Stone cake (also known as Lo Khoai cake) is a traditional cake of the Dao people in Ao Dai and the Nung people in the highlands of Ha Giang . The cake is made as big as a brick, round and elongated.

The reason the cake has such a unique name is because of its rock-hard texture. In the past, when there were no refrigerators, local people often dropped the cake into cool streams around their houses to preserve and enjoy gradually.

The cake was left in the stream for many months so it hardened and looked like a rock, so it's easy to confuse.

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Stone cake is considered a famous specialty of Ha Giang. Photo: HG clean specialty

A Giang - owner of a facility specializing in serving highland specialties in Ha Giang shared that stone cake is made from a familiar ingredient, rice, but requires a sophisticated processing process.

“To make delicious, fragrant stone cakes, local people have to carefully select the input materials. The rice used is usually upland rice from the Dong Van plateau. However, depending on the location, people can mix rice with sticky rice to make stone cakes,” said A Giang.

First, the rice is soaked for about 4-5 hours until soft and well-risen, then drained and ground into flour. Next, the rice flour is mixed with water in the appropriate ratio and the mixture is cooked.

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Rice is soaked before being milled into flour. Photo: Ngoc Nhung from Lang Son

A Giang said that rice flour can be cooked by traditional manual methods or by machine, but still ensures delicious quality.

At the young girl's facility, rice flour is cooked using modern machinery, saving labor and time, while increasing productivity.

"After the dough is cooked, the next steps such as kneading the dough, cutting the cake, packaging, etc. are mostly done by hand. For each kilogram of cooked dough obtained, people will knead it evenly so that the cake strands blend together.

The baker has to knead the dough quickly so that it comes together and forms into a stone cake before the dough cools,” A Giang added.

The interesting thing is that when the rice flour is cooked, it is still hot, soft and can be eaten immediately, but if it is allowed to cool, the flour will harden.

Therefore, the kneading process must take place quickly while the dough is still hot, requiring the maker to have physical strength and dexterity so that the stone cake achieves quality in both flavor and appearance.

The stone cake is kept in a block, thinly sliced ​​or shredded for diners to use and process into dishes of their choice. Photo: HG Clean Specialties

In addition to the method of cooking rice flour by machine, many households in Ha Giang still maintain the traditional manual method. Accordingly, rice flour will be steamed and then pounded by hand. People pound until the dough is sticky and thick, then quickly shape it into brick-sized cakes.

After shaping, the cake will be cooled to harden and cut into small slices or strands. Currently, with modern machinery, stone cake factories in Ha Giang often use vacuum and sterilization machines to package and preserve the cake for longer, while also helping to ensure the quality of the cake even when transported far away.

Previously, stone cakes only had the pure white color of rice. Later, to make the dish more eye-catching and attractive, people also added some natural ingredients such as turmeric, gac fruit, purple leaves or butterfly pea flowers to create green, red, orange, purple,...

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Fried stone cake dish. Photo: Tho Nguyen

Stone cake has been around for a long time and has been associated with many generations of people in the rocky plateau. However, in recent years, the dish has become more famous and is known to many diners from all over the world. Many people find the name strange, cannot hide their curiosity, so they buy it and are surprised that stone cake can be processed into many delicious dishes.

In addition to traditional cooking methods such as frying and steaming, this cake is also created in many ways such as hot pot, making tokbokki (traditional Korean rice cake), cooking soup, cooking sweet soup, stir-frying vegetables, steaming with coconut milk,...

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The stone cakes are vacuum-packed and transported nationwide to meet the enjoyment needs of diners. Photo: A Giang Ha Giang

Even with many unique variations, this famous cake has become a trend on social networks and culinary forums, attracting a lot of interaction. Diners who have enjoyed the stone cake commented that the cake is chewy and has a fragrant, naturally sweet taste, can be eaten instead of rice or sticky rice and is still enough to fill you up.

Currently, stone cakes are not only consumed in Ha Giang province but also transported to many provinces and cities across the country with prices ranging from 50,000 - 100,000 VND/kg.

From a familiar dish of the local people, stone cake has gradually become a gift of the highlands that attracts customers to buy, even being spread by young people on social networks as a must-try dish in Ha Giang. This also contributes positively to promoting local culture and tourism to domestic and international tourists.

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