Cuisine of Nung Chao ethnic at Hoang Viet commune, Van Lang district, Lang Son province

VĂN HÓA TRUYỀN THỐNG VÀ PHÁT TRIỂN
127Volume 8, Issue 3
CUISINE OF NUNG CHAO ETHNIC AT HOANG VIET 
COMMUNE, VAN LANG DISTRICT, LANG SON PROVINCE
Le Hoang Duc
Vietnam Academy for Ethnic Minorities
Email: duclh@hvdt.edu.vn
Received: 8/8/2019
Reviewed: 12/8/2019
Revised: 25/8/2019
Accepted: 10/9/2019
Released: 30/9/2019
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25073/0866-773X/338
Nung Chao is a Nung ethnic group in Vietnam originating, they has lived to Lang Son province (Vietnam) for a long 
time. In the course of history, cultural exchange with local people 
in Lang Son province, at same time, inheriting the culture of the 
Guangxi region (China), the Nung Chao people have drawn up the 
cultural characteristics of extremely identity richness, especially 
cuisine culture. The cuisine of the Nung Chao is extremely diverse 
with a mixture of Kinh, Tay and Chinese cuisine and cultural 
institutions related to cuisine to be a valuable heritage not only of 
Lang Son province but also of the Vietnamese ethnic community.
Từ khóa: Cuisine; Nung Chao people; Bamboo cooked rice; 
Nung ethnic group; Sticky rice stuffed with croissants; Stuffed 
sticky rice; Cake burns.
1. Introduction
Along with many other cultural elements, 
material culture, including cuisine is one of the 
unique cultural features of the Nung people, which 
is also a special feature of Vietnamese national 
culture. It is not only about how to process food, but 
also experience about health care, cultural activities 
related to cuisine and the concept of nature hidden 
in dishes with the concept of morality through rules 
and regulations in the Nung’s meal
In the current trend of integration and 
globalization, cultural exchange and acculturation 
are increasingly strong in the socio-economic fields 
in most ethnic groups. The Nung people are not 
out of that rule, their cuisine is changing a lot of 
materials, tools, uses ... This has a significant impact 
on preserving and promoting the values of cuisine 
in the ethnic group’s life. Therefore, the study of 
the Nung people’s cuisine from materials, labor, 
technology... to the position, role, meaning and 
value of cuisine for the cultural life of the ethnic 
group is very important and useful.
Cusine research not only contributes to 
preserving the unique cultural characteristics of the 
Nung people but also providing scientific arguments 
to help state management agencies have appropriate 
solutions in preserving and promoting the values 
of traditional culture in general, material culture 
including the Nung peole’s cuisine in the context 
of current exchanges and integration in particular. 
So, the study of the Nung peole’s cuisine is not only 
scientific but also having profound practical values.
2. Overview of issues research
The cuisine of the Nung ethnic group or the 
other ethnic groups living in the Northeast has long 
been an attractive topic for researchers of ethnic 
culture in our country. Cuisine is often the object of 
research on ethnic studies.
Research on ethnic groups in the Northeast or 
Lang Son province, including the Nung people 
have “Lang Son Geography” (Quy, Thinh, & 
Nam, 1999). The book systematically outlines the 
appearance of the land and people of Lang Son land 
from past and present in terms of natural, historical, 
economic, cultural, social characteristics... With 
historical viewpoints and dialectical view, scientific 
methodology, the book is a valuable source of 
valuable research, preserving traditions and 
quintessence of Lang Son ethnic groups, including 
cuisine. Especially, the book has a section on the 
cuisine of the Tay and Nung ethnic groups in detail.
The work “Overview of Lang Son Culture and 
Cultural Landmarks” (Pao, 2011) writes about many 
unique cultural features of Lang Son province, 
especially the culture of the Tay and Nung ethnic 
groups, including aspects: costumes, houses, food, 
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festivals, family beliefs. In terms of cuisine, the 
book provides a lot of information and details on the 
dishes of the Tay and Nung ethnic groups including 
roast pork and in particular, traditional cakes.
