Some of the traditional dishes and specialties of Bac Ha include:

1. Thang Co:

‘Thang Co” a typical dish of the Mong, Nung, Tay ethnic minority group in Bac Ha Lao Cai. Thang Co has been one of the most special dishes of the Mong culture, the preparing process is quite simple. After a horse is butchered and washed, its internal organs are removed. The horse meat is chopped into small pieces. Then, these pieces are mixed with special spices and put into a big pan. After being fried in it’s own fat, water is added and the meat is stewed for hours. Thang co is always ready when people complete their trading. Sitting on low chairs, Mong men usually enjoy Thang Co with liquor distilled from fermented corn, while their wives are waiting for them at a distance. Mong people go to market not only to buy goods, eat Thang Co and drink corn liquor but also to meet and talk with their friends and socialize, and this is an important element of their culture.

2. Men Men:

Men Men is a corn flour rice dish of the Bac Ha ethnic group. The corn is dried, ground into flour, and cooked with water to create a porridge-like consistency. Men Men is a simple yet delicious dish that highlights the use of corn in the local cuisine.

3. Five-color sticky rice:

The Five-color sticky rice is a specialty of Bac Ha market. It is made using natural ingredients such as yellow-flowered plants, red-black trees, turmeric, or carnation leaves to create vibrant colors in the sticky rice. This dish is not only visually appealing but also has a unique taste.

4. Corn cakes:

Corn cakes are made from corn and cooked in a large pot. They are then cut into small pieces and seasoned to enhance their flavor. Corn cakes offer a different taste compared to traditional rice flour cakes.

5. Bac Ha Pho:

Bac Ha Pho is a unique variation of the popular Vietnamese dish, Pho. The Sour Pho is made from red rice found only in Bac Ha and Lung Phinh regions, giving it a distinct brown color. It is served with grilled pork, freshly coated pho noodles, raw vegetables, and sour water, creating a flavorful combination.

6. Bac Ha corn wine:

Bac Ha is also known for its corn wine, which is made from corn, the staple food of the region. The water used to cook the corn wine is taken from Hang De stream, adding a unique aroma and taste to the drink.

7. Sour noodle soup:

Upland unique cuisine in Bac Ha  is sour soup, with most of the highland ethnic groups: Mong, Dao, Tay, Nung ethnic or even used to live on the mountain headlines such as:Thu Lao, Ha Nhi … sour soup is rustic, indispensable. Each session, she, her pulses beautiful in colorful costumes, swooping on sour soup, just as the men gathered around the wheels straight alcohol.

Materials for a bowl of sour soup of the uplands consists of six major components: rice noodle, tomato, pickles yoghurt, soy ships, roasted peanut and ultimately indispensable chili. Noodles is not normally sold cakes is listed in fair city, where the dough is rolled and coated by hand, select local blusher rice, when coated finished products, crispy ensure, not too soft not too hard. Typically, water is removed from the jar pickles and sour.

However, the difference is to acidic water, the graceful and sweet, pickles cat salt from vegetables, planting vegetables on the grill, sliced only about half the size knuckles. Along with crushed roasted peanut, raw material is equally important in the bowl of sour soup is the boat blow (aka cylinder head). Train soy which are processed, soaked from soybean. For a delicious tofu soy ships, processing stages of upland people quite sophisticated and elaborate, from selecting beans, spice additions and processing of finished products take up to several months. Cylinder head bowl mix together sour soup is dark golden brown as sugar, wing beans crushed and filled scented water pile up. And finally, the raw material indispensable for making the perfect noodle taste is sour chili sauce – is the like of the highlands such as the Bac Ha chili peppers , ensure spicy with bright red.

Over the years, Bac Ha traditional cuisine has always attracted the highland food lovers, the visitors can see the colorful diversity in the culinary culture of the people here. Bac Ha cuisine has become a beauty representing for the people and the land of the Bac Ha White Plateau./.

                                                                                    Thanh Nhàn