Best cheap foods Yen Bai Province has to offer

There are hardly any other regions in Vietnam that have such special and distinct cuisines like those of the Northern Highland. All the ingredients needed or the way authentic cuisine gets to be done are even more amazing and complicated, which takes native people not a few days, weeks but months or even up to a year to get their cooking done.

Making way to Yên Bái, besides observing all the breathtaking natural sceneries, you will also have a chance to experience such wonderful foods. And below is the list of the top nine must-try dishes highly recommended.  It offers an insight into Yen Bai culinary culture.

Lục Yên banana cake ( Bánh chuối Lục Yên)

Banana has long been a familiar fruit to Tày* people in Lục Yên – a rural District of Y, becoming an inspiration for them to make distinct sweet cake. Unlike the commonly known “Bánh chuối”, which is made of banana covered in wet wheat flour and deep fried in boiled oil until it turns golden brown each side, Lục Yên version requires more time and skills.

Ripe bananas are peeled and dried before being kept in pots. When it’s time, they are soaked in hot water, ground and mixed with rice powder to coat and finally stuffed with the concoction of sugar, pounded steamed mung bean and peanuts inside. The cake is wrapped by banana leaves and steamed for 25 – 30 minutes.

The cake is usually served on full moon day or during traditional events. And if you remember, “Xôi chè”, a sweeten pudding in Hanoi I talked about in my previous article, is also served on such occasions with the main ingredients: mung bean, glutinous rice and sugar as well. It is an interesting coincidence, isn’t it?

Grilled buffalo meat (Thịt trâu gác bếp)

It is definitely a shame if you come to the northern mountainous area without trying its grilled foods. The one I’d like to mention today is “Thịt trâu gác bếp”- a speciality of the black Thái (người Thái đen), which is made from buffalo thighs as the main ingredient. When being grilled over charcoal, the smoky smell of the buffalo may be quite unpleasant to some people so they often add seasoned with chilies, ginger and “mắc khén” – a special forest pepper of the ethnic minorities in the Northwest before cooking. Afterward, the beef is hung over a shelf in the kitchen to get dried. It will take about 8 months up to a year until the beef is ready to be served.

To eat, shred the beef into small pieces and enjoy it with a small cup of “rượu ngô”- corn wine, an ideal cuisine for the winter!

Mường Lò fried muồm muỗm (Muồm muỗm rang Mường Lò)

“Muồm muỗm”, similar to a grasshopper, is a kind of insects easily caught sight of in fields during harvest seasons. There are many dishes made from “muồm muỗm”. However, according to the locals, fried muồm muỗm is the best. When ready to be served, it turns golden brown and has a delicate aroma while its taste is infinitely crispy and greasy.

Lạp xưởng Yên Bái

“Lạp xưởng”, or Asian sausage, is made of chopped bacon, pepper, honey, sugar, etc. What makes “lạp xưởng” in Yên Bái special is the way it is seasoned. One thing to be kept in mind are the order and duration in which its ingredients are mixed up. And when it comes to drying the sausage, nothing but charcoal, bagasse, chaff and bay leaf must be used. As a result, you will feel the pleasant smoky scent of the cane when eating.

Coming to Yên Bái, you should not miss out Tú Lệ village, which is not only well-known for the breathtaking terrace rice fields but also for its food – glutinous rice. People even say that as being cooked, the aroma of the glutinous rice can be scented from hundreds of meters away. Accordingly, local citizens have created the following 3 must-try cuisines from the rice in Tu Le Village:

Food made from rice

Tú Lệ green rice ( Cốm Tú Lệ)

If Hanoi is frequently given reputation by Cốm Làng Vòng, Tú Lệ Village puts its name on the map with Cốm Tú Lệ. The land has been rewarded with its one-of-a-kind rice whose kernel is roasted over low heat then pounded in a mortar with a pestle until flattened. That one special point I want to insist is that the green of Cốm is definitely natural, not served with any chemical constituent.

Xôi ngũ sắc

Given that you do not seem to prefer steamed sticky rice owning one single colour only, then we are so glad to let you meet our “Xôi ngũ sắc”, a special version featured five different colours – blue, red, purple, yellow and white, all of which are dyed by natural pigments of forest leaves. This dish can be found in Tu Le Village.

Bánh chưng đen Mường Lò

“Bánh chưng” is a Vietnamese traditional dish, usually served in Lunar New Year or sometimes on full moon day. “Bánh chưng đen” – black square sticky rice cake, is made similarly to the original edition, but the Thái people make it in a little bit different way by mixing ground “núc nác” tree’s coat with glutinous rice to cover their cakes with black coats.

Rêu suối Mường Lò

Have you ever thought that fungus can be used to make a dish? It appears to be impossible but in Thái*’s culinary culture, it isn’t. Fungus is wrapped in banana leaves and then grilled until the fat and green liquid come out from the fresh fungus. As good fungus is hard to find while its season is pretty short, the locals here highly appreciate it. This dish is served in dinner when family gathers or special guests come over.

Cá sỉnh

“Cá sỉnh” is considered by the Thái in Văn Chấn town in such a pride because this kind of fish only habitats here.

“Cá sỉnh” is quite small, about four human fingers in width while its meat is tender and bones are quite soft.

If you are now wondering where to go to try these dishes, just head forward until you come across a street food shop on the way or somehow you are invited to the locals’ houses for a meal, who knows? The locals in Yen Bai are very friendly.

But if you want a specific guide for where to eat, drop by some following listed restaurants in the city. They are suggested by the Vietnamese backpackers.

Thùy Vân floating restaurant

Address: Đồng Tâm ward, Yên Bái city
Opening hours: 08:00 – 22:30
Phone number: (02) 93 852 099

Sâm Hiệp restaurant

Address: 302 Thanh Niên, Hồng Hà ward, Yên Bái city
Opening hours: 09:00 AM – 09:30 PM

Tây Bắc restaurant

Address: Village 6, Hợp Minh ward, Yên Bái city
Opening hours: 08:00 – 22:30
Phone number: 0216 3712 719

Sơn Thủy restaurant

Address: 600 Điện Biên Street, Yên Bái city
Opening hours: 8.00 – 23.00
Phone number: 070 385 2695

Minh Đức restaurant

Address: 381 Lê Hồng Phong Street, Yên Bái city
Opening hours: 08:00 – 22:30

Thanh Hà restaurant

Address: 182 Đinh Tiên Hoàng street, Đồng Tâm ward, Yên Bái city
Opening time: 08:00 – 22:30

Thuyền Chài restaurant

Address:Group 6, Hợp Minh ward, Yên Bái city
Opening hours: 09:00 – 23:00

* Some information about the Vietnamese ethnic groups:

• The Tày: famous for the Yale blue of their traditional costume, is one of the most populated ethnic minorities in Vietnam. They inhabit mostly in Lạng Sơn, Cao Bằng, Hà Giang, Bắc Cạn, Yên Bái
• The Thái: having inhabited in the Northwest Vietnam for over 1200 years since their ancestors first migrated to Vietnam from Yunnan, China. They are most widely known as the Black Thai and the White Thai who live mainly in Điện Biên, Lai Châu, Sơn La, Lào Cai, Yên Bái, Hòa Bình.