“Greetings” and “feasts” of Dak Nong people

Specialties blend the flavors of the mountains and forests

Having the opportunity to visit the Ede villages along the Serepok River (Cu Jut), visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy typical dishes, imbued with the flavor of the mountains and forests. Among them, vech bo is a traditional dish, a specialty of the Ede people.

Beef jerky is a traditional dish and specialty of the Ede people (Photo: Nguyen Nam).

Vech is a unique dish, cooked from a section of the small intestine adjacent to the stomach of a cow, along with tendons, skin, oxtail... cooked with dozens of spices such as ginger, lemongrass, perilla leaves, chili peppers, wild spinach leaves, green pepper, male papaya flowers, kơ nia seeds, lemongrass... and especially indispensable bitter eggplant.

To make the dish less smelly, the chef is careful in the processing step, the small intestine is blanched in boiling water and then washed with salt water. The vech will be simmered over low heat for many hours so that the meat is both soft and fragrant, blending with the spices.

Vech ox is often cooked on important occasions of the Ede people to worship the gods, big parties or to entertain distinguished guests. Cooked vech has a characteristic bitter taste when eaten, harmoniously combined with sour, astringent, spicy, sweet flavors and is eaten with some types of wild vegetables from the Central Highlands.

Treat guests with the famous thang co dish
Ms. Hoang Thi Van, village 5, Dak R'mang commune (Dak Glong) left her hometown in Bac Ha district (Lao Cai) to start a business in Dak Nong in 2008.

Like many other Mong people who came to Dak Glong district to settle down, in addition to preserving traditional customs and practices, Ms. Van and her ethnic community also brought to the new land unique cultural features, including thang co, corn wine and men men.

Although they migrated to Dak Nong decades ago, the H'mong people still retain their traditional dishes.

Thang Co is a traditional dish of the H'mong people in the highlands of the Northwest. In the past, when processing a horse, the ethnic people here often did not throw away anything. Thang Co is a dish cooked from the organs, bones and meat of the horse.

This traditional dish is often made by the Mong people on festivals, oath-taking ceremonies, and crowded days. However, going beyond the boundaries of an ethnic community’s food, today thang co has become a famous specialty, even appearing in the song “wife-stealing” with the simple lyrics “The Mong people drink corn wine and eat thang co”.

Thang co is prepared and sold at Dak R'mang (Dak Glong) market meetings.

Ms. Van said that when Dak R'mang commune built a market, which was held once a week on Sunday, she and some others cooked thang co to serve people going to the market. To suit the local conditions, thang co was cooked from beef or goat meat and organs instead of horse meat as before.

“Nowadays, there are not as many horses as before, so to make thang co, we switch to beef and goat. Even though the ingredients have changed, the spices must still be sufficient to preserve the full flavor of this dish, in which thang co is the last spice,” Ms. Van revealed.

Nowadays, Mong people still make thang co to eat every day or to entertain distinguished guests.

It is known that, in addition to the markets, the Mong people now also make thang co to eat every day or to entertain distinguished guests... When enjoying, thang co is still placed on the stove, guests and hosts sip wine, enjoy the food and chat in a cozy space.

Impressive "soul" of Northwest cuisine

When mentioning the Thai ethnic group, many people will immediately think of xoe dance, bamboo dance, the com shirt and the charming pieu scarf.

Besides, Thai people are also famous for their ingenuity and meticulousness in culinary arts. They have created many unique and special dishes from the very simple products of nature and the mountains, including Pa Pinh Top. This dish is considered the “soul of Northwest cuisine” and is meticulously prepared by many Thai families whenever they have distinguished guests visiting their home.

The Thai community in Truong Xuan commune still retains the flavor of Pa Pinh Top.

Mr. Vi Dinh Quang, Bon Ding Plei, Truong Xuan Commune (Dak Song) and his family have been living in Dak Nong for many years. However, in his stories, Mr. Quang always mentions Pa Pinh Top as a source of pride for the Thai people.

Mr. Quang shared that Pa in Thai means “stream fish”; Pa pỉnh tộp means grilled folded fish. To prepare this dish, the main ingredients are fish and indispensable spices such as mac khen, doi seeds, onions, garlic, etc.

According to Mr. Quang, most of the ingredients are available in the forests of the Northwest, especially mac khen and doi seeds. When coming to Dak Nong, many people bring these spices with them to preserve the full flavor of Pa pinh top.

To make Pa Pinh Top, Thai people often choose tilapia or carp, weighing about 0.7-1kg. Spices are put into the belly of the fish, folded, put in a clip and grilled over hot coals.

When eating, Pa pinh top will be enjoyed gradually from the crispy and sweet meat on the outside to the richly aromatic filling inside. Pa pinh top is eaten with sticky rice, dipped in fish sauce, and a cup of spicy corn wine.

Speaking more about this rustic, typical dish, Mr. Vi Dinh Quang said that today's life is in harmony with modern development, many delicious and strange dishes have appeared. However, Pa pinh top is still preserved and passed down by the Thai people in Dak Nong, as an irreplaceable thing in cuisine.

As a dish that carries the soul of the homeland, warming the hearts of every child when remembering the origin of the nation, on holidays or simply when guests come to visit, the Thai people make Pa Pinh Top to express their sincere feelings and affection. The dish contains both the feelings and ingenuity of the cook, and also shows the sophistication in Thai cuisine.

Source: https://daknong.vietnam.vn/loi-chao-va-mam-co-cua-nguoi-dak-nong/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=loi-chao-va-mam-co-cua-nguoi-dak-nong