Top 15 Irresistible Specialties of the Northwest Region

Bamboo-tube rice is a specialty of the ethnic Tay people in the Northwest region. This is a dish that perhaps no Vietnamese is unaware of, and even many foreign tourists love it. The rice is cooked in a special way, either in bamboo tubes or in nứa leaves. When cooked, the rice is very sticky and sweet due to absorbing water from the bamboo tubes. This type of rice can be eaten alone, dipped in sesame salt, or enjoyed with grilled fatty fish. The complex aroma of glutinous rice mingled with banana leaves will make it hard for you to forget the taste of this dish. In the past, bamboo-tube rice was only for forest-goers because of its portability. Today, bamboo-tube rice has become a famous delicious dish of the Northwest region.

The process of making bamboo-tube rice is quite simple. You just need to put clean rice into bamboo or nứa tubes, using water from the tubes for the best taste, then use banana or dong leaves to seal tightly and burn wood until the husk is burnt. Remove the burnt outer husk, leaving only the thin, clean white husk, and you can eat it right away or store it weekly without worrying about it going bad.

Nowadays, bamboo-tube rice is famous everywhere, you can see people selling bamboo-tube rice a lot in tourist areas. And to meet the demand of tourists, many places have slightly modified bamboo-tube rice by using coconut water and shredded coconut to cook rice to enhance the deliciousness of the dish. Bamboo-tube rice has now become a commodity sold in many places, not just in the Northwest, but if you want to enjoy its original taste, come to this land.

Nậm Pịa is a unique dish of the people of Son La, not everyone can eat it. Because nậm pịa is made from the secretions taken from the delicious intestines of buffaloes, cows, goats... and their five-organs, which are simmered.

Nậm Pịa, also known as nặm pịa, is a traditional dish of the Thai ethnic people. 'Nậm' in Thai means 'soup', 'pịa' is the slimy secretion in the intestines of grass-eating animals such as buffalo, cow, goat, or also known as young feces. Depending on which animal's pịa is taken, we have nậm pịa goat, nậm pịa cow, nậm pịa buffalo,... Nậm Pịa has a bitter taste but when eaten, it leaves a sweet taste in the throat. Although nậm pịa has a strange taste and ingredients, it is still loved for its spicy, salty, sweet, and very fragrant taste. Especially when eaten with grilled dishes, it is very suitable and is a very good hangover remedy.

Although considered a classic specialty, not everyone can eat it. Mostly, it is a bit difficult to eat at first, but then they praise its taste. For some people who cannot eat fatty substances, they will feel nauseous, so do not just drink the soup, but eat it with rice or dip it with bread. If you have the opportunity, you should try this Nậm Pịa dish!

Sun-dried meat is one of the most famous specialties of the Northwest people. From buffalo meat, beef, to pork, all become irresistibly delicious through the skillful hands of the locals here. The dried meat here is not shredded but kept in whole pieces. The freshest meat pieces are selected, marinated with spices, hung on the kitchen shelf, dried by red charcoal and kitchen smoke, creating the characteristic flavor of this region's dried meat.

Each piece of meat is a harmonious blend of the fragrance of mac khen, the spicy heat of chili and ginger, and the faint aroma of kitchen smoke. It is this unique flavor that makes the deliciousness of Northwest sun-dried meat. This dried meat dish is made from shoulder and loin meat of buffalo, beef, or pork, marinated with spices, and then dried in the shade for a day. After that, skewer with sticks and hang on the kitchen shelf to slowly dry with hot firewood. The longer the meat is dried, the richer the distinctive flavor becomes. Enjoying a piece of fragrant meat with a strong taste of smoke, chewy and flavorful inside, accompanied by a sip of good wine, is nothing short of delightful.

When visiting Muong Lo (Yen Bai), besides the pristine beauty of the Northwest mountains and forests, tourists will have the opportunity to enjoy the sweet flavor of the five-color sticky rice of the locals here. Yen Bai five-color sticky rice is made from quite special ingredients. The locals here pay great attention to preparing the ingredients, the rice must be delicious glutinous rice for the sticky rice to be the best quality, especially Tule rice. In addition, to create colors for the sticky rice, people use various wild plants to create 5 colors for this dish: yellow color from turmeric, green color from pandan leaves, red color from gac fruit, purple color from magenta leaves.

