Unique flavors of traditional Tet cuisine

For those living away from home, the dishes on the family reunion tray during the traditional Tet holiday always have a unique, unforgettable flavor.

Vietnamese Tet dishes are rich, unique and full of the flavor of Spring. (Source: Foodcity)

The Vietnamese Lunar New Year is not only about the faint scent of incense, peach and apricot blossoms blooming in the cold weather, but also about family reunions with many unique traditional delicacies. It can be said that Tet cuisine contributes to the diversity and richness of Vietnamese culture.

During the Lunar New Year, the Kinh people often solemnly place on the family altar a beautiful tray of five fruits, a pair of square banh chung (square sticky rice cakes) and delicious local specialties. On the Tet tray, in addition to a plate of green banh chung (sticky rice cakes) with a bean filling and pork wrapped in dong leaves that exudes the flavor of the mountains and forests, there is also a dish of pickled onions with a mildly sour and spicy taste; golden, crispy fried spring rolls; a plate of boiled chicken sprinkled with lemon leaves; a dish of jellied meat and a plate of delicious ham and sausages...

Green Chung cake with pickled onions is one of the familiar dishes during Tet. (Source: King of crab)

Unlike the Kinh people, the traditional New Year of the Mong people on the Dong Van stone plateau ( Ha Giang ) cannot be without sticky rice cakes, corn wine bottles and a live rooster with its blood cut off, solemnly displayed on the year-end offering tray. On the altar, the homeowner places a bunch of chicken feathers soaked in chicken blood and sticks them on a piece of paper, which is then stuck on the wall - the place where gods reside according to the Mong people's beliefs.

The following days, the homeowner will boil chicken or pork to offer to the gods. For the Pu Peo people, in addition to the custom of welcoming the sound of chicken, they also have the custom of wrapping two types of banh chung: black banh chung (eaten on the evening of the 29th of Tet to end the old year) and white banh chung (offered on the evening of the 30th of Tet to celebrate the new year). During the 3 days of Tet, the Pu Peo people do not wash their dishes after eating, but only use paper to wipe them clean because they believe that if the dishes are clean on Tet, they will be hungry all year.

Banh Day - a traditional cake and the activity of pounding Banh Giay is indispensable in festivals, holidays or the New Year of the Mong ethnic group in the Northern mountainous region. (Source: Far We Go)

For the Central Highlands people, cuisine during Tet has an important meaning, associated with spirituality, beliefs, connecting the living and the dead, between humans and gods. Tet dishes of the Ba Na, Gia Rai, Ede, M'Nong, Xo-dang, H're ethnic groups... often include grilled meat and rice wine.

If on normal days people eat rice with food cooked from wild vegetables, on holidays, rice is replaced with bamboo rice. The main food during Tet is meat, including grilled dishes, blood pudding, and raw spring rolls used to offer to gods and entertain guests. In addition, the Gia Rai and Ba Na people also use the intestines of four-legged animals to prepare dishes.

Grilled pork in bamboo tube with the rich flavor of the Ede people. (Source: Daklak Tourism)

In the bustling spring atmosphere, Co Tu families in Quang Nam prepare a full range of dishes from traditional to modern. Many attractive dishes such as buffalo croissants, rice wine, smoked meat, wild frogs, etc. are prepared to welcome distinguished guests visiting the family.

In some places, the Co Tu people also prepare pickled meat in bamboo tubes, minced meat in bamboo tubes, Ta-vat wine, Tr'din - a type of wine made from the trunk of the doac tree... which are delicious dishes that only appear during important holidays.

The dishes express the rusticity and richness, just like the character and soul of the Co Tu people. (Source: Quang Nam Provincial Cultural Center)

For the Khmer people, fish sauce is not only a familiar dish in daily meals but also a special spice. In particular, pro-hoc fish sauce is made from many types of small fish such as catfish, got fish, long tong fish... used to season most dishes during the traditional New Year.

In addition, there is also a sour fish sauce called po-ot made from shrimp mixed with papaya, galangal or young ginger. Canh Xiem lo is also indispensable in the Khmer people's reunion meal, including meat, fresh fish, coriander, banana and seasoned with pro-hoc fish sauce.

Unique Khmer vermicelli dish called Xiem Lo. (Source: Vietnam Record Institute)

In particular, the noodle soup has become a specialty of the Mekong Delta residents and is loved by many tourists. Holding a rather important position in the festive cuisine, Khmer cakes include ginger cake, bird's nest cake, jackfruit seed cake... but the most special is the palm cake made from palm fruit.

Tet in Vietnam has many delicious dishes. Depending on climate conditions and preferences, each region has its own typical dishes. Sometimes they have the same name, but each region prepares them with different flavors. That is why Vietnamese Tet dishes are rich, unique and full of the flavor of Spring.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/doc-dao-huong-vi-am-thuc-tet-co-truyen-299443.html