Phú Thọ province, a land that leaves a lasting impression on travelers with its unique landscapes and cultural heritage that have been preserved until today. Moreover, the renowned delicacies of Phú Thọ are among the unforgettable experiences for visitors to this region.
Explore the finest 12 culinary delights in Phú Thọ that are sure to tantalize your taste buds.
1. Ear Cake
2. Cọ ỏm
When eaten raw, cọ fruit has a slightly bitter taste. Only ripe cọ fruit should be used in cooking for the best flavor. The riper the fruit, the richer and more nutty the taste becomes. The art of cooking cọ fruit is something to be experienced firsthand, and only by tasting it yourself will you understand why this dish is so enticing.
3. Yam Greens
Visiting Phú Thọ without indulging in tẻ honey cake would be a missed opportunity! Phú Thọ's tẻ honey cake has a distinctive flavor, with a sweet and captivating taste that becomes more pronounced with each bite. This cake, made from glutinous rice flour mixed with water and honey, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed until cooked, boasts a golden brown color and emits a delightful and enticing aroma. Enjoying this cake gives a sensation of gentle fragrance and sweetness. You can dip the cake in honey to savor the fragrant rice and irresistibly sweet honey.
5. Sour Meat of Thanh Sơn
Sour meat is the specialty dish of the Muong ethnic group. It's no surprise that sour meat of Thanh Sơn is listed among the most enticing dishes in Phú Thọ that you must try. This dish is a common daily meal of the Muong people in the Thanh Sơn area. To prepare it, you need two main ingredients: pork and finely ground roasted rice powder. Though it may sound simple, the finished product is incredibly flavorful and impressive. When eaten, the meat has a natural sour, nutty, and sweet taste, with tender meat and chewy skin. Diners often enjoy sour meat with wild vegetables, tía tô leaves, or dipped in chili sauce. Additionally, sour meat comes in various types for you to choose from according to your preference, such as sour meat with pork skin, sour meat with snakehead fish, or sour meat with garlic and chili.
6. Trám Braised Fish
Trám is a distinctive type of fruit in Phú Thọ, with two varieties: sour trám and black trám. Depending on the needs and purposes, people have different suitable ways to process them.
7. Braised Potato Buds
The humble braised potato buds dish has long been a familiar dish and a part of childhood memories for people from the Thanh Thủy countryside, Phú Thọ province. The type of potato buds used for this dish includes various varieties such as potato eggs, ginger potatoes, creeping potatoes, purple potatoes, etc. Potato roots are used for boiling or stir-frying in soup; while potato buds (except for spotted potatoes, which are very itchy and rarely used) are braised to create a tantalizing dish, rich in nutrients and good for health.
8. Cockcrow Sticky Rice
Cockcrow sticky rice is a rare and precious variety of glutinous rice, famous as a specialty of Yên Lập district for generations. This type of rice is grown on terraced fields, with long, slender grains. When cooked, the rice is fragrant, sticky, and has a distinctive delicious taste. When used to make sticky rice, it becomes even stickier, softer, and more fragrant as you eat. To enhance the flavor of cockcrow sticky rice, you can enjoy it with fragrant sesame salt, simple yet unforgettable.
9. Lâm Thao Banana Porridge
The ingredients for making banana porridge include bananas, pork ribs, a little pig's trotter, some ginger, and a few spoons of soy sauce. The bananas used for this dish must be ripe but not too green or too ripe, freshly cut from the bunch. When the dish is ready, scoop the banana porridge into a bowl and enjoy it while it's still hot. Banana porridge has a sweet, nutty taste, soft with the aroma of ginger, becoming more enticing with each bite.
10. Palm Leaf Rice Balls
Phú Thọ is known for having the largest area of palm cultivation in the country, and palm leaf rice balls have long been one of the culinary cultural highlights of the Phù Ninh region, Phú Thọ province. After being cooked, the rice is wrapped and rolled in palm leaves to absorb the cool, refreshing aroma of this plant. You can enjoy palm leaf rice balls with sesame salt, grilled meat, or other savory dishes. Despite its simple appearance, the flavor is incredibly impressive and satisfying.
11. Snakehead Fish Hotpot
Việt Trì snakehead fish is one of the famous specialties of Phú Thọ province. This type of fish captivates diners with its firm, sweet flesh and few bones, making it a choice dish for royalty in ancient times. From snakehead fish, the people of Phú Thọ have created many delicious dishes such as snakehead fish salad with shallots, grilled snakehead fish with galangal, snakehead fish grilled in betel leaves... among which the most impressive is still the sour bamboo shoot snakehead fish hotpot. With this hotpot dish, because snakehead fish already has a naturally sweet flesh, it doesn't require many ingredients, yet it still ensures a tantalizing flavor that appeals to everyone.
12. Hot Rolled Rice Cakes
Hot rolled rice cakes are a familiar breakfast dish for the people of Phú Thọ. Perhaps the difference in these rice cakes compared to elsewhere lies in the preparation and enjoyment. When the cakes are freshly rolled and served to guests, enjoying them while they're still hot makes them even more fragrant and enticing.
According to Mytour
***
Reference: Travel guide from Mytour
MytourAugust 22, 2023
