Bamboo tube duck with rich Northwest flavor

Vịt bầu được người Tày nuôi thả ở ao. — The Tay people raise ducks in ponds.

Bamboo-tube duck is a unique dish of the Tay people in the Northwest region. Originating from the custom of cooking dishes in bamboo tubes such as sticky rice, wild vegetables, stream fish... for a long time, the Tay people in the villages in the Northwest region have created a delicious bamboo-tube duck dish that is imbued with national identity.

To prepare this dish, the most important ingredient is the gourd duck. The Tay people choose the gourd duck with a large body, green neck, lots of meat, swimming in streams, crispy and delicious meat. In the villages, the Tay people raise a lot of gourd ducks mixed with grass ducks, so it is easy to have ingredients to prepare the dish. In addition, to make the dish more flavorful, the Tay people of the Northwest are very skillful in combining spices with duck meat such as doi seeds, mac khen, chives, herbs in the home garden, ginger, lemongrass, chili... Every time they prepare this dish, the Tay people often go up the mountain to cut large, long bamboo tubes with thick kidneys to use to make the duck.

Ống lam thịt vịt được đốt trên bếp lửa. — Duck meat bamboo tubes are burned on the stove.

After slaughtering, there are two ways to prepare the duck meat, depending on the taste of each family. If you like to eat the bones, creating a crunchy feeling, the Tay people often filter the meat and chop the bones, then mix the meat and bones together. If you like to eat the whole meat, the processor will filter the meat, then cut it into small pieces, and use the bones to cook sour bamboo shoot soup. After slicing the meat, the processor will mix spices and herbs with the meat, leave it for about 15-20 minutes for the duck meat to absorb the spices before cooking.

The duck-steaming step is quite important because this is the final step in creating the dish. The bamboo tube is washed and a little water is added to the bottom of the tube to prevent the duck from drying out. Before putting the meat into the bamboo tube, the duck meat is wrapped tightly with dong leaves in a long shape suitable for the bamboo tube. When putting the duck meat into the bamboo tube, the cook will use a pile of dong leaves to cover the top of the bamboo tube before putting it on the stove.

Lấy thịt vịt từ ống lam ra sau khi chín. — Take the duck meat out of the bamboo tube after it is cooked.

When making bamboo, the bamboo tube is placed in the middle of the tripod, placed on the tripod wall in a vertical tilt so that the whole tube can receive the fire below. When making bamboo, the fire needs to burn evenly, not too big or too small. The bamboo tube needs to be rotated so that the duck meat is cooked evenly and the bamboo tube does not burn. The bamboo tube will be cooked in about 30 - 40 minutes and can be taken out to enjoy.

When taking the bamboo tube down from the tripod, the cook removes the dong leaf plug, pulls the dong leaf package and rolls the meat onto a plate, and opens it when ready to eat to keep it hot and delicious. When cooked, the dong leaves are still fresh and green, the duck meat turns dark brown, the skin turns golden yellow, and the aromatic leaves still retain their attractive green color.

Thịt vịt thơm ngon hơn khi gói trong lá dong xanh ngắt. — Duck meat is more delicious when wrapped in green dong leaves.

When enjoying bamboo tube duck meat, you will feel the rich flavor and a strange feeling in your mouth. The duck meat is crispy, soft, fragrant and very sweet. That delicious taste blends with the aroma of Doi seeds, Mac Khen, the spicy taste of ginger, lemongrass and aromatic leaves, making it extremely attractive. The bamboo tube duck is rich because the meat does not lose water, is airtight and has the aroma of bamboo tubes.

This dish is prepared by the Tay people in the Northwest all year round. Therefore, no matter what season it is, when you stop in the Northwest, you will have the opportunity to enjoy it. The Tay people prepare bamboo-tube duck on the days of celebrating the new rice, the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, or when the house has distinguished guests. On the tray of offerings of the Tay people in the Northwest, the bamboo-tube duck dish creates national identity, demonstrating the ingenuity, sophistication and kindness of the people.