Family members perform the fire dance to pray for good luck and goodness. Each ethnic group has its own unique and distinctive customs and practices creating the richness and diversity of cultures of the ethnic groups in the area. The fire dancing custom of the Red Dao people at the beginning of the year is one of those characteristics … To reschedule up… The fire dancing custom of the Luc Yen Red Dao (Yen Bai) is usually only held on a small scale in the household. Households that practice fire dancing will be passed on from generation to generation. This activity is held every 3 years with the aim of banishing bad luck, praying for family members to have health, a good crop, good life, and a full life. To see firsthand the custom of fire dancing, we went to Khai Trung commune, Luc Yen district on the 4th day of the Tan Suu Lunar New Year. This is a locality where over 90% are the Red Dao people. Thuy Dieu slope winding along a misty mountain slope leads us to this upland commune. Passing the slope a large, flat green plain surrounded by limestone mountains appeared before your eyes. In that green plains is the life of nearly 1,500 Red Dao people. Mixed life of the people is the green color of the mountains, the white of the plum blossoms, the plum blossoms, the red color of cherry blossoms … All combined with the shimmering colors on the dresses of the Dao girls who are bustling in springtime create a poetic spring scene here. The fields, upland fields are also gradually “put on themselves” a lush green with spring sky and earth. “Over the past years, along with focusing on implementing economic development programs and improving the lives of people, the Party Committee and Khai Trung commune authorities have also paid special attention to propaganda and mobilization of people to preserve and upholding customs and practices with many traditional cultural values, prominent such as the restoration and maintenance of the seasonal festival, fire dancing customs of the Red Dao people ”- Mr. Hoang Van Cau, Chairman Khai Trung commune People’s Committee said. Rooster is an indispensable mascot in the fire dance ceremony. “Dance” in the coals for good luck Mr. Trieu Tai Quan’s family is one of the few families in the commune that still maintain the custom of jumping fire. This custom is like a “karma” that only in Mr. Quan’s family can carry out from generation to generation. Every three years, Mr. Quan’s family holds a fire jump on the occasion of the New Year. Before the fire dance festival, his family prepared a tray to worship and ask for permission from the ancestors, the gods about the organization of the fire jump. Mr. Phung Thua Hoc – The priest at the fire dance ceremony shared: To prepare for the fire dance ceremony, the host family must invite the priest and prepare the participants to dance about a week earlier, according to the previous regulations. The boys chosen to participate in the fire dance must keep their bodies clean, do not kill, and do not engage in boy and girl affairs for at least 3 days. However, today these regulations are no longer mandatory and strict, just before joining the fire jump the boys wash and wear clean clothes. When it was dusk, a large fire was prepared in the middle of the house, when the fire was almost gone, only bright red coals were the sound of gongs that started the ceremony. In the pounding sound of gongs, 2 priests began to pray for permission of ancestors and gods and read the names of those who participated in the fire. At this time, the participants of the fire dance sit on a bench next to the offering tray and wait to do the “spell” of mindfulness. Listening to the rush of gongs, participants enter the fire as if they are empowered, their bravery will vibrate, shout a sound and jump into the embers with bare feet. They even used their bare hands to throw hot coals into the air and began to “bathe” the fire. Participants will take turns jumping and charring until the fire is over. After participating in the festival, the firefighter’s costumes were only dust, dirty, not scorched, nor were their limbs burned. When the fire dance is over, the two shamans continue to do some rituals to finish. Mr. Phung Van Doanh, a fire-jumping participant, said: The first time joining the fire dance, looking at the red coal was also very apprehensive, only afraid of being burned, but when he was “allowed” by the priest, he was like receiving. More strength, somehow unable to sit still, just rushed into the fire. Having participated a lot, but I have never suffered burns even if I was small. The fire dance practice is practiced by many ethnic minorities, becoming a unique cultural ritual that has existed for a long time. In each community, there is a different way, scale and time to organize but all have the same origin from the worship of fire god, a symbol of life, prosperity, happiness and indispensable in life. human life. At the same time, it is an opportunity for people to give thanks to their ancestors and wish for a good crop and a full life.