For the people of Muong Lo, five-color sticky rice symbolizes the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth). Red sticky rice symbolizes the aspirations of life; purple sticky rice symbolizes the fertile and precious land; yellow sticky rice symbolizes warmth, prosperity; green sticky rice symbolizes the beautiful scenery of the Northwest mountains and forests, of the vast blue sky; white sticky rice symbolizes pure love, sincerity...

Five-color sticky rice has the sweet aroma of glutinous rice and plant fragrance, as well as contains the beautiful cultural characteristics of this beautiful land. Surely, when you come to the Northwest and enjoy five-color sticky rice, you will never forget that aroma.

This is a dish that requires meticulous preparation and a lot of time, as moss is hard to find. It only grows from September to around March in the lunar calendar. This dish is not something everyone dares to try, but it's favored by many. Northwest Moss Stone usually grows in places with strong flowing water, and it can only be harvested for about 2 hours. There are many types of moss, but the most preferred is the type that grows into long strands, clinging to the rocks in stream crevices.

To harvest moss stone, people separate it into sections, leaving a portion close to the stone intact, then pound the moss with a wooden pestle to loosen the layer of soil and sand and clean it thoroughly. Moss can be cooked in soup or grilled. To make the dish more appealing, moss is cooked with ginger, coriander, wild pepper, and a little crushed grilled chili if you like it spicy. Moss when eaten often has a fragrant, chewy taste, mixed with the flavor of spices creating a tingling sensation on the palate. This will be an unforgettable experience when you come to the Northwest with the specialty dish of moss stone.

Bac Ha Horse Victory specialty of Northwest Vietnam is made by the Hmong people. Bac Ha horse victory is special because it is made from horse bones raised in mountainous areas along with their five-element internal organs supplemented with herbs, spices, and cinnamon…. It looks strange, but horse victory tastes very sweet, with tender and fragrant meat that can only be found in highland areas. Bac Ha Horse Victory can be easily found in Northwest provinces such as Ha Giang, Yen Bai... but the best is still Bac Ha, Sapa.

At first glance, anyone seeing a bowl of horse victory filled with smoke and 'messy' inside with internal organs, many people will feel unpleasant and even scared, a few humorous people will even look for berberine in their travel backpack. But if you have the chance to enjoy it once, your Northwest travel will be more memorable and have an unforgettable experience.

The meat in Bac Ha Horse Victory is mainly beef, horse meat, and pork. Parts such as heart, liver, lung, spleen, and meat are sliced into square pieces, put into a characteristic large pot of the Hmong people. The broth is cooked quite carefully by the Hmong chef and supplemented with additives to maintain the flavor, each spoonful scooped out to add sweetness to the bone broth, adding richness to this Northwest specialty dish.

Sausage is a favorite dish of indigenous people with the characteristic flavor of the highlands. It has the chewy texture of the heart, the sweetness of lean meat, and the richness of fat. All blend together in a piece of sausage to provide a delicious sensation for those who enjoy it. This special dish is further distinguished by the spicy taste of smoke, adding uniqueness to the sausage. The filling for the sausage is a mixture of half lean meat and half fat, cleaned and stripped of skin, then cut into small pieces before marinating with salt, sugar, MSG, wine, ginger water, and some characteristic spices of the Northwest forested mountains.

To achieve the distinctive flavor of the sausage, the experience of marinating with wine and ginger water is crucial. After stuffing the filling into the intestines every 20-30 cm, they are tightly tied into sections. A needle is used to puncture to allow air to escape so that the sausage remains even and does not crack later. Then the sausages are hung outside to dry in the sun for a certain period of time to develop their distinctive flavor and are then dried over a wood fire, where they will firm up. That's why the segments of sausage in the Northwest have the bright color of the sun and the pink color of the fire as well as the white ivory veins of the fat creating the attractiveness of highland sausage in the cuisine.

When eating sausage, it is fried until cooked and then sliced. Diners dip the sausage in ginger fish sauce or chili sauce, adding some fresh herbs according to taste. In the coldness of winter, enjoying a cup of homemade wine with delicious slices of sausage is nothing short of wonderful.