Hoang Be and his colleagues with the work 
“The Tay and Nung Ethnic Groups in Vietnam” 
(Be, Binh, Dien, & ..., 1992) presented a descriptive 
method of traditional fields in many directions. 
Such as: Natural conditions and population; Ethnic 
history; Traditional economics; Material culture 
(including cuisine); Social organization; Religious 
beliefs; Language and folklore. Hoang Nam with 
his research on “Ethnic Culture of Northeast 
Vietnam” (Nam, 2004) talked about the cultures of 
ethnic groups in the Northeast including Tay, Nung 
... in terms of physical culture (including cuisine) 
and intangible culture ... Tran Quoc Vuong with the 
book “Vietnamese Cultural Foundations” (Vuong, 
1999) records an overview of the characteristics of 
Vietnamese culture by 6 literary regions: the Viet 
Bac Mountain Region (or the Northeast Mountain 
Region), the Northwest Mountainous Region, the 
Red River Delta Region, the Truong Son - Central 
Highlands Region, the Central Coast Region 
(South Central and North Central) and the Southern 
Cultural Region. In particular, the Northeast Region 
is characterized by the Tay and Nung culture, 
including a small part of the cuisine of the Tay and 
Nung people.
Essential research of Nung or individual Nung 
ethnic group should mention the work “Nung 
Ethnic Group in Vietnam” (Nam, 1992). The book is 
considered to be the most general of the appearance 
of the Nung ethnic group in Vietnam in the view 
of historical ethnography, depicting the overall 
socio-economic picture, and also recognizing a 
cultural level, an economic tradition... The issues 
raised in the work such as economic activities, 
material and spiritual life ar ... 
now, with modern technology to serve the business, 
the time for roasting pigs has been reduced to 90 
minutes. (According to Ms. Dinh Thi Nom, doing 
the rotation of pigs, Tham Me crossroads, Na Sam 
town, Hoang Viet commune, Van Lang district, 
Lang Son province).
4.2.3. Roasted duck
A dish that always appears in all activities from 
everyday to spiritual rituals. Nung people in Hoang 
Viet commune often choose ducks weighing about 
two to three kilograms, about four months old, full 
of wing feathers so that, delicious duck meat, small 
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belly (breast) and thick meat. Ducks were cut in 
detail, cleaned their feathers, removed all organs 
covered with organs, washed, marinated spices, 
sewn up and roasted. Spices include the Clausena 
indica leaf, crushed garlic and soy sauce purchased 
from China (many researchers previously known as 
Chinese Choang sauce) with salt, MSG boiled in a 
pan into a mixture. Outside people often use honey 
mixed with a little water soaked in the skin and 
then roast with embers for about 90 minutes until 
the skin is reddish yellow. The dish of roast duck 
used to be used by the Nung people on holidays, 
important spiritual rituals such as celebrating a 
new home, birthdays for the elderly (celebration of 
longevity) ... Currently, people have used roasted 
duck as a commodity for business, as a household 
economy (according to Doan Thi Nga and Ms. 
Ha Thi Bay, doing roast duck business, Tham Me 
crossroads, Na Sam town, Hoang Viet commune, 
district Van Lang, Lang Son province).
4.2.4. Char siu (fried meat)
The char siu is also a dish that the Nung people 
learn from the Chinese. Meat for making char siu is 
lean meat and fat of pigs over fifty kilograms. After 
washing, the meat is sliced into large pieces of 
15x15 centimeters, put in a frying pan to reduce fat. 
After taking out to cool, the meat is marinated with 
onions, garlic, fish sauce, and white wine, and then 
put into the pan to turn over to be edible. Although 
it is a dish learned from the Chinese, it has become 
popular among the Nung community. This is an 
indispensable side dish in breakfast dishes such as 
noodles and pho in almost all Nung’s restaurants in 
Hoang Viet commune.
