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• Jan 10, 2024
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Top Ha Giang Specialties You Must Try at Least Once

Not only possessing majestic and lyrical scenery, Ha Giang is also famous for its rich culinary land. Favored by nature with diverse and abundant raw materials, Ha Giang cuisine has become its own unique feature.

Ha Giang specialties therefore always “touch the hearts” of tourists from near and far because of the diverse and rich culinary culture of the locality. Join Pyx Tours to check out the best dishes in Ha Giang to discover the specialties of this land of buckwheat flowers!

Ha Giang is a province in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam. It is located 23 km from the Vietnam-China border and 320 km from Hanoi.

With its unique geographical location and natural highland terrain, Ha Giang is not only famous for its majestic mountain scenery, golden terraced fields or endless fields of buckwheat flowers, but also known for its cultural diversity of local ethnic groups, making it a rich culinary paradise. These factors blend together to create Ha Giang’s outstanding delicacies that captivate people’s hearts.

Thang Den

The main ingredient of “Thang Den” is fragrant sticky rice from Yen Minh district. This type of rice is large, round, white and firm, when cooked it will be fragrant and delicious.

Inside the sticky, special sticky rice balls are different types of fillings, from green beans, red beans, … When you chew it, you will feel the stickiness and light sweetness with the faint aroma of sticky rice.

To enjoy it more deliciously, you can add a little ginger-cooked apricot blossom syrup or coconut milk, sesame and roasted peanuts.

Suggested address: Dong Van Ancient Town, Meo Vac

Reference price: 25,000 – 50,000 VND / bowl.

Thang Co

Traditionally, Thang Co is made from horse organs. But now, to serve tourists and ensure the taste is suitable for everyone, the restaurant owners here have used buffalo and beef instead. Because the main ingredient is meat, Thang Co means meat soup.

The most quintessential part of Thang Co is the soup – simmered from bones and internal organs. If you try this dish for the first time, it will be a bit difficult to eat because Thang Co has a strong smell of internal organs. But the more you eat, the more addicted you will be!

To create a delicious and nutritious Thang Co, the locals here often combine 12 typical mountainous spices: lemon leaves, star anise, cardamom, … With the sweet taste of meat, the spicy taste of the broth and the unique aroma of the blended flavors, it has captivated many tourists from all over.

Suggested address: Dong Van Ancient Town – Dong Van Town, Ha Giang.

Reference price: about 50,000 – 100,000 VND/bowl.

Buffalo Jerky

Buffalo jerky is the traditional dish that makes up the brand of Ha Giang specialties. It has a strong culinary style of the Thai ethnic group.

This is not only a daily dish of the people living in the northern highlands but also often appears in festivals or offerings and as gifts for distinguished guests.

The taste of buffalo jerky is like its name – “Mac Khen” spice, fresh buffalo meat with rich sweetness and the characteristic smoky smell of the mountains. The meat is dark brown on the outside but has an eye-catching red color and rich flavor on the inside.

The average price of one kilogram of buffalo jerky ranges from 800,000 to 1,200,000 VND.

Reference address: Market or to buy from local households.

Smoked Sausage

Local people often make sausages hung on the stove to preserve the meat longer. The main ingredient of the sausages hung on the stove is pork shoulder without skin. The sausage filling is made from minced pork loin, lean shoulder or lean rump, marinated with spices – fried crushed onions and “Mac Khen” seeds.

Therefore, the dish is rich in meat with a strong smoky smell and a light sweetness. To produce the finished product, people have to smoke it on the stove continuously for 12 – 14 hours so that the spices can penetrate the meat.

Suggested address: Market or to buy from households.

Reference price: 250,000 – 300,000 VND/ 500gr.

Sour “Pho”

In the past, Pho Chua was a Chinese breakfast dish. It was then introduced to Vietnam, especially in the northern mountainous regions such as Ha Giang, Lang Son, Bac Kan, etc. The main ingredients of Sour “Pho” are fragrant sticky rice and sweet and sour sauce combined with char siu, roasted pork, Chinese sausage and stir-fried chili.

To get the typical taste of Sour “Pho”, people often make sweet and sour sauce from a mixture of vinegar with sugar, tapioca starch and mountain spices. When eating, visitors can use it with aromatic basil, fresh garlic, grated papaya, … to fully enjoy Ha Giang specialties.

Suggested address: Dong Van Old Quarter / Dong Van Market

Reference price: 30,000 – 50,000 VND / bowl.

Buckwheat Cake

Buckwheat is famous as one of the symbolic flowers of the Northeast region of Ha Giang. Buckwheat cake has therefore become a specialty of this land.

You can find these cakes anywhere when you go to the local market. Not only does it have a typical purple color, but buckwheat cake also has different colors such as white, yellow,…

When chewing it, you will feel the fatty taste of the soft and spongy cake and the pungent smell of buckwheat flowers. To fully enjoy the flavor of the cake, you can eat it with some local dishes, such as: “Thang Co”, boiled local pork,…

You can buy the cake and bring it along to eat on the road or at a stop.

Reference price: 15,000 VND/piece.

Colored Sticky Rice

Colored sticky rice is mainly made from fragrant and sticky rice, so if we left it outside for a long time, it will easily become hard; when eaten, it does not need to be seasoned with other spices. For a long time, colored sticky rice has become a traditional dish of the Tay people living in Ha Giang. During ancestral ceremonies, Tet holiday… in every family, this sticky rice dish is indispensable.

Colored sticky rice usually has 5 different colors: white, purple, blue, red, yellow corresponding to the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. The ingredients for coloring include: sticky rice, purple leaves, cochinchin gourd, turmeric, black rice leaves.