When the first thunder of the season arrives, the sprouts of bamboo shoots emerge as if they were already promised, collectively reaching for the sunlight. The bamboo shoots are filled with vitality, promising a lush green color of survival and growth. For generations, bamboo shoots have been and continue to be a source of livelihood for the people of the Northwest.

Bamboo shoots come in countless varieties: bamboo, arrow, bamboo, mai, vau, and more. Each type has its own unique flavor that guests will remember forever after just one taste. Bamboo shoots can be prepared into many dishes, each delicious and enticing. Fresh bamboo shoots, pickled bamboo shoots, dried bamboo shoots... each type has a different flavor and preparation method, but all carry the taste of the mountains and forests.

In addition, the Northwest is also famous for its forest vegetables that once tasted, tourists will never forget. Not fancy, not famous for their preciousness and rarity, these dishes enter the subconscious of tourists because of their simplicity. What could be better than enjoying these rustic dishes and experiencing the life of the land at the forefront of the country.

Indulging in the delicious dishes of the Northwest without mentioning cross-dip sauce would indeed be a great omission. This is a characteristic dipping sauce of the region, made from mac khen, chili, garlic, and salt. Chẳm chéo is a traditional condiment originating from the Thai ethnic group in Dien Bien, Northwest Vietnam, and Northeast Thailand.

This dish can be varied by adding or reducing spices to create different flavors suitable for each dish. Each type of cross-dip sauce may be mixed in different proportions, but the rich aroma of mac khen, the spiciness of wild chili, and the fragrant smell of garlic cannot be missed. Cross-dip sauce is often paired with sticky rice, boiled dishes, grilled dishes, or raw vegetables, all of which are delicious and suitable.

These are the spices that make up the characteristic flavor of this dipping sauce. Coming to Yen Bai, tasting the flavor of this dipping sauce is when you can fully appreciate its harmony with the dishes. Therefore, cross-dip sauce has become a top-notch dipping sauce loved by many when visiting the Northwest.

Plums in the Northwest come in various types: Lao Cai plums, Lang Son plums... but the most delicious and beautiful variety is still Bac Ha plums, from Bac Ha district, Muong Khuong, Sapa. The best Bac Ha plums are from May to July, when they are fully ripe. The name 'three-flower plums' of Bac Ha refers to the three layers on the peel of Bac Ha plums: the first layer is the white powder (covering the entire plum), the second layer is the skin (purple when ripe), and the third layer is the red flesh.

When ripe, Bac Ha plums do not change the color of the outer peel; upon close observation, one can see a faint yellow hue. The plums have a delicious sweetness and leave a lingering taste in the mouth after eating. Moreover, Bac Ha plums also have the effect of replenishing health after strenuous labor.

Here, the red plum orchards when ripe belong to the H'Mong ethnic people, who work hard and diligently cultivate to obtain the large, shiny, crispy, and fragrant Bac Ha plums famous as they are today.

Perhaps this is also a dish not unfamiliar to tourists when mentioning the Northwest. This type of pig is only found in highland areas. Local people release newborn pigs into the forest for them to forage on their own. Therefore, their meat is very delicious, no different from wild boar.

'Armpit-carried' pig is a famous specialty in the mountainous regions. When guests visit the village to buy pigs, they go to the edge of the forest and catch whichever pig they can. Large or small pigs are priced equally because, according to the local belief, 'the next time guests visit, the small pig has become a large pig, so what's the difference?' Dishes made from this type of pork are always fragrant, delicious, and attractive to diners.

The meat is sweet, fragrant, with crispy skin, and can be processed into many dishes from simple to complex, accompanied by the characteristic spices of the indigenous people. Especially, this pig breed weighs only from 10 to 15kg, even large ones are only around 20kg, so there is hardly any fat. Many dishes can be made from 'armpit-carried' pig such as grilling, stir-frying, steaming, making innards, braising, grilling, or making ribs soup. Every dish made from this type of pig is delicious and attractive.

Food enthusiasts visiting the Northwest often choose to buy 'armpit-carried' pig meat as a gift because of its delicious, lean meat. When you have the chance to visit the Northwest, remember to enjoy this wonderful specialty.

