Top 12 Most Unique Traditional Dishes in the Tết Feast of the Tay Ethnic Group

Bánh Khảo is a traditional treat that holds an essential place during Tết celebrations for the Tay people. This dish combines glutinous rice flour, symbolizing Mother Earth, the aromatic sesame seeds representing harmony and unity, and the sweet taste of sugar along with the fragrant white rice wine symbolizing love and affection. The cake is often wrapped in brightly colored paper and can last a long time without spoiling, maintaining its natural sweetness.

Typically prepared by grandmothers and mothers ahead of Tết, Bánh Khảo is made from roasted glutinous rice flour mixed with finely ground green bean paste. Several days before making the cakes, people select a special variety of rice called “Hèo” (a type of rice known for its fragrant and sticky qualities passed down through generations). The rice is then dried over a fire and popped by hand using a traditional machine that rotates over glowing charcoal. After 15-20 minutes, the rice is ready and ground into fine flour, which is sealed in plastic bags.

Similar to Bánh Khảo, Bánh Chè Lam is another beloved Tết delicacy of the Tay people. Chè Lam is a traditional treat from many rural regions of Vietnam, with each area offering its own unique take on the flavor. For the Tay people, this dish was historically prepared only during Tết celebrations, alongside Bánh Khảo and Bánh Chưng. However, with the evolving society and the growing demand from customers, Chè Lam is now made year-round.

This dish is a perfect blend of sticky rice flour, sweet honey, crunchy peanuts, and a hint of ginger's spiciness. While the ingredients are simple, the preparation process is intricate, from selecting and roasting the rice to grinding it, making the syrup, and finally mixing everything together. Bánh Chè Lam is soft but non-sticky, and its alluring fragrance makes it unforgettable for anyone lucky enough to try it. Once prepared, a portion is typically offered to the ancestors first, before being shared among the family to enjoy together.

During Tết celebrations, no Tay ethnic feast is complete without Khâu Nhục. This dish is made from pork belly, arranged in a mound resembling a hill, which is why it is called 'Khâu Nhục' (where 'Khâu' means hill and 'Nhục' means meat in the local language). It is also known as 'Nằm Khau' (meaning slow-cooked meat over a hill). While there are various interpretations, it simply refers to slow-cooked, tender pork.

When tasted, the pork is rich and tender, with the potatoes being both starchy and chewy. These two textures blend together beautifully. The dry radish and shredded dried bamboo shoots add a delightful crunch, while the black soybean paste lends a soft, nutty flavor. The dish is aromatic and savory, rich but not greasy, tender without being mushy. A small sip of wine with another bite enhances the joy, making the feast even livelier. Preparing Khâu Nhục is an intricate and labor-intensive process, which is why some people affectionately call it the 'hard work dish.' Nevertheless, Khâu Nhục adds a unique flavor to the festive table, reflecting the hospitality of the hosts and making the occasion more special.

Dried Buffalo Meat is a well-known Tết dish among the Tay people. This meat is used for long-term storage or to prepare specialty dishes such as buffalo meat cooked with mustard greens or stir-fried with garlic. Not only is dried buffalo meat a flavorful delicacy with deep highland tastes, but it also reflects the culture of the mountainous regions, making it a popular gift for visitors to the Tay community. The preparation of this dish is quite detailed, often beginning long before Tết.

Fresh buffalo meat is first marinated with spices, then either smoked over a fire or dried to preserve it for future consumption. Dried buffalo meat has gained significant fame and is now a beloved specialty. Its distinctive, rich aroma becomes even more pronounced when paired with Na Hang’s traditional corn wine. The flavor of this dish is unique, with smoky undertones from the fire, complemented by local spices like Mắc Khén and forest herbs.

Gio Cake (also called Tro Cake), known as “Pẻng tấu” in Tay language, is a traditional cake made during holidays and special occasions to offer to the heavens and ancestors. This cake is an essential part of Tay rituals and ceremonies. Made with simple, humble ingredients, it is surprisingly delicious. The cake has a subtly sweet flavor, enhanced by a slight bitterness from the lye water, giving it a unique taste that doesn’t become overwhelming. This simplicity reflects the culinary skill of the Tay people, who may not employ the intricate methods of the Thai, but always create dishes full of their own ethnic flavors and the essence of the northern mountains.

The name Gio Cake comes from one of its main ingredients—lye. The lye used to soak the rice and cook the cake is made by burning various woods like mistletoe, sour plum, and glutinous rice straw to create fine ash. The ash is then filtered to extract a brownish-yellow lye water. This lye water is used to soak the rice for several hours until the grains soften, and when rubbed between two fingers, they break apart. Only pure glutinous rice is used for the cake, with no regular rice mixed in. The cake is wrapped in dong leaves, chosen for their size and quality. The leaves are carefully cleaned and boiled before use. The cake is steamed with firewood from the forest, ensuring the best flavor.

Banana Cake for the Tay people is not only a way for children to show their deep gratitude to their parents but also to honor Vietnam's traditional cultural values during the Lunar New Year. Unlike other ethnic groups who engage in tea ceremonies or vegetarian diets, the Tay people prepare delicious banana cakes to offer to their ancestors as a sign of respect and to pray for blessings in life.

Making banana cakes is a skillful craft, often performed by mothers and grandmothers. The cakes are wrapped in pairs, using dried banana leaves for the wrapping. The meticulous, tidy wrapping reflects the care and craftsmanship of the women. To make a pair of banana cakes, the process is quite detailed, starting with the preparation of dried banana leaves for wrapping and high-quality glutinous rice. The cakes have a light brown color, a subtle sweetness, and a fragrant aroma. This is an essential item on the Tay people's ancestral altar during the Lunar New Year. The cakes are not overly sweet and have a long shelf life, making them a popular gift to offer guests during festive visits.