4.3. Beliefs related to eating and drinking
In the culinary culture of Nung Chao people in 
Hoang Viet commune, there are still some beliefs 
expressed through regulations, taboo with spiritual 
meaning showing the rich and diverse spiritual 
life. One of the traditions still intact to this day is 
Quan (Trai).
Nung people here, as well as Kinh people and 
some other ethnic groups, believe in destiny, whereby 
each person is born with a destiny corresponding to 
many tribulations (term) that the Nung people often 
call Quan (Trai), depending on your perceptions. 
The Nung believe that there are four Quan (Trai), 
namely white chickens, goats, geese and banyan 
trees. Accordingly, each person is usually born with 
one or more Quan and corresponding with different 
taboos and a different affliction (According to the 
priest, Be Van Ha, Hoang Viet commune, Van Lang 
district, Lang Son province).
Destined to Quan goat, people later often 
susceptible to mental illness, old age or memory 
loss, talk wildly, laugh often emit sounds like the 
sound of goats ... People of Quan goat have to 
abstain from eating goat meat until the ceremony is 
done to reduce the tribulation.
People destined to Quan white chicken often do 
business poorly or lose money, do ten things but 
earn only one, easily empty-handed ... Therefore, 
the person with Quan white chicken can never eat 
white chicken until the ceremony is done to reduce 
the tribulation.
For people destined to Quan goose, it is easy 
to get impatient, work or hurry to lead to failure... 
People who get destiny of this Quan must abstain 
from eating geese until the ceremony is done.
For people destined to the Quan banyan tree, it 
is prone to unexpected accidents, trauma, sudden 
death, etc. Therefore, the person with this Quan 
must abstain from going to the banyan tree and 
must not perform any activities near the banyan tree 
until the ceremony is held.
The identification of Quan, Trai is usually done 
by the Nung people in the following order: The 
child before seven years old will be taken to the 
witch doctor’s home by his parents to determine 
child’s fate. The witch doctor depends on the day, 
time, month, year the child was born to determine 
which Quan the child belongs to. The rules of the 
day and time to see the fate were recorded in a book 
called the Nam Tao book - a book that is passed 
down by hereditary in the lineage or in the family 
of the witch doctors. The ceremony that relives 
child’s run of bad luck is only done in August lunar 
calendar, just before the child turns fifteen years 
old. If the family works late or earlier than August 
in the lunar calendar or after the age of fifteen, it 
is no longer sacred and ineffective. Nung people 
think that men have seven vital spirit components 
and women have 9 of them. Therefore, on the day 
of the ceremony, the family of the person in need 
of resolution will prepare an offering of seven 
chickens if the child is a boy, 9 chickens if the child 
is a girl of the same type of sacrifice as Quan’s need 
to solve the case (the person belonging to the white 
chicken, the offering includes a white chicken, the 
person belongs to the goat then the offering includes 
a goat, the person belongs to the goose then the 
offering includes a goose and the person belonging 
to the banyan tree then the offering is a banyan 
tree with a size depending on family economic 
conditions). The mo master (witch doctor) performs 
a demolition ceremony according to the procedure, 
depending on the limit of each person, then the 
family will bring the offering as a gift. However, 
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the meal will not take place at the family’s house 
that must be carried away (often used to take to the 
edge of the forest) or someone else’s house (usually 
a relative, acquaintances, neighbour’s neighbor ...) 
then eat it with the meaning of pushing the bad 
luck away from the family. After performing this 
ritual, most families can completely escape from 
the constraints of these taboos, but some families 
continue to abstain. This shows the extremely rich 
and interesting spiritual world of the Nung people. 
Presently, watching Quan Trai and doing ceremony 
of removing the bad luck is still quite popular among 
the Nung community in Hoang Viet commune.
5. Preserving and developing the culinary 
culture of the Nung Chao people
In order to preserve and promote Lam rice, it 
also preserves and promotes the values of the Nung 
Chao culinary culture, the author has proposed 
three groups of solutions, contributing to preserving 
and promoting cultural values of the Nung people.
