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In Vietnam, porridge is a dish deeply ingrained in everyone's culinary repertoire. Depending on circumstances, preferences, and geographical regions, people can concoct dozens of different types of porridge. From simple minced meat porridge, bean porridge, to rib porridge... Those who are more affluent may indulge in pigeon porridge, chicken porridge, fish porridge... Tày people in Sa Pa have three delicious, nutritious, and unique porridge dishes: hornet larvae porridge, eel porridge, and black bean porridge.
Hornet Larvae Porridge
The Tày people in Sa Pa are acquainted with various types of bees, some for honey extraction, others for valuable medicines or beeswax. Even children use ant eggs as bait for fishing.
The Dreadful Encounter with Wild Bees and the Temptation of Their Larvae
Even the local children, when collecting beehives, indulge in this delight of Sa Pa. With smaller hives, they use them for fishing or eat them raw. If they encounter larger hives with several kilograms of larvae, only the most experienced beekeepers dare to approach.
The dish of hornet larvae porridge is still considered a
When asked how delicious hornet larvae porridge is, the Tày people living in Sa Pa would answer: Those who have been stung by wild bees will know how intense the sensation is. But the delicious taste of hornet larvae porridge is much stronger. It's the unique sweet and savory flavor of this porridge that has driven many people to brave dangers to find beehives and hornet larvae.
Apart from making porridge, roasted hornet larvae or hornet larvae salad are also delicious and nutritious dishes.
Eel Porridge
When it comes to food in Sa Pa among the Tày people, food enthusiasts cannot overlook eel porridge. Wherever there are paddy fields, there will be eels, and since the Tày people are accustomed to rice fields, they are very skilled at catching eels and frogs.
According to the locals here, catching about a kilogram of eel is enough to cook a pot of porridge for 5 - 6 people. If there is freshly fragrant rice, plenty of sticky rice, and a skilled cook, then diners will enjoy a delicious and fragrant eel porridge with the right taste.
Rice is rinsed thoroughly before being put into the pot with enough water and simmered over low heat. Eels are selected, large and dark yellow in color. The chef uses sponge gourd leaves or red pumpkin leaves to remove the slime from the eels' bodies, then chops off the tails with a sharp knife and adds the eels to the porridge pot, covering it. When the eels are cooked, they are removed, gutted, and the bones are discarded. The eel meat is finely chopped, half of it is added back into the porridge to simmer, and the other half is roasted with fat, salt, and spices. At this point, the chef doesn't forget to add a bit of wine and coriander.
Eel porridge pot doesn't need to be added with MSG, as this seasoning will diminish the natural sweetness of the porridge. When eating, the porridge is scooped into a large bowl, with roasted eel meat added. Tày people say: if there are enough eels, they can eat porridge every day.
Not only is it a delicious dish, but eel is also a food that helps with lactation. Women with low milk production only need to eat eel meat cooked with turmeric to quickly see the effectiveness of this dish.
Tadpole Porridge
Another delicious dish in Sa Pa is tadpole porridge. This creature is very familiar in the Sa Pa mountains. The sound of tadpoles calls makes the distant villages less lonely. Moreover, according to locals, this creature is like a reliable weather forecaster; if it cries alone, it's sunny, if it cries evenly, it's raining.
In addition, tadpoles also have high value as a precious medicine that enhances vitality. Thin, weak children, malnourished individuals, or those recovering from illness only need to eat tadpole porridge. This dish is both delicious and nutritious.
People in Sa Pa choose large, healthy tadpoles, with intact tails, remove the skin, gut, liver, wash them with alcohol, then finely chop everything including the bones. When cooking, they fry the tadpoles in fat, add salt, pepper for crispiness. Then, this meat is added to the hot porridge. This dish, although simple, is not easy to find; it's rustic yet incredibly delicious.
During every trip to Sa Pa, besides exploring the scenic spots and learning about the culture of ethnic minorities, tourists should taste the flavors of local specialties. This will be an interesting and worthwhile choice for experience.
