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Travel to Dak Lak - the heart of the Central Highlands, captivating travelers not only with majestic natural landscapes but also with exquisite local delicacies.
Discover the 8 tantalizing dishes of Dak Lak cuisine that enthrall tourists
1. Ban Don Grilled Chicken
To ensure delicious grilled chicken that delights tourists, locals in Ban Don must carefully raise selected chickens and have their own method of preparing the dish. Firstly, the chicken breed must be authentic free-range chickens. With expansive land and sparse gardens, chickens raised here roam freely, feasting on tender grass, insects, and rice paddies.
The selected chickens for grilling are newly grown, weighing over a kilogram each. After preparation, the chickens are left whole, gradually flattened, then marinated with salt, chili, lemongrass water, and a dash of wild honey. To enjoy Ban Don grilled chicken authentically, tourists must dip the chicken meat in chili salt or lemongrass salt.
2. Snakehead Fish Braised in Rieng Essence
The dish of snakehead fish braised in rieng essence is a traditional delicacy of the ethnic minorities in Dak Lak. The snakehead fish of the Central Highlands reside right within the cascading waterfalls. This fish species thrives in environments where water cascades from high altitudes, boasting small, white bodies, and firm, round structures akin to fingers.
Fresh fish, vibrant and lively, are meticulously cleaned of their sliminess and lightly salted to firm them up. Then, the fish are rinsed clean and crushed. The pan is heated, a dash of cooking oil or rendered fat is added, boiled until hot, then the fish are fried until golden, and the prepared crushed rieng is poured in. The fragrance of rieng and fish wafts up enticingly, waiting for the rieng and fish to meld together. At this point, salted fish sauce and spices such as onions, pepper, chili, sugar, and MSG are added to create a balanced flavor. Forgetting to taste the snakehead fish braised in rieng essence when traveling to Dak Lak would indeed be a significant oversight for tourists.
3. Forest Vegetable Hotpot
Known as a dual forest vegetable hotpot, resembling more of a soup, with 10 types of forest leaves carefully selected and cooked with dried shrimp or various meats. This forest vegetable hotpot was initially crafted by the E De ethnic group when confronting challenging living conditions. To secure daily sustenance, they ventured into the forests to gather various leaves for soup-making. Over time, forest leaf hotpot has evolved into a local specialty of the indigenous people and is highly appealing to tourists.
4. Venison
Deer meat is the primary specialty of the Central Highlands mountainous forests, especially in Dak Lak. Fresh deer meat differs from beef in having fewer tendons, white fat, and a softer texture than veal.
Deer meat can be prepared in many dishes: grilled deer, stir-fried deer, deer dipped in vinegar, deer salad, fried deer ribs, deer offal porridge, and finally dried deer, totaling 7 dishes like beef. However, grilled deer, deer dipped in vinegar, and dried deer are the most typical dishes.
5. Snakehead Fish Hotpot
The wild, mysterious, and fierce Serepok River has bestowed upon a precious fish, the firm and fragrant snakehead fish, which is a famous delicacy. Snakehead fish can be prepared in many dishes, but the most impressive is still the snakehead fish hotpot with a unique flavor that deeply embodies the Central Highlands essence. This dish is delicious and has excellent cooling properties on hot days.
6. Bamboo Shoots
Bamboo belongs to the half-grass family and is quite typical in the Central Highlands region. Bamboo has a strong spreading ability, and its resilience is astonishing. Bamboo shoots from the top of the bamboo plant are used fresh or cut into slices and dried. Bamboo shoots are the best type among bamboo shoots like bamboo and bamboo thanks to their dense pulp, sweet, slightly bitter, not astringent taste, etc.
With fresh bamboo shoots, you can create simple yet flavorful dishes such as mixed bamboo shoot salad or bamboo shoot cooked with duck meat, braised bamboo shoot with pork knuckle, or stir-fried bamboo shoot with liver are all delicious. In rural areas, guests are invited to enjoy a meal of sticky rice with bamboo shoots cooked with dried deer meat, served with salt, chili leaves, and rare peppers, an unforgettable experience.
7. Bamboo Rice
Bamboo rice is a famous dish among the people of Ban Don. Bamboo rice is considered the most characteristic dish of the mountainous forest, distilled from the sweet taste of cool streams and the aroma of fresh green bamboo. This dish originated from the long days of logging and forest trips of the men of the Central Highlands in the past.
When enjoying, simply peel off the outer layer, cut into pieces, and you have a delicious and fragrant bamboo rice dish. People of the Central Highlands often enjoy bamboo rice with sesame salt, chicken, or wild pork. The clear mountain stream water along with the sweet taste of the young bamboo shoots at the top of the mountain has created a uniquely flavored bamboo rice dish, captivating anyone who has ever tasted it.
8. Bitter Eggplant
Bitter eggplant is a type of wild eggplant that grows abundantly in the forests and fields, and is now cultivated by people in the Central Highlands region in their home gardens, yielding fruit all year round. The eggplants are longer and larger than those of the Kinh people, with thorns, green with white streaks, and notably have a very distinctive bitter taste.
Bitter eggplant is a versatile ingredient in the daily meals of the E De ethnic group, used in various dishes such as cooking with fresh fish, dried fish, dried shrimp, wild meat, etc. Besides cooking, the E De people also enjoy raw bitter eggplant by crushing the eggplant and adding spices: salt, chili, MSG, lá é, leaves, and crushed tubers.
As per Traveltimes.vn
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Reference: Travel guide Mytour
MytourMarch 3, 2015
