A: Hello! Welcome to this week’s edition of VOV 24/7’s“Food delight”. We’re A and B, very happy to be on the air with you.
B: Hello, guys and gals. Did you know that bamboo can be a substitute for pots and pans? Let me tell you about grilled pork in a bamboo tube, a specialty of Vietnam’s Central Highlands.
A: Pork and bamboo together create a dish with an irresistibly delicious taste. The meat comes out tender with a golden colour and a blend of aromas imparted to it by the bamboo and the leaves.
B: Typical spices used to marinate the pork include chili, green pepper, cilantro, and sweet basil. It is worth noting that the ingredients must be very fresh, including the bamboo tube.
A: Tran Thi Kim Lien, deputy chef at the Kotam ecological tourism site in Dak Lak province, says this dish is not hard to make, but requires time for preparation and cooking.
“We must choose pork slices with lean meat, fat, and skin, which offers a full spectrum of meaty flavors. We only cut the bamboo when customers order the dish, to ensure the bamboo tube’s freshness, sweetness, and flavor when grilled. We collect the herbs ourselves, and mix our own spice blends,” said Lien.
 Pork and bamboo together create a dish with an irresistibly delicious taste. (Photo: VOV) |
A: First, marinate the pork for about 15 minutes to allow the spices to soak into each fiber before putting it into the bamboo tube. Cover the two ends of the tube with banana leaves and grill over charcoal or in a high-pressure cooker for 1 hour.
B: Grilling over charcoal requires cooks to turn the bamboo tube regularly so that the grilled pork is cooked evenly. The meat can be served when the outer shell of the bamboo tube turns dark yellow.
A: This pork meat will look like steamed pork, but has a special flavor and sweetness from the membrane inside the tube. The meat remains soft and the skin is crispy.
B: This dish is served with salt, green chili, and herbs. The pungent taste of chili and the aroma of the meat create an appealing dish.
“Grilled pork in a bamboo tube has the unique character of the Central Highlands. The seasonings are absorbed into each fiber, creating an unforgettable taste. You can smell the mixture of lemongrass, galangal, pepper, and aromatic herbs that only grow in the Central Highlands,” said Nguyen Thi Hoai Bao, a fan of this dish in Dak Lak province.
A: Grilled pork in a bamboo tube was recently named one of the Top 100 special dishes of Vietnam.
B: You can try this dish when you visit Vietnam’s Central Highlands, or abbreviate the list of ingredients and try making this dish at home.
A: For more recipes, visit vovworld.vn/Food-delight, where several recipes are already waiting. Join us again next week for more ideas for diversifying your menu. And now, goodbye!