Buzz
What could be more fantastic than traveling to the Northwestern mountains – Cao Bang, with its crystal-clear rice fields, to immediately indulge in the local specialties. Below are the top 10 renowned and delicious specialties of Cao Bang that you must try when you have the opportunity to visit this region.
1. Seven-Flavor Roast Duck
Any traveler who sets foot in Cao Bang praises the deliciousness of this dish. It's called Seven-Flavor Roast Duck because the people of Cao Bang use 7 different spices to marinate this duck dish.
Cao Bang Roast Duck (Photo collection)
Unlike ordinary duck dishes, Cao Bang Roast Duck starts with the meticulous selection of ducks. The people of Cao Bang choose ducks that are firm and brightly feathered. Most importantly, the ducks are marinated with all 7 flavors – perhaps the unique secret of the Tày people living in Cao Bang, resulting in a uniquely enticing aroma when roasted.
(Photo collection)
A layer of delicious honey is evenly spread on the duck. The shiny honey-coated skin stimulates your taste buds. As you savor the first bites, chew slowly to fully appreciate the sweet taste of wild honey blending with the rich flavor of the oil. The deliciousness of the roast duck permeates your palate.
'..Coat the duck evenly with a layer of delicious honey' (Photo collection)
2. Khao Cake
Khao Cake is one of the famous specialties of Cao Bang that many people love. Every spring, Khao Cake is an indispensable item on the ancestral altar during worship ceremonies.
Khao Cake (Photo collection)
The main ingredient for making Khao Cake is glutinous rice, delicious, fragrant, with round and evenly sticky grains. Locals use either cane sugar or molasses to make Khao Cake. The filling has the nutty flavor of peanuts, sesame seeds blending with the rich taste of lard.
The main ingredient for making Khao Cake is glutinous rice, delicious, fragrant, with round and evenly sticky grains (Photo collection)
Skillful artisans meticulously wrap the cakes into neat rectangular shapes. When you eat, you'll experience the rich aroma of glutinous rice, the sweet and refreshing taste of sugar that you'll never forget.
(Photo collection)
And don't forget to bring them as gifts for your friends or family!
3. Ant Egg Cake
Ant Egg Cake is made from glutinous rice, ant eggs, and young leaves of the fig tree. Around April and May each year, the Tay ethnic people in Cao Bằng province gather in the forest to find black ant eggs to make the cake.
The locals often choose small ants with slender bodies, sharp tails, usually nesting on fig trees. They bring these ants home, cook them in pig fat for a delightful aroma, add a touch of sesame leaves, and sprinkle a layer of flour before steaming in a tray.
“..Ant Egg Cake is chewy and delightfully fragrant with the scent of ant eggs” (Photo collection)
Waiting for each moment as the cake cooks, the enticing aroma of fig leaves captivates tourists when they first taste this dish. Biting into the first pieces, the chewiness and fragrant scent of ant eggs make it irresistibly delicious.
4. Lam Sweet Soup Cake
Besides the rich and savory Ant Egg Cake, we cannot overlook the traditional Lam Sweet Soup Cake. This is a culinary heritage of the people of Cao Bang.
Lam Sweet Soup Cake (Photo collection)
The cake is made with roasted glutinous rice flour, roasted peanuts, ginger, and molasses. When you indulge in it, you can feel the chewiness of glutinous rice flour, the outer sweetness of molasses, and a hint of spiciness from ginger, complemented by the nutty texture of peanuts.
Sip a cup of hot tea alongside Lam Sweet Soup Cake (Photo collection)
Indulge in a cup of hot tea alongside Lam Sweet Soup Cake while admiring the nature of Cao Bang. All of it brings you a sense of tranquility, lightness, and comfort like never before.
5. Edible Fern
Edible Fern, also known as ostrich fern, often grows wild in rocky mountainous areas. This is a delicate vine plant, with many large branches resembling a fork, clinging to the trees to catch sunlight.
Edible Fern (Photo collection)
Every spring and summer, the feasts of the locals here always feature sautéed edible fern with beef, pork offal, and chicken innards. This wild vegetable is unique and unlike any other.
(Photo collection)
Edible fern has become a specialty vegetable in Cao Bang.
6. Black Fungus Vermicelli
For a long time, Cao Bang has been renowned for its black fungus vermicelli made from pure dong root powder, delicious
Black Fungus Vermicelli (Photo collection)
With the skill and experience of the locals, they have created strands of vermicelli that are shiny, beautiful, crispy, chewy, and have the distinctive aroma of dong powder without using any chemicals.
Strands of vermicelli that are shiny, beautiful, crispy, chewy, and have the distinctive aroma of dong powder (Photo collection)
In the Tet feast, the people of Cao Bang enjoy a bowl of vermicelli cooked with chicken, accompanied by morel and shiitake mushrooms, a traditional and heartwarming dish of the mountainous region.
7. Grilled Pork Ribs
If you visit Cao Bang, don't forget to buy Grilled Pork Ribs as a gift.
Grilled Pork Ribs (Photo collection)
Cao Bang's Grilled Pork Ribs are meticulously prepared. The filling is made from loin and shoulder meat, marinated with spices, honey, and a touch of white wine, ginger, and ground dried mac mat fruit.
After about 2-3 days of sun drying, they are hung over the fire, where the smoke and heat from the fire infuse the meat with a firm and delightful taste. The first bite will leave an unforgettable flavor of Grilled Pork Ribs from the Northwest mountains lingering on your palate.
Sun-dried and hung over the fire for a firmer and more delicious texture (Photo collection)
8. Trung Khanh Chestnut
Trung Khanh Chestnuts are the unique fruits found only in Cao Bang. They have a uniform brown color, are perfectly round, and even the smallest ones are as big as a thumb, suitable for boiling, roasting, drying, or simmering with pork shank and chicken meat while retaining their distinctive flavor.
Trung Khanh Chestnuts (Photo collection)
Harvest season comes around September and October each year. Travelers will fondly remember the delicious and nutty flavor of Trung Khanh Chestnuts they once had the pleasure of savoring.
9. Cao Bang Sticky Rice with Wild Black Sesame
As autumn sets in, the Tày-Nùng people head to the forests to pick chestnuts for making Cao Bang Sticky Rice with Wild Black Sesame. This dish is an essential part of the local cuisine in Cao Bang.
Cao Bang Sticky Rice with Wild Black Sesame (Photo collection)
Chestnuts for the sticky rice are cooked until tender, free from pests, soaked in water at a temperature of about 25 to 30 degrees Celsius until soft. The flesh is extracted from the nuts, mixed with well-prepared sticky rice, resulting in a smooth, pinkish-purple hue.
Chestnuts are cooked until tender, free from pests, soaked in water at a temperature of about 25 to 30 degrees Celsius until soft (Photo collection)
Indulge in the richness and unique flavor of Cao Bang Sticky Rice with Wild Black Sesame. How does this special sticky rice differ from other common varieties?
10. Upside-down Cake
In the winters of Cao Bang, thoughts turn to the Upside-down Cake. This dish quickly dispels the cold chill of the mountainous region.
Upside-down Cake (Photo collection)
At first glance, it resembles a fried doughnut, but with just a jar of flour, seasoned with simple spices, and a hot pan of oil, each molded piece of batter is dipped into the boiling oil to tantalize your cravings.
A dish loved by many in Cao Bang, remembered even when far away (Photo collection)
A dish loved by many in Cao Bang, remembered even when far away. On cold winter days in Cao Bang, you can visit a roadside eatery, order a serving of upside-down cake, and warm up in the chilling weather. It's truly an unforgettable experience.
