Dao ethnic cuisine: Specialties from the high mountains

The Dao people live in the high mountains, so their dishes often use fresh ingredients from the mountains and forests (Source: Lao Dong Newspaper)

Dao cuisine features a perfect combination of fresh, natural ingredients and traditional cooking methods, creating dishes that are both nutritious and flavorful. These dishes are not only delicious but also beneficial for health, helping to nourish the body, treat illnesses, and restore energy.

The cuisine of the Dao people also varies depending on the region. The Red Dao in Lao Cai and Ha Giang often use many kinds of forest herbs, resulting in rich and distinctive flavors. Meanwhile, the Coin Dao in Cao Bang and Bac Kan prefer fermented dishes, typically fermented stream fish with its unique sweet and sour taste. Each region has its own characteristic ingredients and cooking methods, creating the richness of Dao cuisine.

Read more: Mai Chau accommodation guide for the best experience

Dishes of the Dao people that you can't miss

The cuisine of the Dao people boasts many unique and delicious dishes that cannot be found anywhere else. Each dish has its own distinct flavor, reflecting the lifestyle and customs of the people in the highlands. Below are some Dao dishes that you should definitely try when you have the chance.

Wine

Hoang wine (or Hoang rice wine) is a traditional drink of the Dao people, often featured in weddings, ancestral worship ceremonies, or village festivals. It is brewed from fragrant, sticky upland glutinous rice and forest leaf yeast – a secret family recipe of the Dao people, containing many precious medicinal leaves. The yeast is fermented in earthenware jars, allowing the wine to drip naturally without distillation, thus preserving its refreshing, mild flavor and smooth, long-lasting taste.

What makes Hoang wine special is its subtle forest leaf aroma, sweet aftertaste, and warming effect, perfectly suited to the highland climate. For the Dao people, it is not just a drink but also a sacred item, bringing good luck and connecting spiritually in traditional rituals.

Black sticky rice cake

The black sticky rice cake of the Dao people is distinguished by its characteristic black outer layer, created from the ash of the Nuc Nuc tree or forest leaves burned into fine charcoal. The glutinous rice mixed with this ash is both sticky and fragrant, and is wrapped together with mung beans, peppered pork, and wild dong leaves.

Black sticky rice cake (Source: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)

This type of cake is usually only available during Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year), ancestral worship ceremonies, or when there are distinguished guests. The black color of the cake not only makes it unique but also symbolizes warding off evil spirits and wishing for a prosperous and lucky new year.

Chicken soup with medicinal herbs

Chicken soup with medicinal herbs is a nutritious dish that the Dao people often use to recover from illness or during cold weather. Black chicken or free-range chicken is simmered with more than a dozen types of forest leaves such as mugwort, bitter tea leaves, and Khôi leaves, etc.

This soup is simple yet has a distinctive aroma, a slightly bitter taste that gradually turns sweet, warming the stomach and effective in relieving colds and nourishing the blood. For the Dao people, this dish is a medicinal remedy that embodies their philosophy of living in harmony with nature.

Fermented stream fish

Fermented stream fish is a rustic yet unique dish of the Dao people in the rocky mountainous region. Fresh fish is washed clean, mixed with salt, leftover cooked rice, and various sour leaves, then placed in an earthenware jar and fermented for about 7-10 days.

When opened, the fish is soft, with a mild sour smell, a nutty flavor, and a slight spiciness. It's delicious served with hot rice or as a snack. This dish showcases the Dao people's skill in preserving and creating unique flavors from readily available ingredients. However, you should also note that this is a dish not everyone is encouraged to try. 

Grilled chicken with mac mat leaves

Grilled chicken with mac mat leaves is a familiar dish during the Lunar New Year celebrations of the Dao people. Small, firm-fleshed free-range chickens are marinated with salt, pepper, garlic, chili, and especially finely chopped mac mat leaves – a type of forest leaf with a unique sweet aroma and slightly sour taste.

Golden and fragrant grilled chicken wrapped in mac mat leaves (Source: Dien May Xanh)

After marinating, the chicken is grilled whole over charcoal or skewered in bamboo tubes for slow cooking. The meat is golden brown, fragrant, with a crispy skin, rich and sweet meat, and a subtle hint of mac mat leaf flavor in the mouth – a taste you'll never forget.

