A variety of delicious dishes made from cashew nuts.

Cashew trees have been closely associated with farmers in the Dong Nai region for generations. Thanks to this, the people of this "cashew capital" have skillfully created many delicious and unique dishes from the cashew fruits and nuts readily available in their gardens.

Hoang Anh Cooperative (Binh Phuoc Ward) introduces its vegetarian fish sauce made from cashew nuts at the Golden Cashew Nut Festival. Photo: Binh Nguyen

At the recent Dong Nai City Golden Cashew Festival 2026, the culinary competition themed "Flavors of Three Regions - The Story of the Cashew Tree" showcased dozens of delicious dishes made from this agricultural product. This was one of the impressive activities that attracted the attention of many people in the city. This further confirms the unique and diverse nature of dishes made from cashews, which are very appealing to diners.

Cashew nuts, a seasonal specialty.

Dong Xoai Ward won both first prizes in the competition: best dish and best food presentation. Ms. Hoang Lan Anh, Standing Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Dong Xoai Ward and Chairwoman of the Women's Union of Dong Xoai Ward, happily shared: “Cuisine must meet both criteria of form and content – ​​beauty and taste. I used fresh cashews and cashew nuts for decoration; it's both beautiful and allows diners to immediately know what ingredients were used. We chose the highest quality cashew nuts because they are the main ingredient for many dishes.”

Ms. Hoang Lan Anh added: The Dong Xoai ward team created many new dishes to cook a unique feast from cashew nuts and cashew fruit, including: The appetizer "Kim Dieu Ngu Canh" is a soup made from ground cashew nuts cooked with pumpkin and glass shrimp (a type of peeled shrimp that has been processed to have transparent, crispy, and chewy meat while retaining its natural sweetness), creating a nutritious and delicious dish. The dish "Ngoc Hai Dieu Hoa" is a salad made from fresh cashew fruit combined with herbs, crispy roasted cashews, and a refreshing sweet and sour sauce to highlight the unique flavor of cashew fruit and cashew nuts.

The main course, "Ngự Ngư Phủ Điều," is crispy fried sea bass drizzled with a fragrant sauce made from finely ground cashews. "Hoàng Bảo Điều Hầm" is fresh beef stewed with cashews, where the cashews are ground to create a flavorful broth. "Phong Vị Điều Hương" is fried rice with cashews (instead of other beans) placed inside a pineapple. The dessert, "Băng Ngọc Điều Hoa," is ice cream drizzled with rich, fragrant cashew sauce. These delicious dishes made from cashews and cashew nuts are not only showcased at the competition, but also frequently featured in family meals, such as cashew soup, braised fish with cashews, and cashew salad.

Delicious dishes made from cashew nuts and cashew fruits were showcased at the culinary competition themed "Flavors of the Three Regions - The Story of the Cashew Tree."

The team from the Women's Union of Phu Rieng commune won first prize for the best story and second prize for the best dish. Ms. Nguyen Thi Que, representing the Phu Rieng Women's Union team, shared: “Through this culinary competition, we want to introduce the cashew tree, a precious gift from nature to the red basalt soil of Phu Rieng. Cashews have a rich, sweet flavor, and cashew nuts are nutty and fragrant. Therefore, during the cashew harvest season, we women often go to the orchards to select the freshest cashews and nuts to prepare nutritious and delicious dishes for our families to enjoy. Using familiar ingredients from our gardens, we create dishes characteristic of the three regions of the country: cashew leaf spring rolls, inspired by a typical dish of the North; stir-fried cashews with lemongrass and chili served with cashew salad (also known as cashew fruit salad), prepared according to the rich flavors of the Central region; fish stew with cashews, slightly sweeter than the dishes of the Mekong Delta; and cashew sour soup according to the Southern region. The dessert is cashew nut sweet soup.”

“Phu Rieng is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural locality, so I wanted to introduce to the competition a meal prepared from familiar and comforting local specialties. Through this competition, we are proud to introduce and promote the specialties of our hometown as well as the cashew industry of Dong Nai, the ‘cashew capital,’ to tourists from all over,” Ms. Que further shared.

Let's bring traditional dishes from our hometown to every corner of the world.

In recent years, several businesses and cooperatives have researched and developed many specialty products from fresh cashew fruit, such as: vegetarian fish sauce made from cashew fruit, shrimp paste made from cashew fruit, cashew fruit juice, cashew fruit wine, etc.

Accordingly, during the recent cashew harvest, cashew farmers in the northern area of ​​Dong Nai city harvested fresh cashews and sold them to food processing facilities and businesses inside and outside the city. Fresh cashews, which were previously discarded, are now sold at the farm gate for 2,500-4,000 VND/kg, significantly increasing the income of cashew farmers.