5 Kon Tum specialties not to be missed

Red Highland Vermicelli

Highland red vermicelli is one of the famous dishes in Kon Tum. Unlike other vermicelli dishes such as beef vermicelli, fish cake vermicelli or fish sauce vermicelli,… Highland red vermicelli is simpler in both preparation and enjoyment.

The main ingredients of the highland red vermicelli dish are field crabs, a few meatballs and boiled quail eggs. Although it is a simple dish, it requires skill to create a bowl of highland red vermicelli that is attractive from color to taste. Highland red vermicelli is served with water celery, bean sprouts, scallion oil, fried pork fat, and boiled quail eggs, very suitable to enjoy on a chilly afternoon, eating and exclaiming in the chilly atmosphere of the highland.

Leaf salad

True to its name, this leaf salad is all about… leaves. Just one dish but it covers a large tray, because the leaf salad has 40-50 types, from familiar vegetables such as: mustard leaves, perilla, ginseng, fig leaves, perilla leaves, onions, basil… to types of leaves that rarely appear in meals such as: mango leaves, guava leaves, sour leaves, star gooseberry leaves, ivy… and many types of leaves that are unique to the Central Highlands that many people do not know all the names of.

In the middle of the “leaf tray” is a plate of side dishes. Boiled pork belly, thinly sliced so that the fat and meat are just right, not too greasy. A few slices of carp, boiled shrimp, pork skin. Especially, there is an extra plate of whole peppercorns and salt. The most elaborate part of this leaf salad is the dipping sauce made from sticky rice, dried shrimp, pork belly, fermented rice, and satay.

Enjoying this dish also requires style, do not rush to roll all the leaves but follow the correct process. First, use mustard leaves or perilla leaves to make the wrapper, then add sour leaves and a few other leaves depending on the diner's choice, roll into a small funnel, put in the pork belly, shrimp, pork skin... inside. Be sure to add pepper and salt, a little dipping sauce. Each time you roll the leaves, use different types of leaves, creating different flavors, sometimes sour mango leaves, sometimes rich fig leaves, bitter guava leaves.

Fish salad with yellow ants

It would be a mistake not to mention the ant fish salad - a famous dish of the Ro Mam people. The dish has a very rich flavor, a combination of the sweetness and aroma of fresh fish mixed with the sour taste of young ant and the special aroma of wild vegetables.

The large stream fish is fleshed, bones and skin removed, then minced with lemongrass and chili and placed in a large bowl. Then, the tree branches are shaken to let the yellow ants from their nest fall into the bowl. The ants will bite the fish meat and secrete juice to cook the fish. After half an hour, add the cleaned ant eggs, mix all the ingredients well and squeeze out the water. This dish is often served with herbs or fig leaves, it is both sweet and spicy, so it is loved by many tourists.

Kon Tum fried crickets

A specialty that visitors can find in many eateries and restaurants is definitely Kon Tum fried crickets. To make this dish, the crickets are first caught, washed, drained and fried. Continue to add some spices such as lemon, chili, and chopped lemongrass. The fried crickets have an extremely attractive aroma, both rich and fatty, making many diners unable to put down their chopsticks. The types of crickets used are also very diverse, from charcoal crickets to rice crickets, fire crickets...

Roasted Mang Den Pig

Mang Den pigs in Kon Tum are also known as wild pigs. This type of pig is raised on natural food from the mountains and forests and is naturally grazed, so its meat is extremely delicious and firm. The largest adult of this Mang Den breed weighs less than 20kg.

Before roasting, the pig is cleaned. Then, people will marinate the pig with typical mountain spices such as: shallots, coriander, cilantro root, lemongrass, chili... The Asparagus Pig will be kept whole and roasted over charcoal until the skin is golden and crispy and has a fragrant aroma.