During local cultural events and festivals, especially the Hung Kings Commemoration Day - Hung Temple Festival or the Forest Opening Festival - a national intangible cultural heritage, the Muong village is filled with the aroma of traditional dishes. The villagers prepare elaborate feasts, imbued with the flavors of the mountains and forests, to offer to their ancestors and deities, and to welcome guests from afar.
Traditional cooking methods, such as grilling stream fish skewers on bamboo sticks and cooking sticky rice in bamboo tubes over charcoal, create the distinctive flavors of the dishes on the Muong people's dinner table in Minh Hoa.
The cuisine of the Muong people in Minh Hoa is not elaborate in terms of ingredients, but it demands skill and meticulousness in every step of the preparation. From selecting sticky rice for bamboo-cooked rice, choosing young bamboo tubes for grilling, to marinating local pork, stream fish, or preparing bitter bamboo shoots and wild vegetables... all are based on the long-standing experience of the local people. Each dish retains its natural, rustic, yet unforgettable flavor.
Many traditional dishes in Minh Hoa still retain their traditional, handcrafted preparation methods. Sticky rice cooked in bamboo tubes must be grilled over charcoal to ensure the grains are soft and fragrant. Stream fish are skewered on bamboo and slowly grilled over glowing charcoal. Local pork is marinated with mắc khén (a type of spice) and forest leaves, then grilled whole. Even the presentation of the dishes bears a unique mark, with locals using bamboo trays, banana leaves, and reed tubes to create a connection with nature. These dishes are not only for enjoyment but also reflect the hospitality, affection, and beauty of the people's spiritual life.
Comrade Ha Thang Long - Vice Chairman of the Minh Hoa Commune People's Committee, said: "Last April, the commune organized a culinary competition that attracted 20 teams from agencies, units, and women's associations in the commune, bringing with them rich, attractive, and flavorful dishes reflecting the Muong ethnic identity. Through this competition, we contributed to preserving and spreading the beauty of traditional culture in Minh Hoa; at the same time, it created an atmosphere of exchange, strengthening the bond and solidarity among units, women's associations, and the people in the commune."
Along with preserving local festivals and traditional cultural values, the people of Minh Hoa are striving to preserve dishes that are distinctly Muong ethnic in character. Using familiar ingredients from the mountains and forests, and through the skillful hands of the locals, Muong cuisine in Minh Hoa still retains its cultural value amidst today's modern life.
Hong Nhung
Source: https://baophutho.vn/doc-dao-am-thuc-cua-nguoi-muong-o-minh-hoa-254293.htm
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