Buzz
Sapa boasts a plethora of delicious and renowned specialties, brimming with the flavors of the mountains and forests. When visiting this region, don't forget to indulge in and purchase some to bring back as gifts for friends and family. Below are 12 renowned specialties of Sapa that you should try.
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1. Grilled mountain stream fish
Grilled mountain stream fish is one of the famous dishes of Sapa that every visitor here wants to taste. The fish are caught from the streams, cleaned, and grilled over charcoal. Because the fish live in a natural environment, their meat is firm, sweet, and fragrant, not muddy or fishy like farmed fish.
There are also many types of mountain stream fish, such as carp, minnow, flat-bodied fish, etc., and their sizes are small, usually only as big as a finger. Besides grilling, mountain stream fish can also be marinated for frying until crispy, then dipped in fish sauce mixed with garlic, chili, and lime. The price of a plate of grilled mountain stream fish is only about 120,000 Vietnamese dong.
2. Sapa Salmon
The second specialty of Sapa that we want to introduce is Sapa salmon. This dish sounds very 'Western' but the price is very Vietnamese. The salmon in Sapa is very firm, not fatty, and has a fresh pink color. When eaten, it is both soft and sweet. Salmon can be prepared in many different ways, such as steaming, hotpot, deep-frying, grilling, making curry, or making salad. Salmon is often served with some of Sapa's local vegetables and enjoyed with a few cups of corn wine to ensure warmth in the mountain cold.
3. Black Chicken Meat
If you're wondering what specialties Sapa has to offer, the answer is black chicken meat. This is a dish commonly found on the menus of restaurants in Sapa. The black chickens in Sapa are free-range, so the meat is very firm and flavorful. Black chicken meat can be prepared in various ways such as boiled, steamed, fried, etc., but the most delicious is grilled black chicken with wild honey. This dish is usually served with mint leaves and dipped in a mixture of salt, pepper, and lime. Rest assured, once you try this specialty dish in Sapa, you'll never forget it.
4. Corn Cake
When it comes to Sapa's specialty dishes, corn cake, also known as 'Páu pó cừ', cannot be overlooked. This dish is made from ground young corn molded into cakes and fried in a hot pan or wrapped in fresh banana leaves for steaming. To enhance the flavor, people often eat corn cake with a bit of sugar. This type of corn cake is widely available in market areas at a price of only about 10,000 Vietnamese dong per piece.
5. Cat Ear Greens
Cat ear greens are a specialty vegetable of Sapa. They are grown by the Hmong people in abundance in the high mountain gardens. Unlike vegetables from other regions, Sapa's cat ear greens have a unique combination of sweetness and slight bitterness. Additionally, they are very tender and crispy. This vegetable can be prepared in various ways, the simplest being boiling or stir-frying with garlic. When cooking cat ear greens, adding some slices of ginger enhances the aroma and warmth of the dish.
6. Stone Sprouts
Are you wondering what Sapa's winter specialties are? In winter, Sapa offers a variety of specialties, with stone sprouts being the most prominent. The colder the weather, the sweeter the stone sprouts become. Stone sprouts are often stir-fried with buffalo meat by the locals in Sapa. Not only delicious, but stone sprouts are also considered a remedy for hangovers and beneficial for bone and joint health.
If you want to enjoy this specialty vegetable, head to Sapa between November and March next year because only during Sapa's winter do you find this type of vegetable.
7. Sapa Plum and Apricot
If you're looking to buy Sapa specialties as gifts, consider choosing Sapa plum and apricot. These are two famous fruits in Sapa, usually only available in summer. Sapa plums come in many different varieties, such as red plum, Hau plum, Ta Van plum, Ta Ly plum, or Tam Hoa plum. Sapa plums are characterized by their slightly sweet, slightly sour, slightly bitter taste, with small seeds that are crunchy when eaten.
In addition to plums, Sapa apricots are also highly favored by tourists, and almost everyone buys a few apricots to take home as gifts. They are called apricot 'ro' because apricots are usually packed in baskets for sale. Apricot 'ro' are small, just the size of a small cup of water. The outside of the apricot has soft, light gray fuzz, and when eaten, it has a slightly sour but fragrant taste, with a crunchy texture. The apricot kernels can be either yellow or white.
8. Cat Apples and Tiger Lychees
Cat apples and tiger lychees are both specialty fruits in Sapa, but they are only available in autumn, from August to October. Cat apples are often called 'sour bitter fruit' by the Hmong people because when you taste this fruit, you'll experience a combination of sourness and bitterness. In traditional medicine, this fruit is called 'mountain tea fruit' and is very effective in treating illnesses, especially lowering blood pressure. The people living in Sapa often ferment or brew this fruit into a famous cat apple wine.
Tiger lychees, also known as Sapa pears, are usually available around early September. The skin of this fruit is slightly rough, with a mild sour taste and very refreshing, suitable for cooling off.
9. Sapa Wild Chestnuts
Sapa Wild Chestnuts are also a popular gift choice. If you want to eat them right away, you can buy pre-roasted chestnuts, but if you want to buy them as gifts, it's better to buy them fresh. Sapa wild chestnuts are widely available in market areas or food streets. These chestnuts are characterized by their golden yellow kernels, which are sweet, nutty, and fragrant. In addition to boiling and roasting, the local people also grind the chestnut kernels to use as filling for cakes instead of mung bean paste.
10. Sapa Sour Bamboo Shoots
Sapa sour bamboo shoots are equally famous as other specialties. These foods have a refreshing sour taste when eaten and can be enhanced with a few chili peppers for a spicy and crunchy flavor when cooked. Sour bamboo shoots are often cooked with fish, meat, or served as accompaniments to other dishes. To obtain this Sapa specialty, bamboo shoots are fermented in closed containers for 20 - 30 days.
11. Sapa Bamboo Shoots
Sapa Bamboo Shoots are actually the young shoots or sprouts of bamboo, typically around 20 - 30cm long. They often grow in the forests and are brought back by locals to be processed into various dishes, such as dried bamboo shoots, boiled bamboo shoots served with fish sauce, or pickled bamboo shoots. Bamboo shoots have a slightly bitter taste, but within that bitterness, there's an enticing sweetness.
12. Sapa Wine
Talking about Sapa specialties without mentioning wine would be a big mistake. There are two extremely famous types of wine in Sapa. One is cat apple wine, which is soaked from fresh cat apples, giving it a sweet and slightly bitter taste. The other famous wine is San Lung wine, fermented using traditional methods by the Red Dao people.
Aside from the Sapa specialties we've just introduced, this region still offers many other enticing specialty dishes. So, if you have the chance to visit Sapa, don't just focus on sightseeing; take some time to explore the specialties here. You'll definitely have an exciting culinary journey!
Posted by: Nguyen Thi Thuy Tien
Keywords: TOP 12 renowned specialties of Sapa far and wide