The Muong’s tray The weather in Nghia Lo is very strange this season, a day consists of all 4 seasons. Spring weather in mountainous regions was cold, making that morning field steps even more eager. Around through the cool green rice mat, a complex of 2 long stilt houses appeared. It is the house of Ms. Ha Thi Chinh’s family in the village of Diem 2, Nghia An commune. Ms. Chinh is also the chef of a culinary restaurant, holding in hand the secrets of creating unique dishes, bringing the breath of the land and people of the Northwest. We gathered to watch her processing the moss. After being cleaned, the moss is cut into pieces and mixed together with spices such as pasta, soup powder, herbs such as cumin, onions, dog basil, lemongrass, ginger, and sprouts … Next she packs the moss into leaves. bananas then put on the stove to grill embers slowly. About 1 hour, the moss ripe, bring up a hot plate. The grilled moss that day had a natural sweet taste, was very strange and cool. No wonder it is something that cannot be ignored when tourists go to the Northwest. Besides grilled, steamed moss is also very delicious. Ms. Chinh said that the moss is steamed in a pot but does not add water, simmer it to allow the moss to drain and ripen. While making moss, Ms. Chinh looks after a large rice bowl cooking in the middle of the yard. It was strange that when I opened the pot, under the smoky smoke I saw the sticky “cutting boards” of green, red, purple, yellow … separated by layers of banana leaves. All colors of sticky rice are derived from plants, taken from flowers and plants. The finished sticky rice dish has 5 different colors, so it is called “five colors” sticky rice. Red color is taken from the leaves of the red rice plant (Khau Lanh tree); yellow color from crushed turmeric, or from Bop Phon flower (yellow sticky flower); Purple and Black palate leaves are processed. Green color is taken from the leaves of star fruit tree, wild pineapple, sugarcane, gerbera leaves, ginger leaves … but must be mixed together. The leaves are crushed in a stone mortar, then boil the residue, filtered to get water into 4 different pots. Paddy rice has long and flexible seeds, taken from Lao sticky rice, grown by the Mong people in Tram Tau and Mu Cang Chai districts. The rice is soaked for at least 3 hours in 4 pots of colored water above, the longer it is soaked, the more flexible the sticky rice is, then poured each type of rice that has caught the color on the wooden wooden board, separated from each other by layers of banana leaves. Boil sticky rice just over fire, about 40 minutes is fine. Lunch tray of Thai Nghia Lo people Xoi served with “Pa Pinh Tat” – (that is, grilled fish is twice as much as the tail). The fish are brought back, cleaned, pecked from the back, discarded the intestines, prepared to reduce the pieces and then chopped, mixed well, stuffed into the fish’s body, grilled with a grill, or a bamboo clip on the charcoal stove for about 1 hour. to ripen to be delicious. The rice tray for Thai guests on average has from 5 to 6 dishes, containing the philosophies according to the human life of the people here, as well as the tonic for the body in addition to nutritional value. For example, if there is a Korean dish, there must be a heat dish to balance yin and yang. In particular, in Thai food, spice seeds are indispensable – a kind of forest seed only available in the Northwest with a fragrant aroma after grilling and pounding. This nut has the function of “odor indicator”, which is the number 1 important reduction in many dishes, dipping foods. That lunch in addition to “Pa PinhTop”, bamboo-shaped blue-fish, grilled insect plate, including rake, stink bugs, bee pupae …, also a bowl of bonito soup, was introduced as a “traditional trick” . The Thai Nghia Lo people have a saying: “Nao kin bon, thun kin pi” (that means, eat bon soup in cold, eat banana flowers in the heat – PV). Ms. Chinh said that the sweet potato plant grows wild, when picking leaves, one must read a “spell” to “turn into soup”, otherwise it will itchy when eating. The way of