Men men is a dish considered as "golden rice" of the H'Mong people.

For lowland people, corn is one of the favorite foods, which can be transformed into many delicious snacks and dishes such as grilled corn, boiled corn or fried corn. As for the H'Mong people, corn has been elevated to a specialty with a unique and elaborate preparation method. That is the dish men men.

Men men (also known as steamed corn flour) is a traditional dish that is indispensable in the daily meals of the H'Mong ethnic group in regions such as Ha Giang, Bac Ha (Lang Son), Simacai (Lao Cai).

Men men was voted as one of the 100 Vietnamese specialties (2020 - 2021) confirmed by the Vietnam Record Association and Vietnam Record Organization (Photo: Internet)

This dish is made from a local variety of corn. After each harvest season, Mong people dry the corn on the porch or in the kitchen, waiting until it is completely dry before making men men.

First, people separate the corn kernels, pick out and remove the wormy and moldy kernels, and keep only the roundest and plumpest kernels before grinding them. To make delicious corn flour, people here often grind it with a traditional stone mortar. Therefore, the corn grinding step is considered the most difficult when making men men.

The ground corn is sieved to remove the grit and sand, then poured into a tray and mixed with a little water. The amount of water must be calculated carefully, just enough so that the flour is not too dry or too wet. If the flour is dry, it will be difficult to cook when steamed, and if the flour is wet, the dish will be soggy and not tasty.

Although made from simple, rustic ingredients, men men requires a sophisticated and time-consuming preparation process (Photo: Xuan Phuong).

To complete the Men Men dish, the H'Mong people have to steam the corn flour twice. The steamer used is a large pan filled with water, with a tall steamer in the middle. The corn flour, after being mixed with water, will be placed in this steamer.

Depending on the type of corn, the first steaming time is different. For young corn, steam until the water boils and a lot of steam rises from the top of the steamer. For old corn, steam for longer, about 10-12 minutes.

After that, the flour is poured onto a tray, waited for it to cool down, then kneaded until it is loose. At this time, people add enough water to the steamed flour and mix well to avoid lumps. When the flour is loose again, continue to put it in the steamer to steam for the second time.

Men men has an attractive yellow color from corn, so it is likened to the "golden rice" of the Mong people (Photo: Tu Nguyen, Phung Huyen, Cuong Nguyen).

Men men is handmade, without any seasoning, so it retains its sweet, rich and fragrant taste. At the market, this dish is also mixed into broth to eat with pho, noodles or combined with some ingredients, transforming into many dishes with different flavors.

After two steamings, the men men becomes fluffy and can be scooped into bowls. It can be eaten right away or drizzled with fish sauce and enjoyed with other dishes.

Many diners who try men men for the first time may find it difficult to eat, but once they get used to it, they find it delicious and strange.

In the past, the Hmong people used to eat men men only for family use or to fill their stomachs when going to the fields. Nowadays, this dish is more popular, appearing at highland markets, serving the enjoyment needs of tourists (Photo: Dao Xuan Quyet).

A unique burnt liver pho restaurant in Bac Ninh city attracts 200 to 300 customers every day. People from other localities think this is a new type of cuisine, but in fact this restaurant has been around for 30 years.

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