Top 10 Finest Local Delicacies in Lục Ngạn, Bắc Giang

Among the renowned treasures of Bắc Giang, one cannot overlook lychee, especially the Lục Ngạn lychee. Lychee is the most extensively cultivated fruit in Lục Ngạn. When ripe, the red-skinned lychee boasts a thin peel, small seed, and sweet, deep flavor. Its refreshing aroma makes every bite irresistible. The lychee season typically spans from June to July each year.

Chũ Noodles are an essential delight when mentioning Lục Ngạn. Noodle crafting is a traditional craft in most households in Chũ town, hence the name Chũ Noodles. Made from Bao Thai Hong rice, the noodles have a chewy, smooth texture. Importantly, Bao Thai Hong rice must be cultivated on the Chũ hills, not in paddy fields.

Chũ Noodles are thinly spread like rice paper, air-dried, then moistened slightly to achieve a sour taste. They are cut into strands like pho noodles, air-dried again, and bundled into small packs. The meticulous production process imparts a distinctively fragrant and chewy quality to Chũ Noodles. Best enjoyed in hotpot dishes.

Canh Valley Orange or simply Canh Orange, belongs to the category of fruit-bearing trees with segments. When ripe, the peel of the fruit turns red, juicy with a distinctive aroma and a sweet taste. Alongside lychee, Canh Valley Orange is extensively cultivated on rocky hills in Luc Ngan. Its harvest season falls between November and December every year.

Ant egg sticky rice is a specialty of the Northwestern mountainous region. Ant eggs contribute a unique flavor to this dish, making its taste incomparable. The key ingredients, ant eggs, are rare and challenging to prepare. Proper cooking methods are essential to produce a delicious and aromatic final product.

Anyone who has had the pleasure of enjoying Luc Ngan's ant egg sticky rice will remember it forever. While there are various dishes made from ant eggs, locals commonly use them to prepare sticky rice. This dish is made with young ant eggs, sticky glutinous rice, along with added fat, onions, pepper, and spices.

Every year, during lychee blossom season (February), the people of Luc Ngan district joyfully welcome the honey collection season. This place has become a land where bee colonies thrive, producing over 1 million liters of honey annually.

Distinct from other types of flower honey, lychee blossom honey carries the refreshing aroma unique to lychee blossoms. It is harvested by bees raised in Luc Ngan, collecting nectar from lychee trees grown in the region's clean soil, ensuring food safety and hygiene. Lychee blossom honey is thick, sweet, with a glossy golden color, gaining fame nationwide.

Three-color glutinous rice is a unique traditional dish that reflects the distinctive culinary culture of the Nung ethnic group in Luc Ngan district. The name itself gives a glimpse into the dish—simple, 100% natural, using colorful leaves like purple leaves, green beans, and pandan leaves from nature to create beautiful hues.

If you have the opportunity to taste the Nung people's three-color glutinous rice, you'll never forget the soft, fragrant texture of the glutinous rice, unlike any other. The skillful and meticulous cooking process ensures the rice remains tender even when cooled.

Each color in the rice symbolizes different meanings—green for the natural world, yellow for prosperity, and purple representing the loyalty and hearts of the Nung people. When enjoying this dish, diners not only savor the cuisine but also witness the heartfelt connection of the locals.

This is a distinctive dish of the San Riu ethnic group in the Luc Ngan region. The ingredients for making hand-pounded shoulder cake include glutinous rice, sugar, green beans, banana leaves, and mugwort...

The glutinous rice is finely ground using a stone mortar; mugwort leaves are boiled and soaked in lime water to reduce bitterness, then ground and mixed with glutinous rice flour to create the outer layer of the cake. Green beans, peeled and cooked with a small amount of sugar, are used as the filling. After molding and wrapping the cake with banana leaves, it is steamed for about two hours, then drained and ready to serve.

Indigenous mountain people in Luc Ngan district, Bac Giang, often craft unique cakes to welcome guests. If you find yourself in the highlands of Luc Ngan in early spring, don't miss the chance to savor the extraordinary Sucking Cake. Made from glutinous rice flour, sugarcane honey, and spicy mustard greens.

The cake-making process is simple and easy. Mustard greens are cleaned, minced, and squeezed for juice. The glutinous rice flour is kneaded with mustard green juice, then molded into cakes (rounded like floating cakes) and deep-fried until golden. Quickly dipped into a pot of sugarcane honey (simmering over low heat). The cake absorbs the honey, becoming round and full inside. Retrieve the cake and roll it in a layer of glutinous rice flour. The cake has a sweet aroma of sugarcane honey blending perfectly with the glutinous rice.

Locals here only make this cake during Tet (Lunar New Year) to welcome guests and offer as gifts to relatives, symbolizing the protective and nurturing nature, thin but never letting the honey spill out.

The variety of persimmons in Huyen Son has become the specialty of the mountainous area along the Luc River. Huyen Son persimmons are renowned for applying advanced techniques in cultivation and care, resulting in high productivity and excellent quality, ensuring stable sales. Huyen Son persimmons are large, uniform, and maintain their colors longer than other varieties in different locations. Due to staggered harvesting, the ripening period of persimmons extends, relieving growers of market pressure.

Ke Rice Cake stands out with its distinctive large size and unique colors, unlike any cakes from elsewhere. From a distance, these rice cakes resemble the traditional conical hats of the Quan Ho singing tradition, graceful, gentle, and imbued with rural charm.

Ke Rice Cake is a delectable specialty known for its nutty, fragrant blend of peanuts, sesame seeds, and sweet potatoes, harmonizing with the delicious rice of the mountainous midland region. Crafted with skillful hands, it has become a hallmark of the people of Bac Giang.

At first glance, this cake may seem simple, but its creation involves meticulous craftsmanship. The key ingredients are high-quality rice soaked in water, finely ground to create a smooth and white flour, mixed evenly with ripe gac fruit. This mixture is then spread onto a tray, concentrating at the center and evenly distributed around.

While Ke is not the village famous for making Ke Rice Cakes, visitors to Luc Ngan district can savor them in various eateries and restaurants, experiencing a flavor that rivals any renowned destination.