What could be more wonderful than traveling to the mountains and forests of Northeast Vietnam – Cao Bang with majestic and pristine natural landscapes? Not only that, you can also enjoy the famous specialties of the local people here. Below are the 10 most famous food Cao Bang specialties that you must definitely try if you have the opportunity to set foot in this land.
1. Banh Ap Chao
In Cao Bang winter, people immediately think of Banh Ap Chao. This is a dish that quickly dispels the mountain cold. At first glance, you will see that it looks like a donut, but you only need a jar of flour, simple seasoning with a pan of hot oil, take each mold to measure each dough, put duck meat in the middle and then dip it into a pan of boiling oil.
This dish is loved by many people in Cao Bang and is missed even when they are far away. On cold winter days in Cao Bang, you can stop by a roadside restaurant, order a portion of banh chao and warm up in the cold weather. What an unforgettable feeling.
2. Ant Egg Cake
Ant Egg Cake is made from glutinous rice flour, ant eggs and young leaves of the fig tree. Every year around April and May, people of the Tay ethnic group in Cao Bang province go to the forest to find black ant eggs to make cakes.
People here often take ant eggs with small bodies and sharp tails, often making nests on vau trees, then bring them home, fry them in lard until fragrant, add a little chives, sprinkle them on the dough and put them in a steaming tray.
Waiting for every moment when the cake is cooked, the aroma of fig leaves is very attractive to visitors when they first enjoy this dish. Taking the first bite, the ant egg cake is chewy and fragrant with the smell of ant eggs, making it hard to resist.
3. Banh Khao
Banh Khao is one of the famous Cao Bang specialties that is loved by many people. Every spring, Banh Khao is indispensable on the ancestral altar.
The ingredients for making the cake are sticky rice, delicious, fragrant, round and evenly grained. People here use diameter or crushed sugar to make Banh Khao. The filling has the nutty taste of peanuts and sesame mixed with the greasy taste of pork fat.
Skillful and meticulous artisans neatly wrap the cakes into rectangular boxes. When you eat it, you will feel the rich aroma of sticky rice flour and the sweetness of sugar that you will never forget.
4. Trung Khanh chestnuts
Trung Khanh chestnut is the only fruit found only in Cao Bang. The fruit is evenly brown, round, and has the smallest seed the size of a big toe. It can be boiled, roasted, dried or simmered with pork feet or chicken while still retaining its flavor.
Every September and October is the harvest season. Visitors will “remember” the most delicious and nutty taste of Trung Khanh chestnuts they have ever enjoyed.
5. Cao Bang canarium fruits sticky rice
When the weather turns to autumn, Tay – Nung people go to the forest to pick canarium fruits to make sticky rice with canarium. This is an indispensable dish in the meals of Cao Bang people here.
Cook sticky rice with ripe fruit, not wormy, soak in water at a temperature of about 25 to 30 degrees Celsius for a while until soft. Take the meat, remove the seeds and mix it with thoroughly mashed sticky rice, turning it purple and pink in color.
You will have the opportunity to enjoy this nutritious, fatty, strange-tasting sticky rice dish. How is it different from other common types of sticky rice?
6. Che Lam Cake
Besides the greasy ant egg cake, we cannot help but mention the Che Lam cake. This is a traditional cake of Cao Bang people
The cake is made of roasted glutinous rice flour, roasted peanuts, ginger and malt. When enjoying it, you can feel the sticky taste of sticky rice flour, the sweetness of honey, the spicy taste of ginger, and the nutty taste of peanuts.
Sip a cup of hot tea with Lam tea cake and admire the nature of Cao Bang. All bring you a feeling of peace, lightness, and comfort like never before.
7. Da Hien Vegetable
Da Hien vegetable, also known as Bo Khai vegetable, often grows wild in rocky mountain areas. This very brittle vine divides into many branches the size of a chopstick head and clings to the tree to catch sunlight.
Every spring and summer, people’s parties here include Stir-fried Da Hien vegetables with beef, pork intestines, and chicken intestines. This wild vegetable dish is very strange and unlike any other vegetable.
8. Cao Bang Sausages
If anyone comes to Cao Bang, they cannot forget buying sausages as a gift. Cao Bang pork sausages are meticulously prepared. The pork loin and pork shoulder make up the filling of the sausage, infused with spices, honey, and a touch of white wine. Additionally, a hint of ginger and ground dry macadamia nuts are essential ingredients.
It takes about 2-3 days to dry in the sun and then hang it on the stove. The smoke and heat of the stove are lit from sugarcane to make the meat firmer and tastier. Taking the first bite, feeling the unforgettable flavor of Sausages in the Northwest mountains will make you remember this flavor.
9. Black Dong Vermicelli
Cao Bang has long been renowned for producing pure and delicious black arrowroot vermicelli from arrowroot powder. With the ingenuity and experience of the people here, vermicelli noodles are shiny, beautiful, crispy, chewy and have the characteristic aroma of arrowroot powder without using any chemicals.
In the Tet feast, Cao Bang people with a bowl of vermicelli cooked with chicken and served with mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms are traditional, rich and heartwarming dishes of the people of this region.
10. Roasted duck with 7 flavors
Any tourist who comes to Cao Bang should try it and will praise its deliciousness. The reason it is called 7-spice roast duck is because Cao Bang people use 7 different spices to marinate this duck meat dish.
Unlike regular duck dishes, Cao Bang roasted duck is very meticulous right from the stage of choosing the duck. The selected duck must be of moderate size, firm meat and bright feathers. The most important step is marinating the duck with all 7 flavors. This is probably the secret of the Tay people living in Cao Bang province. So when roasting the duck, it will have a strange and attractive aroma.
Brush a layer of delicious honey evenly over the duck. The golden color of honey will immediately stimulate your taste buds. Feeling the first bites, you have to chew slowly to fully enjoy the sweetness of wild honey mixed with the greasy taste of oil. The delicious taste of roasted duck permeates the tip of the tongue.
Plan to immediately explore Cao Bang with its breathtaking natural scenery and enjoy its famous specialties. Contact us today – a professional local tour operator in Vietnam, we will take you on a journey with these unforgettable experiences.