Address: Meo Vac Market or Dong Van Old Quarter.

Reference price: 10,000 – 15,000 VND/ package

Dong Van Old Quarter Rice Roll

Rice roll is often eaten for breakfast and lunch by not only locals but also tourists. The wrapper is made from steamed white rice flour, thin, soft and very fragrant. Inside is a filling of pork and wood ear mushrooms.

Unlike other places, Ha Giang rice rolls are served with a dipping sauce made from stewed bones. When eating, you should use it with fried onions and herbs.

Address: Dong Van Old Quarter.

Reference price: 30,000 – 50,000 VND/plate.

Au Tau Porridge (Aconitum Fortunei Porridge)

Au Tau porridge is made from Aconitum fortunei root soaked in rice water and boiled until soft. When cooked, the rice, minced pork and it will produce a light brown porridge with a strong aroma.

Aconitum fortunei is a highly toxic root, but with traditional processing experience, it becomes a special ingredient, rich in nutrients, good for health.

To make the porridge more delicious, people often stew Aconitum fortunei with fragrant sticky rice and pig’s feet. Therefore, “Au Tau” porridge not only has the typical flavor of Ha Giang but also helps to nourish health. When eating, you can combine it with an egg, pepper, chili,…

Address: Near Ha Giang City Square

Reference price: 30,000 – 50,000 VND/bowl

Humpback Chung Cake

Humpback Chung Cake is not only a famous specialty of Ha Giang but also a cultural symbol of the Red Dao people. The image of “humpback” represents the hard work, diligence and perseverance of highland women who have to carry baskets on their backs every day to go to the fields to pick corn, harvest rice, etc.

Having deep national cultural significance, Ha Giang Humpback Chung Cake cannot be mixed with any type of banh chung from other regions. The main ingredients to make Humpbacked Chung Cake are sticky rice, green beans and fatty meat.

Unlike traditional Chung Cake, Humpback Chung Cake is only wrapped in one layer of leaves on the outside. In particular, Humpback Chung Cake is wrapped in “Dong” leaves, so it has a distinctive green color and is very eye-catching.

Address: Meo Vac Market.

Suggested price: 20,000 VND/piece.

Trang Kim “Pho”

Trang Kim is a place located on the road from Quan Ba ​​to Dong Van, in the middle of the highlands, there is a street about 100m long along both sides of the road in Quyet Tien commune, Quan Ba ​​district. This peaceful village is famous for its “Pho” dish with a long history – Trang Kim “Pho”. The famous dish is not only delicious and attractive but also interesting and “strange” in the very delicate and skillful preparation of the hands of the mountain people.

Trang Kim “Pho” is handmade at every stage. Rice flour is ground by women’s hands. After being hand-made, the “Pho” cakes are spread out evenly on bamboo poles hung on the roof to dry.

When customers order, they take them down and slice them into strands. Therefore, Trang Kim “Pho” have different characteristics compared to other types of “Pho”. The color, flavor and toughness of the “Pho” strands make the dish more delicious and unique.

Address: Quan Ba

Reference price: 40,000-50,000/bowl

Black Chicken Hotpot

Ha Giang black chicken hotpot is a very easy-to-eat specialty dish, suitable for the taste of tourists from many regions. Therefore, in the central areas of the city and districts in Ha Giang, this hotpot dish is quite popular and loved by tourists. Not only delicious, black chicken hotpot also has many nutrients that are good for health.

When traveling to Ha Giang, you must try this special hotpot dish at least once. Everyone knows about chicken hotpot, but hotpot made from black chicken is not available everywhere. This dish is made from a special breed of black chicken from the northern mountainous region. When cooked, the chicken has a very unique black color.

The reason Ha Giang people use black chicken to cook hot pot is because the chicken meat is very firm, naturally sweet and rich in nutrients, unlike industrial chickens whose meat is very friable and not juicy. In the cold atmosphere typical of the mountains, using black chicken to cook hot pot is considered the best solution. So this delicious dish has become a Ha Giang specialty loved by many tourists.

Address: Ha Giang City/ Dong Van/ Meo Vac

Reference price: 200,000-300,000/person

Smoked Pork Belly

This is a typical dish of the H’mong people in Ha Giang, made from black pork. This is a breed of pig that adapts to the harsh climate of the highlands, and is also raised naturally like cows. That is why the black pigs here are very firm, the fat is thick but crispy and fragrant.

The meat used to hang on the kitchen shelf is pork belly, lean meat. The meat is cut into 5 cm wide and 20 cm long pieces, marinated with salt, cardamom, ginger, garlic, chili, white wine… After marinating overnight, people also use skewers and hang it on the kitchen shelf. A week later, when the meat is cooked, this dish is taken down, wrapped in dry banana leaves and stored on the kitchen shelf.

During Tet holiday or festivals, when there are guests, the H’mong people will take the smoked meat down and cook it into different dishes. The smocked meat needs to be soaked in hot water to soften the dry, hard pork skin. Then, people will slice it very thinly and stir-fry it with ginger, mustard greens, lemon leaves, fresh garlic leaves or wild vegetables.

Suggested address: Market or to buy from local households.

Reference price: 250,000 – 300,000 VND/ 500gr.

Currently, Ha Giang has become Vietnam’s top tourist attraction. Therefore, to ensure the most complete and comfortable trip, you can contact Pyx Tours to get advice on a schedule that suits your needs as well as receive the most incentives from Pyx Tours.

In addition, if you want to save money, you should visit the markets in Ha Giang. This is a crowded and bustling trading center of the city, so you can find any delicious food.