Mau Son fragrant frog

The fragrant frog is a species of mountain frog that lives in the highlands of Mau Son, usually appearing during the rainy season. The Dao people catch the frogs at night and prepare them simply by grilling them over charcoal or stir-frying them with bamboo shoots, but preserving their distinctive flavor: firm meat, crispy skin, and a delicate aroma reminiscent of wild lemongrass.

Grilled frog, with its rich aroma and tender, sweet texture, is considered a rare delicacy because it cannot be farmed and can only be found in the wild. For the Dao people, it is a precious dish, rich in protein, used to nourish the body on chilly days.

Fermented rice porridge

Rice porridge with fermented leaves is a unique dish made by the Dao people using finely ground rice and fermented rice wine. The porridge is milky white, slightly sour, and has a subtle aroma of forest leaves and a hint of yeast. It is usually eaten hot in the early morning or when feeling unwell or tired.

The Dao people believe that rice porridge fermented with leaves helps relieve colds, warm the stomach, and promote rapid recovery. This is not just a dish, but also a part of folk medicine knowledge passed down from generation to generation.

Gu cake

Bánh gù is a traditional cake of the Red Dao people, shaped like a pointed cone resembling a hump on the back – symbolizing stability and longevity. The cake is made from glutinous rice mixed with forest tree ash (similar to black sticky rice cake), wrapped in forest dong leaves, and filled with mung beans, pork belly, and forest pepper.

Main ingredients for making humpback cake (Source: Nhan Dan Photo Newspaper)

This cake is often served during the New Year's Dance Festival – the most important ceremony of the year for the Dao people. The cake is soft, fragrant, with a rich filling; it's filling but not cloying, delicious, and holds sacred significance in their spiritual lives.

Chicken soup with rice wine

Unlike chicken soup with medicinal herbs, the Dao people's chicken soup with rice wine uses rice wine to simmer the chicken instead of regular water. Rice wine has a cloudy yellow color and a slightly sour taste; when cooked, it tenderizes the chicken meat, removes the fishy smell, and creates a very unique aroma.

The soup has a subtly sweet flavor with a hint of wine, and the chicken is tender but not mushy. This is a traditional dish used to relieve colds, stimulate digestion, and is often served to honored guests or after tiring days in the forest.

Wine

Bau wine is a special type of wine of the Dao people, brewed from glutinous rice and leaf yeast in sealed ceramic jars. The difference is that the fermentation process is longer, resulting in a liquid with a slightly sour taste, a dark yellow color, and a strong but not harsh aroma.

This type of rice wine is commonly used for cooking, medicinal purposes, or as a drink during the cold season. The Dao people consider this rice wine a "medicinal wine" that nourishes the body, and it is very suitable for use in stews such as chicken soup or rice porridge.

Cassava sticky rice

Cassava sticky rice is a familiar winter dish in the Dao ethnic minority villages. The cassava tubers are peeled, thinly sliced, soaked, and steamed together with glutinous rice. When cooked, the cassava becomes soft and fluffy, blending with the sticky rice to create a dish that is both rustic and filling.

Fragrant and filling cassava sticky rice, a specialty of the Dao people (Source: Dien May Xanh)

The Dao people often eat sticky rice with cassava, sesame salt, roasted peanuts, or dried stream fish paste. This dish evokes memories of the cold season, the fragrant scent of burning forest wood, and the warmth of family meals by the fire in the frigid highlands.

Read more: Lung Van Market: A unique highland cultural feature in Hoa Binh

Experience the specialties of the Dao people through a cooking class at Mai Chau Hideaway.

At Mai Chau Hideaway Lake Resort , you can not only enjoy delicious food but also learn how to cook traditional Dao dishes. These small, cozy cooking classes take place right within the resort, nestled amidst the mountains and forests. 

Here, you will be guided by locals in making each of the Dao people's specialties. Each ingredient will be explained in detail, from how to select it to how to use it. You'll hear stories about the forest leaves used to make yeast for rice wine, and about how meat is hung in the kitchen rafters to absorb the smoky aroma.

Cooking class at Mai Chau Hideaway Lake Resort 

The meal, once cooked, will be enjoyed by the whole group. The atmosphere is like a family meal – intimate, joyful, and full of local flavor. This is an unmissable opportunity to learn more about the culture, people, and cuisine of the Dao people. A relaxing experience that will leave a lasting impression after the trip.

The dishes of the Dao people are simple yet contain many interesting cultural aspects. Preserving and promoting these Dao specialties is also a way for them to maintain their identity. Hopefully, you will have the opportunity to enjoy and experience these unique flavors more fully when you visit this high mountain region.