In November, the highlands of Muong Khuong welcome the first cold spells of the season. A persistent drizzle falls, and a white mist blankets the villages and small streets. The hearths still burn faintly from morning till night, enough to dry the entire space with the sizzling smell of molasses and the pungent smoke from the hearth stinging the eyes.
In a small kitchen in Pho Cu village, Mrs. Lo Thi Thanh meticulously stirs the finely chopped meat in a basin, ensuring it's evenly seasoned, using her skilled hands honed over decades of experience. According to Mrs. Thanh, in the past, the highlands would slaughter pigs in December to prepare for Tet (Lunar New Year). Without refrigerators or meat storage, they relied on the kitchen fire to smoke the meat for longer preservation. From this, smoked meat and sausages were born.
While smoked meat only requires marinating it with salt for a few days and then hanging it above the stove, Muong Khuong sausage is much more elaborate. Muong Khuong sausage has a completely different flavor compared to sausages from other provinces and cities. The people of Muong Khuong choose lean meat with a little fat, dice it, mix it with traditional spices, and marinate it slightly salty. This mixture is stuffed into pig intestines, tied tightly, and then hung above the kitchen stove to be gradually smoked by wood and sugarcane smoke.
According to Ms. Thanh, it is this traditional method that allows the meat to be preserved for several months after Tet without spoiling. In the past, sausages were only for family consumption, but now many people order them as gifts, so her family also makes extra to sell.
It helps preserve traditional flavors while providing extra income, and I'm happy that the craft passed down from my grandparents is becoming known to more people.
- Ms. Lo Thi Thanh shared
The way sausages are made may vary slightly from family to family, but the common thread is that it all depends on the skill of the maker. In the Xóm Chợ neighborhood, Mrs. Lù Thị Chỉnh is always meticulous from the very first step of selecting ingredients. To make delicious batches of sausages, Mrs. Chỉnh usually wakes up very early, goes to the market, and chooses the freshest and best cuts of meat. The meat used for sausages must be local black pork, with a bright red color and glossy fat. If the meat is not fresh or not cooked properly, the sausage will not have the authentic Mường Khương flavor. The ratio of lean meat to fat must be balanced; too much fat will make it soft and mushy, while too little will make it dry and lose its richness. After marinating, the meat is stuffed into pig intestines and immediately hung over the stove.
According to Ms. Chinh's experience, the most crucial factor lies in the low-fire smoking technique of the highlanders. The sausage must be smoked for at least 7 days, with the fire kept low and never increased to shorten the smoking time. The people of Muong Khuong often burn sugarcane bagasse and peel, giving the sausage a distinctive aroma and a beautiful, natural color. These seemingly small secrets are what make Muong Khuong sausage unique, giving it a rich flavor that many tourists seek out when visiting the highlands.
On November 11th, the Department of Science and Technology, in coordination with the Lao Cai Provincial Farmers' Association, announced and granted the right to use the collective trademark "Muong Khuong Sausage" to eligible households. With this protected trademark, Muong Khuong sausage, a traditional dish in every family's kitchen, confidently enters the market with its own identity, standards, and accompanying responsibilities.
Almost every family in the commune knows how to make sausage. In recent years, with the development of delivery services, sausage has become a gift with a distinct highland flavor, especially popular during Tet (Lunar New Year), and is even more sought after throughout the country.
- Mr. Ma Trieu Chinh - Vice Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Muong Khuong Commune
In the context of increasingly fierce competition among local products, obtaining a collective trademark is not only a legal protection but also a way to preserve culinary culture. Mr. Chinh emphasized: “Having a collective trademark contributes to affirming the reputation and enhancing the value of products, while helping people maintain their traditional local crafts. The trademark helps customers trace the origin, understand the processing procedures, and obtain information about the production facility. This builds trust among buyers and opens up a wider market for producers.”
Despite becoming a signature product, Muong Khuong sausage retains its traditional practice: it is only produced during the cold season because processing it at higher temperatures would result in an unauthentic Muong Khuong flavor. This is not only a technical requirement but also a long-standing way of life for the local people. Therefore, the Farmers' Association of the commune regularly educates residents to adhere to the process, ensure hygiene, and use the correct labels to avoid confusion in the market.
Therefore, the households engaged in this craft are always acutely aware of their responsibilities. They don't chase after production volume while neglecting traditional techniques; they don't replace wood-fired ovens with high-temperature dryers; and they don't skip steps to save time. In the commune, some households have considered expanding their scale, but most agree that the product must be based on traditional methods. Technology can help control quality, but the smoke from the kitchen stove, sugarcane bagasse, the cool mountain air, and the skillful hands of the Muong Khuong women are what truly create the authentic flavor of the sausage.
For the people of Muong Khuong, sausage is not simply a dish, but a part of their winter memories, an image of crackling hearths, the flavor of Tet (Lunar New Year) meals, and a story of labor and the skill of the highland women. From the winter kitchen, this humble dish has become a local specialty. Each time a package of sausage is delivered to a tourist, the people of Muong Khuong send along their story. The protection of Muong Khuong sausage as a collective trademark not only has commercial significance but also serves as a "boost" for the sustainable maintenance of this traditional craft. When a product has a brand, the story of its culture, the craftsmanship, the November chill of the highlands, and the special smoking technique will be more widely disseminated.
Presented by : Hoang Thu
Source: https://baolaocai.vn/tu-mon-an-binh-dan-den-thuong-hieu-dac-san-post887593.html
Comment (0)