When talking about the most characteristic dishes of the Tay people's Lunar New Year celebrations, sour pork is undoubtedly a must-mention. Each ethnic group has its own method of making sour pork, but the Tay people have a unique way of preparing this dish, one that leaves a lasting impression on anyone who tries it. Sour pork is also a preservation method for pork when it is not consumed immediately. The Tay prepare this dish in a variety of ways for the New Year, such as stir-fried with sour bamboo shoots, stir-fried with galangal, or served with wild vegetables.

Making delicious and authentic sour pork requires considerable effort. The pork used must be from the special black pigs known as “lùng pigs,” which are raised in a free-range style. The meat is then mixed with a blend of herbs (including galangal, ginger, betel leaves, and red rice leaves) and local rice wine. The rice is either regular or glutinous, cooked and then cooled before being massaged into the meat, allowing the rice to absorb some of the saltiness. The fermentation process can take anywhere from five days to a month, depending on the weather and the desired taste. Once the pork has fermented to the right level of sourness, it’s ready to be enjoyed. Sour pork is typically eaten with sticky rice and is truly delicious.

Castrated rooster is a traditional dish that is an essential part of the Tay people's festive meals, often prepared to honor esteemed guests or during celebrations, especially at Lunar New Year. According to folk beliefs, the castrated rooster is considered a sacred offering to the ancestors, symbolizing the hope for a prosperous and peaceful new year.

The rooster chosen for this dish must be the largest and fattest available, thoroughly cleaned and boiled before being presented on the altar in a ceremonial manner. A castrated rooster is typically two to three times larger than a regular rooster. The meat is tender, juicy, yet firm, with thick and crispy skin, and after boiling, the rooster takes on a beautiful golden hue. This makes castrated rooster highly popular among the Tay people and other ethnic groups, especially for New Year celebrations or as a gift. The presence of castrated rooster or rooster meat is a must-have on the traditional Tet feast.

Roasted pork is a well-known dish of the Tay people in Van Lang (Lang Son), commonly served during Tet celebrations. For this dish, the locals typically choose small-boned, lean pigs weighing between 20-30 kg. The pig is slowly roasted over charcoal for about 3 hours, turning evenly until the skin becomes crispy and golden. To finish, a mixture of honey and vinegar is applied to the skin to achieve a fragrant, crispy outer layer.

Depending on the scale of the event, different sizes of pigs are chosen. During Tet, several families may come together to roast a larger pig weighing between 40-50 kg. The roasted pork is traditionally served with a dipping sauce made from the pig’s own juices, rich and flavorful with a unique scent of wild leaves and the local fruit, mac mat.

Bánh Chưng is one of the most important Tet dishes for the Tay people. Unlike the traditional square cakes of other ethnic groups, the Tay version is cylindrical, resembling the Kinh people’s Bánh Tét, and features a distinctive dark color. According to the elders, the cylindrical shape makes it more convenient to eat without wastage, as one person can finish it easily.

Made with local glutinous rice and black pork, the Tay Bánh Chưng has a unique flavor. To achieve the dark color of the rice, the Tay people burn the branches of wild salt trees into ash, finely sift it, and mix it with fragrant glutinous rice. The filling consists of thin slices of free-range pork belly marinated with salt and ground pepper, along with green mung beans and fresh dong leaves. For the Tay, Bánh Chưng holds spiritual significance during Tet, and if guests refuse to eat it, it is believed the cake isn’t made well and the year ahead will be unlucky.

Similar to many other ethnic groups in the northern mountains, Five-Color Sticky Rice (also known as black and red rice) is a must-have dish during the Tay people’s Tet celebrations. This sticky rice, served during Tet, features five colors symbolizing the five elements: white, green, black, red, and yellow, representing metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The colors are entirely derived from natural ingredients like turmeric and plant leaves, which not only create beautiful colors but also have medicinal benefits.

For the Tay, each color has its own meaning, symbolizing hopes for happiness, prosperity, and an abundant harvest. Red represents fire and warmth, yellow symbolizes rice and crops, purple stands for fertile soil, white signifies lasting love, and blue is associated with the traditional clothing of the Tay people. During the rice season, every Tay family grows their own special sticky rice for Tet, cultivating it on their rice fields. This round-grain rice has a fragrant, sweet flavor typical of highland areas. The Tay’s Five-Color Sticky Rice is best enjoyed with grilled fish or roasted meat.

Much like the Bánh Chưng, Sticky Rice Cake (Bánh Dày) is an essential Tet dish for the Tay people. While Bánh Chưng is considered the father, Bánh Dày is seen as the mother, often accompanying each other in traditional celebrations. The Tay people usually prepare Bánh Dày during important festivals like Tet or the harvest ceremony. In different regions, Bánh Dày is made in various ways, sometimes dyed with plant leaves or roots, or left white, but it always has a unique and delicious taste.

The Tay version of Bánh Dày is made with fragrant sticky rice that is steamed and pounded into a thick, smooth dough. This dough is then wrapped in banana leaves, sometimes with a bit of water added. There are two types of Bánh Dày: one with filling, usually green beans, and one without. The rice used for the cake is a local variety of sticky rice called 'nếp nương,' which is grown in the region’s highland areas. The Tay people believe that only this homegrown rice can produce the most fragrant and flavorful Bánh Dày, and rice grown elsewhere cannot match the distinct taste of their native grains.