The unique cuisine of ethnic groups is an attractive factor of Son La tourism.

Unique highland flavor

Not coming from delicacies or expensive ingredients, the cuisine of the ethnic groups in Son La is simple, close, and full of the flavor of the mountains and forests. From the available ingredients in home gardens, fish ponds, and forests, through skillful hands, people have created rustic dishes that attract diners.
 

Each ethnic group has its own typical dishes: the Mong have thang co, banh giay, men men; the Thai have pa pinh top (grilled fish), smoked meat, fish sauce, and soy sauce; the Dao have sour meat...

Thang co dish of Mong ethnic people.

Mr. Vu Phai Sua, Co Ma commune, said: Since ancient times, the Mong people have believed that women must know how to embroider and grind men men, and men must learn to play the trumpet, weave lu co, and cook thang co. The work is divided into quite clear roles, everyone knows their job and is good at their job. The Mong people's dishes are quite simple, but require proper preparation to retain the traditional flavor.

Five-color sticky rice.

Despite differences in culture and beliefs, the ethnic groups in Son La have common culinary culture. Dishes born from the culture of using firewood such as grilled fish, grilled meat or from ancient ways of preserving food such as: smoked meat, pickled bamboo shoots... are available to all ethnic groups.
 

Fresh buffalo, beef, pork, chicken, or fish marinated with spices or salt and hung in the kitchen to dry can be preserved for months, even years without spoiling. Over time, the spices are absorbed into each fiber of the meat, creating a dish with a rich, distinctive flavor. Dishes with the smell of kitchen smoke are considered specialties of each house, from being reserved for guests, now these dishes have become famous specialties.

Talking about the culinary culture of the Thai people, Ms. Lo Thi Van, Chieng An Ward, shared: Thai people value cuisine, especially fresh ingredients and rich spices. Each dish uses suitable spices to make the dish more fragrant, delicious and attractive.

Full moon feast of the Thai ethnic group on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month.

What makes the culinary culture of Son La ethnic group unique is the unique spices. Mac Khen, garlic, and chili are indispensable ingredients to pound into a delicious cham cheo, to dip bamboo shoots, boiled vegetables, sticky rice, and meat, all to suit the taste. These spices are reduced, processed, marinated, and used for each dish with a delicate and skillful combination, helping simple dishes become attractive. The spicy, hot taste of garlic, chili, or Mac Khen is always harmonized by the cook with other ingredients and spices, making each dish smell attractive, not only delicious to the eyes and mouth, but also stimulating all the senses, warming the body, dispelling the cold of rainy days and cold winds. That flavor has a strangely attractive and alluring power, making even the most difficult diners from far away fall in love, and remember it forever after eating it once.

Highland spices.

From kitchen dishes to OCOP products

Traditional dishes of ethnic minorities today not only appear in daily meals or meals to entertain distinguished guests, but have gone beyond the simple kitchen, appearing on the banquet tables of restaurants and homestays serving tourists.

Food service area with ethnic cuisine service at Uy Phong Bay, Quynh Nhai commune.

As an attractive tourist destination of the Son La hydroelectric reservoir, Uy Phong Bay is attracting visitors with its interesting experiences and unique cuisine. Mr. La Van Phong, Director of Quynh Nhai Travel Joint Stock Company, said: We serve a menu of traditional local dishes, creative in preparation but still retain the typical flavor of the Thai people, meeting the tastes of a variety of customers, especially dishes made from Da River fish.

Coming to Son La, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hoa, a tourist from Hanoi, said: I am very impressed with the cuisine of the ethnic groups in Son La. What I feel most clearly is the fresh ingredients, rich flavors, especially the grilled dishes and salads are all rich in flavor and attractive.

The Mong people's sticky rice cake is now developed into a commodity. Photo: PV

Not only stopping at on-site service, many specialties of Son La have been processed, packaged to become commodities, tourist gifts, OCOP products, built brands, labeled, becoming prestigious products, local specialties chosen by customers from all regions. Typically, such as the soy sauce of the Pat Agricultural Cooperative (Muong Bu); the smoked buffalo meat of the Kim Tien Phat Cooperative (Chieng Coi)... are certified as 3-star OCOP products; the smoked sausage product of the Kim Tien Phat Cooperative is certified as a typical rural industrial product of the province...

Typical products from ethnic cuisine of Kim Tien Phat Cooperative.

From the typical flavors of highland dishes to the thousand-year-old cultural stories, Son La cuisine has gone beyond the limits of traditional dishes, becoming an attractive tourism product, contributing to the attraction of Son La tourism.