Top 8 Traditional Dishes in the Dao Ethnic Group's Lunar New Year Feast

Gù Cake is a traditional delicacy made by the Dao people to offer during significant Lunar New Year celebrations. This dish features a variety of ingredients, making it both delicious and nutritious. The Gù Cake is prepared with glutinous rice, green beans, pork belly, and long-grain rice. It is wrapped in wild dong leaves and tied with strings.

To make the cake, the glutinous rice is soaked for 4 hours, washed clean, and then left to dry. The pork belly is sliced into long pieces, and green beans are placed inside, seasoned with a bit of pepper or cardamom for extra flavor. Visually, Gù Cake resembles the Vietnamese Bánh Tét, as it is also boiled for 8 hours after being wrapped. Once cooked, it gives off a fragrant, sticky rice aroma. When eaten, the creamy taste of the green beans and the rich, savory flavor of the pork belly combine harmoniously, making it a delightful dish.

For the Dao people, Cassava Sticky Rice is a time-honored traditional dish passed down through generations. It is a common food in daily life and a staple during Lunar New Year celebrations. This dish was created by their ancestors as an offering to thank the heavens for the food and prosperity they had received. Cassava sticky rice is simple to prepare but just as delightful as other more complex rice dishes. For centuries, cassava has been a key ingredient in the local diet, used for meals, livestock, and trade. This humble dish surprises with its unique and pleasant taste.

When cooked, the sticky rice is spread evenly on a tray, releasing a fragrant aroma. The soft, translucent grains of sticky rice are wrapped in leaves and offered as a gift to the gods and ancestors. The white color symbolizes the purity of nature, the morning dew on the mountainside. The rice is neatly wrapped in banana leaves, dong leaves, or other wild leaves. The Dao people carefully select leaves that have a mild fragrance, ensuring that the natural aroma of the rice is preserved. The green leaves represent the simplicity and sincerity of the mountains, reflecting the deep respect and love the Dao people hold for their heritage and ancestors.

Pickled Sour Pork is a unique and traditional specialty of the Dao people, an essential dish in their Lunar New Year celebrations. Each ethnic group has its own method for preparing sour pork, tailored to their personal tastes. However, the Dao's version is especially memorable, leaving a lasting impression on anyone who tries it. While making sour pork is not particularly difficult, it does require patience and a few key ingredients: pork belly or a mix of lean and fatty meat, salt, and leftover rice. The pork is cut into 0.5kg pieces, sliced thickly (2-3 cm), taking care not to cut the skin. It is then heavily salted and mixed with a little leftover rice before being tightly packed into a jar. The top is covered with a thick layer of rice, and the mixture is pressed down firmly.

On top of the jar, a layer of clean straw is added, followed by dong leaves to seal it tightly. The jar is then inverted and placed on a bed of ashes. During the fermentation process, the fat and juices from the meat will drip down into the ashes, preventing spoilage. The result is a deeply savory dish with a perfect balance of salty, sweet, and sour flavors from the long fermentation, complemented by the fresh aroma of green betel leaves. This unforgettable taste lingers long after the first bite, leaving a lasting impression on anyone who tries it.

The Dao people call Bamboo Rice “Đồng Dúa,” which can be interpreted as a type of baked rice. The best time to prepare Bamboo Rice is during the early days of the Lunar New Year, when the bamboo leaves are young and tender, and the bamboo stems are soft with a thin, white paper-like membrane inside. To make Bamboo Rice, the bamboo tubes are first cleaned, then filled with glutinous rice and water, ensuring the rice is submerged. The opening of the bamboo is sealed with fresh banana leaves, preferably from wild banana trees, to enhance the aroma of the rice.

Once cooked, Bamboo Rice is left to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Experienced cooks say the rice tastes best after it has cooled. The bamboo skin is peeled off, leaving the delicate, pure white rice, which should be soft, chewy, and fragrant. Notably, when the bamboo skin is removed, the rice is revealed with its white paper-like membrane still wrapped around it. Bamboo Rice can stay fresh for up to two days without becoming stale or hard. This makes it a favorite choice for travelers or visitors to bring with them. Traditionally, Bamboo Rice was served with sesame salt, but today the Dao people enjoy it with a variety of accompaniments such as pork floss or braised meat.

Smoked Pork is a traditional preservation method used by the Dao people, allowing them to store food for longer periods, especially during the rainy season or when markets are not accessible. The spices used for marinating the pork give this dish its unique and distinctive flavor. A specialty of the H'mong, Dao, Tay, and Thai ethnic groups, this smoked pork is an integral part of the culinary culture of the Northwestern region of Vietnam, and an essential dish during traditional festivals and celebrations.

Anyone who has had the chance to try the smoked pork of the Dao people from Son La will find it hard to forget the unique and unforgettable flavors of this regional delicacy. The aroma of Mac Khen seeds, wild Doi seeds, the spiciness of ginger, chili, and white rice wine blend harmoniously with the smoky scent of the meat being dried over the fire, creating a flavor profile that is unlike any other cooking technique.

One of the signature dishes of the Dao people during the Lunar New Year feast is glutinous rice-stuffed pig intestines (known as “Tùng Càng Nhảng” in the Dao language). The rice used for this dish must be high-quality glutinous rice, either ground into flour or steamed before being mixed with fresh pig’s blood. The dish is seasoned with crushed cardamom for added flavor. The “Tùng Càng Nhảng” is boiled just enough to cook through, then served hot for the best taste.

During the cold days of Tết, this dish doesn’t spoil easily, so the Dao people often prepare it in advance and store it to eat over several days. Before eating, it’s simply blanched to warm up. The combination of the rich flavor of the blood, the fragrance of cardamom, and the chewy texture of the pig intestines creates an irresistible taste.

The tradition of making black chung cake among the Dao people has been passed down through generations for centuries. The dark color of the cake symbolizes abundant harvests, prosperity, and the harmony of earth, sky, and human beings. For the Dao people, no Tết celebration is complete without the black chung cake, which not only wishes for peace, happiness, and good fortune in the coming year but also expresses deep gratitude and filial respect to their ancestors.

What makes the black chung cake of the Dao people unique is the method used to create its dark color. Unlike other ethnic groups who may use black glutinous rice or charcoal to color their cakes, the Dao people achieve the dark hue by using ash from burning rice straw. When the black chung cake is peeled, it reveals a characteristic greenish-black color, with a subtle aroma of glutinous rice, dong leaves, and wild banana leaves. The taste is savory, slightly chewy, with a hint of saltiness from the rice straw ash. Tasting this cake allows visitors to experience the simple, rustic beauty of the mountains and fields, and to better appreciate the hard work and values of the Dao people.

During the Lunar New Year celebrations, the Dao people in Ma Ly Pho (Phong Tho district, Lai Chau) prepare their traditional honey cake. Made from finely ground glutinous rice and sugarcane honey, these cakes are wrapped in wild banana leaves. The honey cake is a symbol of respect and gratitude towards ancestors and an offering for a prosperous and healthy year ahead, wishing abundance in all aspects of life.

The wild banana leaves used for wrapping the cake are carefully selected, with only mid-aged, intact leaves chosen for the task. The entire family gathers to wrap the cakes, an act that demonstrates respect for their elders and ancestors. The glutinous rice is soaked, ground into a fine paste, mixed with sugarcane honey, and then kneaded by hand to form a smooth, pliable dough before being wrapped. After the cakes are wrapped, the family comes together with joy to carry them to the kitchen for boiling. The process of making honey cakes is also a time for the elders to pass on valuable lessons to the younger generation about the importance of honoring their ancestors and preserving the Dao's beautiful traditions.