Delicious dishes from the Bay Nui region

When mentioning the delicious food of the Bay Nui region, one cannot fail to mention the unique dishes and famous specialty fruits that have captivated countless food lovers, even after just one taste. Among them, perhaps the most special is the palmyra palm, a species endemic only to the Bay Nui region, along with the delicious dishes made from its sap and fruit, such as: palmyra palm sugar, jam, tea, wine, and jelly… And the palmyra palm rice cake, well-known for its distinctive golden color, fluffy and airy texture resembling a flower thanks to the high-quality rice, skillful fermentation, and the rich aroma of the palmyra palm fruit.

The Bay Nui region is also famous for its wild vegetable pancake, a dish that has long been a familiar favorite for tourists visiting the area. The wild vegetable pancake has similar ingredients and preparation methods to those found elsewhere, but what makes it special is the plate of over 20 types of wild vegetables served with it. These are organic vegetables that grow naturally on the high mountains, such as: fig leaves, cat's claw, silk leaves, tamarind, Dinh Lang, Ngang Ngang, Bứa shoots, Kim That, Bang Lang... Wrapping all these green vegetables around the pancake, dipping it in a bowl of sweet and sour fish sauce, and taking a bite, you hear the crispy crackling of the pancake crust in your mouth while savoring the sweetness of the filling, the rich aroma of coconut milk, the slightly bitter taste of the leaves, and the sour, spicy, and salty flavors of the dipping sauce – a perfect blend of colors, aromas, and tastes… indescribably delicious. Ms. Le Truong Huynh Nhu, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, said... Ho Chi Minh shared: “When I first tasted banh xeo (Vietnamese savory pancake) in the Bay Nui region, I was extremely impressed and really enjoyed the banh xeo served with many kinds of wild vegetables from the area. Every year when I return to An Giang to visit the Lady of Sam Mountain, I have to eat banh xeo in the Bay Nui region to my heart's content.”

As a region with a large Khmer ethnic minority population, the cuisine of the Bay Nui area is a blend of different flavors and textures, creating unique dishes. A prime example is the "papaya salad," a famous and distinctive snack of the Khmer ethnic minority in Bay Nui. Simple ingredients include papaya, shredded water spinach, long beans, herbs, lime, tomatoes, mixed with peanuts, shrimp paste, chili peppers, and shallots, creating an attractive dish with a variety of aromas, colors, and flavors. Another delicious dish that attracts tourists to Bay Nui is the "O Thum grilled chicken." Free-range chicken from the hills is marinated with lemongrass, chili peppers, kaffir lime leaves, and garlic. A layer of lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves is placed at the bottom of the pot, then grilled until the skin turns an appealing golden color. Tear off pieces of chicken meat, releasing the distinctive aroma of kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass, evenly seasoned yet retaining its natural sweetness, dip them into a bowl of chili-lime salt or fish sauce, and eat them with banana blossom salad. All the flavors melt in your mouth and linger on your tongue. Alternatively, visitors can enjoy golden-brown grilled frog, stuffed with minced meat and lemongrass, then seasoned and grilled over hot coals using bamboo tongs. After just two or three turns, the frog meat begins to firm up, the fat seeps out and drips onto the coals, crackling and releasing an enticing aroma that attracts diners from near and far.

There is also the unique ka-tum cake of the Khmer ethnic minority. In Khmer, ka-tum means "pomegranate," because the cake's shape resembles a pomegranate. Ka-tum cake symbolizes abundance and prosperity, and therefore only appears during traditional festivals and holidays of the Khmer ethnic minority, such as Chol Chnam Thmay and Sen Dolta. This cake is very difficult to make, requiring meticulous and elaborate wrapping, so very few people know how to make it. After cooking, the inside of the cake is filled with sticky rice blended with the richness of coconut, the nutty flavor of white beans, and the distinctive aroma of young palm leaves, giving the cake a unique taste unlike any other. Most notably, we must mention the "chuc" tree, one of the native specialty trees of the Bay Nui region. With its distinctive aroma from its fruit and leaves, the kaffir lime tree is well-known and used as a spice in many delicious and attractive dishes, such as: beef porridge with kaffir lime fruit, steamed chicken with kaffir lime leaves, dried chicken with kaffir lime leaves, grilled beef with kaffir lime leaves, steamed snakehead fish with kaffir lime leaves, etc.

Besides the dishes mentioned above, Bay Nui still boasts many other delicious specialties and fruits, such as: mountain crabs, mountain snails, stream fish, cicadas, scorpions, wild grapes, mountain tangerines, mountain sapodillas, mountain bamboo shoots, mountain-climbing cattle… Only by visiting and experiencing them firsthand can visitors truly appreciate the unique flavors of each dish and specialty of the Bay Nui region that cannot be found anywhere else. “I really enjoy visiting Bay Nui to see the beautiful mountain scenery, take photos, and savor the many incredibly delicious fruits and dishes with their unique flavors that can't be found anywhere else,” shared Ms. Nguyen Tran Ngoc Tran, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City.

TRONG TIN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/mon-ngon-vung-bay-nui-a419087.html