Mang dang (bamboo sprouts)

“Mang dang” is known as not only a favorite main ingredient for a lot of specialties of Hoa Binh but also a specialty on its own. Normally, it is boiled and soaked until sour, and then it is cooked with chicken or duck to make hot sour sweet soups that are certain to warm your belly in cold days. In addition, bamboo sprouts also are stir-fried with “me” (fermented cold rice) or steamed with minced chicken or pork.

More interestingly, not less delicious and amazing are broiled bamboo sprouts. Bamboo sprouts that have been harvested will be broiled until singed. The dish is served with “cham cheo”, a mixture of chili, salt, ginger leaves, ground “doi” seeds, garlic leaves and ground garlic. Different levels of spicy flavor mingle with the bitter sweet taste of bamboo sprouts and the saltiness of roasted salt, creating a particularly appetizing finger food.