Attractive specialties of beef jerky and sour meat in the highlands of Nghe An

The bull "goes South, goes North"

Every day, Ms. Bui Thi Que, Muong Xen town - Ky Son, gets up early, busily lights the fire to prepare to dry beef in the kitchen after the cow has just been slaughtered.

Ms. Que shared: We have been involved in making bo giang for more than ten years. According to the tradition of the Ky Son indigenous people, bo giang in the Thai language means beef hung on a wood stove. In the past, whenever a family had an important event, people often slaughtered a cow to worship and treat the village. The large amount of meat was not used up during those days, and there was no refrigerator to preserve it, so people came up with a way to hang it on a wood stove to prevent the invasion of bacteria, helping the meat not to spoil. The bo giang dish was born and has been present for hundreds of years in the highland districts.

Mrs. Bui Thi Que's family's beef jerky is the only product of Ky Son district to be certified OCOP. Photo: Quang An

From a simple custom, up to now, Ky Son beef jerky has become a special culinary dish of the people in the border region of Nghe An. Many tourists coming to Ky Son district hope to buy this specialty to enjoy when they return to the lowlands.

The rich, fragrant taste of fresh beef when cooked in smoke, the wood smoke permeates every fiber of the meat, creating a unique flavor in the highlands. Around the cozy red fire, tasting a piece of beef with a glass of wine, all visitors are amazed.

Beef is hung over a fire for a long time. Photo: Quang An

According to the professionals, to have quality, delicious beef, all steps from choosing ingredients, marinating to lighting firewood, hanging in the kitchen, watching the fire… must be done meticulously. For beef, you must choose firm meat, fresh thigh or tenderloin, especially the local Ky Son beef to achieve quality.

The meat will be cut into pieces of 15-20 cm long, 5-7 cm wide, then washed, marinated with highland spices and left to marinate for about 1 hour to absorb. After that, each piece of meat is skewered on bamboo sticks, hung over a wood stove. Let the fire simmer until the meat is smoky, brown on the outside, but when torn, the inside of the meat is light red and firm, then the beef is cooked... After that, the product is taken out, packaged, vacuum-sealed to supply the market.

After being hung from the kitchen, the beef jerky will be vacuum-packed. Photo: Quang An

If in the past, beef jerky was mainly for family consumption, especially during holidays and Tet, in recent years, due to its popularity among customers, households have proactively produced it year-round to supply the market. Many groups of visitors to Ky Son, after enjoying it, have contacted to order large quantities as gifts. Ky Son beef jerky is increasingly being served on passenger buses, going to the South and North, especially during the tourist season, holidays and Tet...

According to statistics, the whole Ky Son district has dozens of households producing bo giang and one household has been certified as an OCOP product, that is the household of Ms. Bui Thi Que, in block 5, Muong Xen town. Bo giang is also the only dish recognized as an OCOP product in Ky Son district.

Bo giang is currently a famous OCOP specialty in the border district of Ky Son. Photo: Quang An

Sharing about this honor, Ms. Que said: “My wish is to make the beef stew not only a “specialty” of Ky Son but also a product that will be known nationwide, available in stalls, supermarkets, and for people working in the profession to have a stable income. Therefore, we are determined to achieve the province’s OCOP certification so that the image of Ky Son will be known more widely. All stages from selecting ingredients to pre-processing, marinating, stewing on a wood stove… are all carried out to ensure hygiene requirements, according to traditional recipes.

Sour meat specialty in Que Phong

Cuong Hoai sour meat in block 5, Kim Son town is famous in the province, many people buy it as a gift when coming to Que Phong district. With 32 years of production, sour meat with smoked pork belly, cartilage sausage, dried beef, dried pork are popular specialties during Tet here, becoming a familiar address to buy to enjoy or sell, give to relatives who love the unique cuisine of the Thai people. Currently, this specialty has achieved 3-star OCOP in 2022, creating conditions for the production facility to be more stable and prestigious in the market.

Producing sour meat in Que Phong. Photo: Tran Chau

Processing sour meat is a family secret, but Ms. Hoai - the shop owner said, the special thing is that the pig must be slaughtered and brought home immediately for the product to be delicious. After being incubated with "exclusive" spices, leaves, roasted rice powder, the meat is naturally cooked and after 4-5 days it can be enjoyed or served to guests.

"When enjoying sour meat, we take the meat out of the refrigerator, the meat is compressed so when taking it out on a plate, gently squeeze it with onions, thinly sliced ​​lemon leaves. Enjoy sour meat with fig or fig leaves, and polyscias fruticosa leaves. Take a piece of sour meat, wrap it in a leaf and dip it in a bowl of pre-mixed soy sauce (the dipping sauce is pre-processed soy sauce provided by the facility or soy sauce sold on the market). The sweetness of the meat, the aroma of the rice powder, the crunchiness of the pork skin combined with the rich taste of fig leaves, fig leaves dipped in chili sauce or fish sauce creates a very attractive, easy-to-eat flavor" - Ms. Hoai said.

Enjoying this specialty once will easily make you crave it again when the weather is cold, especially with a cup of highland wine. This is a unique product of the Thai ethnic group in the highlands of Que Phong and is currently only consumed in the province. People outside the province really want to enjoy it, but due to the shelf life, it must be used properly. In Que Phong, there are also many delicious dishes that are unique cuisine, but currently only sour meat with yellow flower tea and Japonica rice are certified as OCOP products of Nghe An .

When eaten, sour meat is squeezed with onions, lemon leaves, and served with ginseng leaves, fig leaves... Photo: PV

The fact that the specialties of Ky Son and Tuong Duong beef jerky, Que Phong sour meat, and other foods in the highland districts such as Con Cuong sticky rice wine, Anh Son oranges, Mu Tun wine, etc., are granted OCOP certificates, not only create more income and jobs for many families in the districts, but also promote the development of local livestock and tourism, spread the image of the highland districts, and become cultural ambassadors of the locality. After enjoying these specialties, more and more people buy them as gifts. Currently, it is very gratifying that the producers have done a very good job of promoting their products to the market.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/hap-dan-dac-san-bo-giang-thit-chua-o-vung-cao-xu-nghe-post278357.html