processing carbon soup is also quite sophisticated. Take home, wash, cut into pieces and mix with other types of discount such as Chinese coriander, cumin, cumin, ginger, lemongrass, squash, amaranth, eggplant, eggplant, shrimp paste, or soy sauce. Do not stir the bon broth when cooking, or only one side of the pot should be stirred and it must be simmered until the bon is over. A very special kind of food dish of Thai people, it is a sour, sweet “clumping” soup that helps to relieve alcohol. The way to make this kind of soup is also quite sophisticated. First to filter the beef feet, buffalo feet to get skin and tendons, remove the bones, then chopped, simmered and seasoned, sprinkle rice flour on the soup, stir well, chopped the leaves and then put them in the pot for about 5 minutes to Next nine, about to eat new. Carefully nibbling a lumpy tendon in his mouth. Ms. Ha Thi Chinh discussed with reporters During the meal, the landlord advised us to dab the sticky rice with a very strange dipping recipe, called “simmering”. Materials made from soybean seeds, boiled seeds, picked out leaves and wrapped, put upstairs in the kitchen for 5-6 days to ferment. When hanging up the kitchen, it is absolutely forbidden to cook all kinds of firewood with smell, especially burning and baking the buffalo skin underneath because it will damage the soy sauce. Next, bring the soy sauce down the mortar, crush it, make it into small pieces, wrap it in hairy leaves (like eggplant, white eggplant) so as not to rot, then put the kitchen guard to dry naturally. When eating, bring the soy sauce to grill and mix with the seeds, garlic, coriander leaves, grilled chili … into the perfect food for sticky rice, boiled meat, vegetables and fruits. This is the best dish of Thai people. In Nghia An commune, there are 2 old people who make this dish very delicious. The Thai people in the Northwest have quite a high alcohol intake. Having partyed, or met or met, there is indispensable cup of wine. The Thai girls are healthy and youthful with silver buttons, leggings, black skirts, wine cans and cups in hand. They both offered wine and sang: “This wine, I invite you, drinking from the beginning of the village at the end of the village is still fragrant. One cup of fragrant wine is like a thousand cups, for years, the wine is still fragrant, fragrant with your love”. There have been cases where guests panic because of the welcome cup, off the cup, they jumped from the window to the yard to “hide” the wine. Near the end is when the show begins. The girls who blocked us on the stairs of the stilt house to offer wine before, turned into dancers, performed ancient Thai dance such as “Khâm praise” (hand spread round); “Khap towels to open hot pot” (lift towels to invite wine); “Ripper” (circle of applause); “Destroying” (dancing for 4 people); “Falling kisses” (spread forward and backward); “Aluminum khan” (tossed scarf) … After the broadcast, the girls switched to perform the songs “Xin Le” and “Ha Oh” … Turn national customs and cuisine into tourism products Explaining the position of Thai cuisine in the local tourism economy, the director of Nghia Lo Town Culture and Communication Center Nguyen Viet Chung said that, according to the epic Quam To Muong, Muong Lo is the ancestral land of the people. Thai in Vietnam and neighboring countries. The mainstream folk culture in this land is the customs and habits of living with folk songs, folk music, folk dance … of the Thai people. Processing moss In which, traditional cuisine is a very unique culture that has been “packaged” into a typical tourism product with high economic value. Currently, there are about 20 homestay businesses owned by Thai people, providing services from eating, staying, taking tourists to visit the sights in the Muong Lo basin area, to experience making dishes, transplanting rice, harvesting agricultural products. Guests are immersed in the lives of people, cultural and cultural exchanges, so they are very interested. Many people have therefore returned to Nghia Lo during the tourist seasons and local festivals.

