Buzz
When you come to this land in the Northwest, you will have the opportunity to experience unique dishes from ingredients, preparation methods, to names.
Explore the unique culinary delights of Lao Cai, a journey you'll never forget.
Sui rolls
Sui rolls are also known as 'pho khan,' quite similar to 'pho Tiu.' It's a kind of soft white pho under the bowl, with a layer of crispy fried noodles on top, along with beef, and a richly cooked broth that has its own flavor. On top of the bowl of sui rolls are pepper, peanuts, herbs, and a few slices of chili.
In Lao Cai, there are many sui roll stalls and restaurants that cook in the Chinese style. However, most of the train passengers to Lao Cai often stop at the restaurant just a few steps from the station. Here, while waiting for the sui rolls, you can take the opportunity to clean yourself and prepare your luggage for the journey to explore Lao Cai.
Armpit pork
Another interesting thing about Lao Cai cuisine is the delicious and nutritious dishes made from armpit pork, including grilled, boiled, sausages, fake dog meat, rib soup, lap xuong (Vietnamese sausage), and smoked meat. Then there's roasted suckling pig, roasted duck, all delicious, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.
Sour pho in Bac Ha
A bowl of sour pho consists of freshly blanched pho, still warm, char siu pork, finely chopped raw vegetables, peanuts, and finally topped with a bit of sour broth. For sour pho, the key to its delicious taste is the sour broth. Traditionally, the sour broth is made by soaking and mixing vegetables with sugar water and then straining to get the sour water. This is a rigorous process, and the quality of the sour broth depends largely on the skill of the maker.
Before eating, you should add a little salt because sour pho will be slightly bland compared to everyone's general taste. Sour pho is best served cold, so it's suitable to eat in the summer. In winter, when you come to Bac Ha, you may have difficulty finding this dish because many places do not sell sour pho.
Bac Ha horse race victory
The most attractive and appealing dish that attracts a lot of people is the victory dish. Victory dishes are found in every mountainous region in the North, but in Lao Cai, they have a unique and distinctive flavor that cannot be found anywhere else because they are made from the 'six-offal five-tang' of horses. The indispensable spices include thao qua, dia lien along with dổi seeds, sả bulbs, cinnamon... marinated with meat before stir-frying and then simmering in a large pan.
With its characteristic seductive flavor, the boiling victory dish on the red fire stove looks quite eye-catching with pieces of meat, pale yellow fat, white lunar slices embellished with fresh green onions exuding the fragrant smell of meat, spices warming up the space amidst the cold weather. The victory dish becomes even more enticing when sipped with San Lung rice wine (Bat Xat), corn wine from Ban Pho (Bac Ha) distilled from the yeast made from the hong mi tree that makes diners immersed in the essence of the land and sky.
Bitter bamboo shoot spring rolls
This dish is prepared according to traditional secrets. People take bitter bamboo shoots, boil them until tender, then peel off the layers of tough leaves, soft and chewy like thin silk sheets. These ingredients are used as the outer layer of the spring roll, similar to the usual rice paper in ordinary fried spring rolls.
The filling of bitter bamboo shoot spring rolls is made from finely minced chicken. The chicken must be young, weighing no more than 0.6-0.7 kg each. The meat and bones are minced together with kiệu bulbs, coriander leaves, and spices: pepper, fish sauce. The filling is wrapped in bitter bamboo shoot leaves and fried until golden. The dish is presented on a small plate, looking very beautiful. When eating, diners will taste the bitterness of the bamboo shoots, the sweetness of the young chicken meat. The chewiness of the spring roll wrapper combined with the crunchy feeling of the filling in the mouth will make diners find it interesting.
Ty Ba fruit
Ty Ba fruit, also known as Western rhubarb, is a specialty of Lang Son, Lao Cai. Despite its relatively high retail price when it reaches Hanoi, many capital city visitors still buy it out of curiosity. Ripe Ty Ba fruit has a cool, fragrant aroma, a sweet or slightly sour taste (more sweet than sour), and is a type of fruit grown in the gardens of people in highland areas. This fruit, when soaked in sugar, is very good for treating sore throats and preventing colds in the cold season.
Salted pork
Among the delicious dishes made from pork, salted pork is one of the delicacies in the culinary repertoire of the people in the highlands of Lao Cai. When using salted pork, it can be fried or grilled according to each family's taste. When eaten, we have different sensations. There is the spiciness of ginger and chili, the fragrance of cinnamon, the slightly bitter taste of jackfruit leaves and betel leaves.
At the same time, a characteristic taste of salted pork is the combination of sourness and saltiness of the salt, the crispy and firm texture of the meat. Salted pork reduces the greasiness and greasiness of the fat. When eating, we can regain the sense of taste when we have eaten too much other food without feeling delicious. Salted pork is a rustic dish of people in the highlands, especially the Tay people in Bao Yen.
San Lung wine
San Lung wine has a fragrant aroma, a strong taste that quickly spreads the excitement to the 'six-offal five-tang,' to the smallest nerves. After the wine party, we feel light, refreshed, not dizzy or headache. Just a drop makes the lips soft, making us want another drop.
San Lung wine is processed very elaborately. The ingredients are carefully selected from sticky rice to milk at a certain elasticity. Before cooking, the rice is soaked until it becomes a dream and fermented with highland herbal medicines. The herbal fermentation has the taste of preventing cold, preventing flu, promoting blood circulation, reducing joint pain, and relieving headaches.
Mushroom of the foot of the bird
The heavy bundles of mushrooms are carried by Hmong girls to the market to sell in a separate row. The mushrooms are placed in baskets or laid on pieces of cloth, spread on the grass mat. Without the need for precise weighing, the girls just scoop each bowl full and sell them at a fair price: two thousand dong per bowl. Compared to other green vegetables in the market, mushroom of the foot of the bird is always sold out the fastest.
The mushrooms are stir-fried or cooked with meat when brought home. Enjoying the sweet taste of mushrooms, diners will have unforgettable memories of Bac Ha. Besides its use as food, mushroom of the foot of the bird also has many other benefits, classified as precious medicinal herbs.
According to Ngoisao.net
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Reference: Travel guide Mytour
MytourNovember 24, 2015
