duck, is a native breed of Muscovy duck that has been in Minh Huong commune, Ham Yen district, Tuyen Quang province for a long time. The duck meat, when cooked, is known for its delicious and distinctive flavor.
Minh Huong Muscovy Duck is recognized as a specialty of Tuyen Quang (Photo Collected)
The ducks swim in streams and mainly feed on paddy rice, bananas, snails, and coi voi grass, making the Minh Huong Muscovy Duck meat exceptionally tasty and nutritious.
Tuyen Quang Dried Bamboo Shoots
Bamboo shoots are a common food in Vietnamese cuisine. While fresh bamboo shoots are valuable, dried bamboo shoots are even more prized. Dried bamboo shoots can be used in a variety of dishes such as stir-frying, stewing with bones, cooking in duck or goose noodle soup. According to traditional medicine, bamboo shoots have a sweet taste with a hint of bitterness and are cool in nature. Thus, dried bamboo shoots are effective in reducing phlegm, lowering qi, and clearing heat. They are also commonly used as food and medicine for people with colds, indigestion, and cough due to lung heat.
Tuyen Quang dried bamboo shoots are usually sold at highland markets in Na Hang, such as the markets in Lam Binh, Lang Can, Na Hang. These markets are held on Thursdays and Sundays every week in Thượng Lâm commune. The bamboo shoots are soft, crunchy, with thick, dense, firm flesh, and are fiber-free. Tuyen Quang bamboo shoots can be prepared in many popular dishes like stir-fried bamboo shoots, stuffed bamboo shoots, boiled bamboo shoots…
Tuyen Quang Specialties as Gifts
Na Hang Corn Wine
The traditional culture of Vietnamese ethnic groups is vividly represented in their traditional dishes, but each ethnic group has its own way of preparing food and drinks. The Tay people in Na Hang district, Tuyen Quang province, have a rich traditional culinary culture with many characteristic dishes and drinks of the mountainous region, leaving a deep impression on those who have had the chance to taste them, especially their famous and delicious corn wine.
Na Hang Corn Wine is a specialty of this highland district (Photo Collected)
During the wine-making process, the Tay people often have a taboo against allowing those who have recently assisted in childbirth or attended a funeral to look at or touch the wine. Women who have given birth are only allowed to come into contact with the wine after 40 days. When brewing wine, they usually place an old knife in the cooking fire, and if someone who is considered inauspicious happens to come by or ask questions, they pull out the knife and stick it next to the stove. This is a traditional method to prevent the wine from spoiling. To produce their famous aromatic and delicious wine, the Tay people in Na Hang district must strictly adhere to these basic practices.
Drinking Na Hang corn wine allows one to fully appreciate the hard work, effort, and genuine warmth of the local people, which is infused in every drop of the wine. The reason Na Hang corn wine is not only famous but also a labor of love for the locals is that it represents a cultural heritage, now becoming an indispensable part of the tourism products, contributing to the pride of the people of Na Hang in particular and Tuyen Quang in general.
Chiem Hoa Thorn Cake
This cake is usually made during the Vu Lan festival season. During this time, people wish to personally make delicious thorn cakes to offer to their ancestors as a sign of their sincere respect. Chiem Hoa thorn cake is made from thorn leaves, glutinous rice, mung beans, shredded coconut, pumpkin jam, lotus seeds, banana oil, and pork fat. To make a delicious cake, one should choose clean-shelled Cai Hoa Vang glutinous rice, soak it in cold water overnight, then drain and grind it into flour.
Chiem Hoa Thorn Cake (Photo Collected)
Thorn leaves are dried, stripped of veins, cut small, boiled, then thoroughly squeezed of water and ground into a fine paste to mix with flour and sugar cane syrup for the cake’s outer layer. The flavor of thorn leaves combined with the aroma of glutinous rice and dry banana leaves creates the distinctive taste of Chiem Hoa thorn cake.
Similar to other thorn cakes, the Chiem Hoa version also has the characteristic black color from the thorn leaves. When eaten, it has a mild sweetness from the leaves and a nutty, sweet flavor from the rock sugar and bean filling. Notably, the filling also includes pork fat, making it very rich and savory. All these elements create a very special flavor for the Chiem Hoa thorn cake.
When you eat it, you won’t confuse it with any other thorn cake. The flavor here is very distinctive. It’s not overly sweet, so you won’t feel overwhelmed. The moderate sweetness doesn’t cause discomfort in the throat. The flavor of the green beans blends with fresh coconut, creating a taste that is rich but not cloying. The aroma of the thorn leaves is intoxicating.
Ham Yen Tangerines
Locals often refer to Ham Yen tangerines as Muong village tangerines. Ham Yen tangerines are grown in high mountain areas, absorbing the essence of the soil, sun, and pristine source water. This results in a distinctive sweet taste, fragrant aroma, and juicy fruit. The scent and taste are markedly different from tangerines grown in other regions.
Ham Yen Tangerines (Photo Collected)
Ham Yen tangerines have been recognized as one of the 50 specialty fruits of Vietnam, ranking in the top 10 famous brands and trademarks, becoming a key crop and a source of wealth for local farmers.
Xuan Van Seedless Persimmons
As the weather begins to turn to autumn, especially around the time of the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, the people of Xuan Van commune, Yen Son district, Tuyen Quang province become busy with the persimmon harvest season. Xuan Van seedless persimmons are elongated in shape, with 3 to 4 longitudinal grooves running from the stem to the middle of the fruit.
When freshly picked, the persimmons are about the size of a chicken egg, approximately 15 – 16 fruits per kilogram, with a shiny skin that is green with a hint of yellow. The fruit has four segments that are firmly attached, making them difficult to fall off. The fruit is completely seedless, and the cross-section of the fruit reveals a flower-like pattern with 8 to 10 evenly spaced petals, slightly red in color, contrasting with the flesh of the fruit.
Xuan Van Seedless Persimmons (Photo Collected)
Xuan Van persimmons don’t require chemical treatment and can be eaten after soaking in clean water for 2 days and 2 nights. The fruit’s flesh is an eye-catching orange-yellow to dark yellow color, smooth with very few black spots, and contains sugar crystals, so when eaten, one can taste the sharp sweetness, crispness, and distinctive aroma of this native persimmon variety. This is why Xuan Van persimmons are well-known to customers both near and far, inside and outside the province.
Hong Thai Pears
When mentioning Hong Thai, one cannot overlook the pear trees, a specialty species that has long been cultivated in this region. The pears of Hong Thai are known for their sour and bitter taste, which only those accustomed to it can fully appreciate.
Tuyen Quang Bat Tien Tea
Bat Tien tea is a variety imported from Taiwan and crossbred with local tea varieties. Bat Tien tea has smaller and firmer tea stems compared to other types of tea, and its leaves also have down but not as much. Bat Tien refers to the eight immortals, extremely famous in Chinese mythology and revered by many. The images of the eight immortals are depicted in various products such as paintings (Bat Tien crossing the sea), sculptures, ceramics, and even tea is named after these immortals.
Bat Tien Tea (Photo Collected)
Bat Tien tea has a refreshing taste and a cool, gentle aroma. Drinking it regularly helps cool the body, eases bowel movements, prevents bloating, speeds up metabolism, eliminates excess calories, and aids in weight loss. Especially, Bat Tien tea helps to improve skin texture, making it smoother and more beautiful for women.
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