- Nung’s culinary communication solution
In the development of current technology, the 
author proposes a communication solution about 
the values of Nung cuisine through promotion on 
the Internet. Accordingly, using social networks 
such as Facebook, Zalo, or creating Wikipedia 
pages to introduce, systematize all the dishes as 
well as accompanying rituals. The performers are 
youngsters of the Nung ethnic group because they 
understand more than anyone else about the cultural 
nutritional value of these dishes.
Implementation tools: Using smartphones to 
draft and modify promotional articles, documents 
on processing and ceremonies related. This problem 
is feasible because the Internet is ubiquitous and the 
price of smartphones is affordable.
- Put Nung cuisine in the tourism ecosystem
Method: Organizing cultural tours, making 
a difference and unique to attract tourists. 
The characteristics of cultural tourism are the 
experiences of both participating in festivals, 
traditional games and being able to enjoy unique 
dishes that are unique to the Nung people. For 
example: Burned cakes such as Khau sli, Thoc thec, 
phong phanh cake, banh day ngai, roasted duck, 
roasted pig, and Lam rice ...
How to do it: The Nung people collaborate with 
local and foreign tourism units to introduce this 
content to the community. Organize a community 
tour, which involves letting tourists experience food 
processing before they can enjoy it.
- Education solutions
Collaborate with the school and local artisans 
with culinary experts to compile materials for 
processing typical Nung dishes and introduce them 
into vocational training programs for students in 
the area.
6. Conclusion
In the current period, with many changes in 
local socio-economic life, traditional dishes still 
have a strong vitality in the Nung Chao community 
in Hoang Viet commune, Van Lang district, Lang 
Son province when the dishes are still made 
by the Nung families on each occasion of the 
holidays and New Year festival with the techniques 
and processes preserved relatively intact. This 
shows that the Nung Chao people in Hoang Viet 
commune, Van Lang district, Lang Son province 
have a strong sense of preservation of the cultural 
characteristics of their people. The unique dishes 
in the culinary culture of the Nung Porridge in 
Hoang Viet commune in particular and the Nung 
people in Lang Son province in general need to 
be preserved and developed. In addition, if these 
dishes are effectively preserved and exploited, they 
can contribute to promoting tourism in Lang Son 
province, helping to bring many economic benefits.
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VĂN HÓA TRUYỀN THỐNG VÀ PHÁT TRIỂN
134 JOURNAL OF ETHNIC MINORITIES RESEARCH
ẨM THỰC CỦA NGƯỜI NÙNG CHÁO
TẠI XÃ HOÀNG VIỆT, HUYỆN VĂN LÃNG, TỈNH LẠNG SƠN
Lê Hoàng Đức
Học viện Dân tộc
Email: duclh@hvdt.edu.vn
Ngày nhận bài: 8/8/2019
Ngày phản biện: 12/8/2019
Ngày tác giả sửa: 25/8/2019
Ngày duyệt đăng: 10/9/2019
Ngày phát hành: 30/9/2019
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25073/0866-773X/338
Tóm tắt
Nùng Cháo, một nhóm tộc người thuộc dân tộc Nùng ở Việt 
Nam sinh sống lâu đời tại tỉnh Lạng Sơn (Việt Nam). Trong quá 
trình lịch sử, giao lưu văn hóa với các dân tộc tại chỗ ở Lạng Sơn, 
đồng thời, thừa hưởng văn hóa vùng Quảng Tây (Trung Quốc), 
người Nùng Cháo đã đúc kết nên những đặc trưng văn hóa vô 
cùng phong phú, giàu bản sắc, đặc biệt là văn hóa ẩm thực. Ẩm 
thực của người Nùng Cháo vô cùng đa dạng với sự pha trộn giữa 
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văn hóa liên quan đến ẩm thực. Đây là một di sản quý báu không 
chỉ của tỉnh Lạng Sơn mà của cả cộng đồng các dân tộc Việt Nam.
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