(VOVworld) – Muong cuisine has a unique flavor because it is made from ingredients found in the forest and springs. Muong women have always depended on the natural, fresh taste of these ingredients whether cooking a daily meal or a feast for a worshiping ceremony or festival.
The Muong often serve food on banana leaves |
The Muong Bi in Hoa Binh have traditional recipes for cook pigs, local vegetables, and terraced rice to bring out the special flavor of the forest. Steamed vegetables are a popular daily dish. Bui Thi Dien says Hoa Binh has a temperate mountain climate suitable for growing many kinds of vegetables. “We steam papaya leaves, cabbage, Chinese lettuce, and piper lolot together. We grow some kinds of vegetables in the fields and gather some wild vegetables in the forest. Chinese lettuce is bitter, and gives a special taste to Muong food.”
Bitter lettuce of the Muong
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Every Muong family grows papaya trees in their garden. They take both young and old leaves to add bitterness to various dishes. All kinds of leaves are cut into thin strips and steamed on a wood steamer. The vegetables are done after about 15 minutes when there is good aroma. “The vegetables are steamed, not crushed. We pick vegetables on terraced field to cook our daily meal.”
Steamed vegetables are served with fish sauce which has the many tastes and colors of red chilis, yellow ginger, green onions, and tomatos. Bui Van Hai told us: “A steamed vegetable dish contains a number of herbal leaves. It’s great to eat it with hot fish sauce. It has a mixed flavor of bitterness and sweetness.”
7 dishes made from pork served on banana leaves
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A feast on a special occasion such as a worshiping ceremony or festival must have steamed fish stuffed with several kinds of ingredients. Fish from the spring are cleaned, mixed with salt, ginger, pepper, citronella, and chili, and wrapped and steamed in banana leaves.
Boiled pork dipped in roasted salt and Doi nuts is another special dish of the Muong. Mr. Khan explained to us why the Muong often serve food on banana leaves. “We arrange food on young banana leaves. Maybe in the past our ancestors were very poor so they served food on leaves. We still keep that tradition. It looks sociable when people pick at food placed on banana leaves on a flat basket.”
When people have a meal served on banana leaves with a Muong family, they begin to understand the customs, social etiquette, and family hierarchy of the Muong.