Grilled pork hybrid dish with bamboo tube. According to Ms. Lien, this dish is not processed too fussy but requires meticulousness, it is important that the ingredients are fresh, including the outer bamboo tube. “Meat must be delicious, fresh, with fat and lean skin, balanced and fresh. And the bamboo tube must also be very fresh, when customers order, we cut the bamboo in the morning, then the bamboo will be sweet and fragrant. And when the meat is grilled, it is delicious. After marinating and letting for about 15 minutes to soak the spices, the pork is put into a bamboo tube, the end of the tube is covered with banana leaves and grilled over embers or in the high pressure oven for about 1 hour. Pork is seasoned and left for about 15 minutes. For grilling on a charcoal stove, grill is very important. To avoid burning, the griller needs to observe to turn the tube over, so that the meat is cooked evenly. When the bamboo tube outside is scorched yellow, the aroma of meat spreads can be enjoyed. Pork grilled on bamboo tube will look like steamed pork because it is grilled through a layer of bamboo, so the meat is fragrant while keeping the softness, the skin is crispy, the fat is fat but less greasy. The cooked meat does not smell smoke, coal ash, is not too dry due to dehydration. This dish is served with salt green chili and herbs. The pungent taste of the chili and the aroma of the meat create an attractive dish for visitors. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai Bao, from Quang Phu town, Cu Mgar district, Dak Lak province, when enjoying this dish, feels, “The dish has a unique characteristic of the Central Highlands, the taste is very delicious and rich. Ede people are infused with spices, so it feels difficult to describe when eating, including lemongrass, galangal, pepper, and the taste of some leaves that only people have. New people in the Central Highlands have “. After seasoning, the pork is put into a fresh bamboo tube. According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ko Tam Ecotourism and Community Culture Company, the steamed hybrid pork dish, grilled bamboo tube is processed according to the traditional cuisine of the Ede people in Dak Lak. and blended, marinated with natural ingredients available, so that brings its own unique flavor here. In particular, hybrid pork is an ingredient that makes the dish unique, because hybrid pigs are bred from grass pigs (piglets) with wild boars. Along with the cooking process is a story about culture and environmental protection. That is why, recently, the steamed hybrid pork dish, grilled bamboo tube in Ko Tam tourist area was selected by the Vietnam Record organization to be in the Top 100 special dishes of Vietnam in 2020-2021. The end of the tube is covered with banana leaves. Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh shared, “The province also introduced Dak Lak’s delicacies and the Institute of Records allowed people to check and evaluate many times, then announced and decided on the steamed pork hybrid dish, Grilled with bamboo tube, I am extremely happy because we have a story and we came up with a story when we do travel to create a regional specialty dish and preserve the varieties that heaven was born with. in my country “. The Ede people often used the way of baking on charcoal stove, repeatedly turning the meat in the tube well and not being burned. Thus, along with grilled chicken rice dish was in the Top 100 specialties of Vietnam (period 2011 – 2016), up to now, Dak Lak province has 2 dishes in the Top 100 of Vietnam. Along with that, in recent years, the dishes are made from the available ingredients of the local ethnic people such as bitter tomato soup, dried fish tomato salad, dishes from rattan buds, cloves leaves, … shows more and more in the menu of restaurants, eateries and is favored by customers. From the traditional ingredients and cooking methods, many chefs have suitable variations to suit the tastes of diners, creating a rich variety of dishes while still retaining the unique features in the cuisine of the local ethnic community./.

Grilled chicken rice is a specialty of the Central Highlands people Recently, the steamed hybrid pork with bamboo tube in Ko Tam tourist area (Dak Lak province) was selected by the Vietnam Record organization in the Top 100 special dishes of Vietnam in 2020-2021. After seasoning with pork, the pork will be put in a bamboo tube Boiled hybrid pork with bamboo tube dish is processed according to the traditional cuisine of the Ede people in Dak Lak and is mixed and marinated from the available natural ingredients, thus bringing its unique flavor here. Hybrid pork makes the dish unique, crossbred pigs are bred from grass pigs (pigs) with wild boars. Along with its processing, food is a story about culture and environmental protection. Ms. Tran Thi Kim Lien, deputy chef at Ko Tam tourist area (Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak province), said that this dish main ingredients are hybrid wild boar and other natural spices can be seasonal changes. In it, the most typical spices are chili, green pepper, cilantro and white leaf. This dish processing does not need to be too fussy but requires meticulousness, it is important that the ingredients are fresh, including the bamboo tube. Chicken is marinated grilled over embers Grilled chicken served with lam rice is one of the famous mountainous specialties of the Central Highlands people. According to people here, the dish comes from the Ede ethnic group in Buon Don (Dak Lak). Later, specialties were processed by the people of the Central Highlands with many different styles. Grilled chicken served with lam rice feels the taste of the Central Highlands Chicken used to grill must be genuine backyard chickens, silk type, weighing about 1kg, if the meat is too small, the meat will smell too big. Chicken after cleaning, pecking the intestines and leaving the whole chicken, broken it flat, marinated with salt and chili, lemongrass and a little honey for about 30 minutes, brought out to grill on embers until turned yellow, aroma is to be. Grilled chicken is indispensable for a cup of green leaf salt, a leaf that smells like basil. Grilled chicken is served with soft, sticky rice.