Cat apple wine is a rustic drink of highland people but it's considered a specialty in the lowland areas due to its effectiveness in treating many ailments according to Eastern medicine. Cat apples are a specialty of highland provinces because the species thrives at altitudes above 1000m. Yen Bai, Lao Cai... are places with delicious cat apples. Cat apple wine is a unique folk wine. The cat apples are saturated with mountain air, absorb the essence of the highland soil and sun, so they have a balanced taste of sweetness and bitterness. Cat apples are thoroughly soaked and then the essence is extracted to make wine. Initially, drinking cat apple wine feels like drinking carbonated sweet water, but the more you drink, the more intoxicating it becomes.

Derived from cat apples, or also known as sour apples, cat apple wine has most of the medicinal properties of sour apples. Cat apple wine has many health benefits, such as boosting health, weight loss, and skin beautification for women... Its sour, bitter, sweet, and spicy taste creates a unique characteristic for this wine. Cat apple wine has countless benefits but still has a reasonable price, so when you come to the Northwest, be sure to buy a few jars of wine to protect your family's health.

We can easily encounter bee larvae in Vietnamese rural markets, but it's only in the mountainous regions that you can enjoy this special 'wild bee larvae'.

Wild bee larvae consist of 2 main types: tree bee larvae (buzzing bees, wild bees, plow bees, sky bees, daytime sleeping bees...) and ground bee larvae (hole digging bees, silver forehead bees, cricket bees..). When cooked into porridge, stir-fried, or fried, the larvae of these 2 types of bees are extremely delicious and are considered specialties of the forested mountains.

Unlike regular bee larvae, the Yen Bai specialty wild bee larvae have a richer and more delicious taste. Wild bee larvae have a slightly sweet, cool taste, non-toxic, with antibacterial properties, anti-organ damage, vital energy, anti-aging, and enhance beauty, freshen the complexion, and smooth the skin. Secretions from wild bee larvae also have the effect of nourishing the liver and kidneys, reducing muscle fatigue, improving physical fitness, and endurance.

Wild bee larvae are quite rare, only available from around April to August each year. So, to enjoy the best Yen Bai specialty stir-fried wild bee larvae, you should visit during this time.

Forest honey is famously rare and of higher quality than ordinary cultivated honey. Forest honey is the honey extracted from natural forest bee hives, without any human nurturing or care. Being sourced from nature, forest honey is made from natural flower nectar, hence it is very good and nutritious.

Forest honey has high efficacy in traditional medicine remedies. Consuming forest honey can enhance health, treat digestive disorders, tonify the lungs... due to its high nutritional value and components. Therefore, forest honey is always considered one of the specialties of the Northwest region.

Northwest Forest Honey is completely harvested from nature by local people. The golden drops of honey are the result of the hard and dangerous work of those who venture into the forest. If you have the opportunity to visit this region, a few bottles of forest honey will be the number one choice for you to bring back as gifts.

The best and most versatile type of honey is forest honey. Forest honey is abundant in the Northwest region. Northwest Forest Honey has a shiny golden color, a pleasant aroma, and a refreshing sweetness that no other honey can match. Therefore, Northwest Forest Honey will be where you can choose to express your love for your loved ones.

Mộc Châu Beef Hotpot is the first delicacy we want to introduce to you when you visit Son La. This dish originates from Moc Chau - Son La and only Moc Chau is the best. Moc Chau Beef Hotpot is made from calves raised in the Moc Chau grass fields.

Among the common beef dishes, the way to make Moc Chau Beef Hotpot is probably the simplest, yet it has a flavor that belongs to specialty dishes. The pieces of beef are thinly sliced, marinated with spices, ginger, lemongrass ready, the stove is turned up high with the pan of boiling oil ready to produce the first batch of hotpot beef. The sound of stirring, the intense heat of ginger, the fragrant aroma of the meat, spreading like a temptation that you cannot resist. The meat is golden, tender, and indescribably sweet. The outer layer of fat on the meat swells up white, when bitten into, it feels crispy, but chew carefully, and you'll find a slightly chewy texture. Occasionally, adding slices of ginger, lemongrass, golden in the plate, not spicy but fragrant and deliciously strange.

Especially, the locals here only use male calves for meat, so Moc Chau Beef Hotpot has very firm and nutritious meat. This will be a wonderful dish for you and your friends to enjoy while traveling in Northwest Vietnam.