Every journey that we go through, every group of people we meet gives us exciting experiences. Coming to Gia Rai Ethnic People, what kind of cuisine will you enjoy?
Cuisine for each ethnic group, each region has its characteristics. The Gia Rai live mainly in the Central Highlands provinces such as Gia Lai, Kon Tum, and Dak Lak. Their livelihood is based primarily on swidden fields with rice, corn, and beans, and now the people are working in wet meadows. The source of life is not abundant, but the Gia Rai people still skillfully create a distinct culinary quintessence for themselves, which you can’t find anywhere else. Happy to come to the places where the Gia Rai live, you will understand more about these ethnic people, the way of life, and the characteristics of their cuisine.
Daily meal of Gia Rai Cuisine
If you go deep into the daily life of Gia Rai ethnic people, you will find that their meal is simple. Plain rice is the principal food, and the secondary food is corn. A daily meal is quite similar to the Kinh people, with plain rice, vegetables, maybe bitter tomato soup, melon soup, etc. In particular, they will spend one to two times a week cooking peng soup (powdered grilled rice soup) or Nham pung (powder soup).
Everything is so simple. This style is how the Gia Rai live, with such simple dishes accompanying them for a long time in history. The plates are wholly from the home garden, prepared but extremely special. It represents the spirit and soul of the Gia Rai ethnic group.
The powdered grilled rice soup is cooked. First, people boil water. After cleaning, the fish will be put into the boiling water again until the main fish put the vegetables together. The vegetables that the Gia Rai people often use are sweet, bitter vegetables, bitter eggplant, etc. But the powdered soup is a bit more sophisticated than the grilled rice soup. After stewing pork bones carefully, people put bitter eggplant, bamboo shoots, basil leaves, and grilled rice in, let it boil for a while, then lift the stove down. However, not all Gia Rai people have the conditions and time to cook and enjoy these dishes.
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Gia Rai specialties
The dishes with familiar, close ingredients and processing and combining typical ingredients create unique, exciting points in Gia Rai dishes.
Coming to Gia Rai people, you will hardly forget the dish of lap meat which is lightly boiled, chopped. The cleaned pork intestines, cooked separately and chopped. Once everything is prepped, mix it all. The accompanying spices make the dish more flavorful such as hearing, live blood, chili, salt, lemongrass, onion, coriander, etc. Although it is not too fussy and does not take much time, the taste is prominent. Made from these ingredients makes the meat lap is genuinely unique.
Drinking meat with a bit of wine will make the dish more delicious, the meal will also have more stories to tell.
Tai Lop is another dish indispensable in the ceremonies of the Gia Rai people, especially those with the sacrifice of cows or buffaloes. It is so specific to the Gia Rai people that the owner does not respect the people attending the ceremony without this dish to treat relatives or guests.
It would be incomplete in a necessary party or holiday without a bit of wine of the Gia Rai. Rượu cần in the Gia Rai language is called Tpei. This liquor is made with plain rice, mixed with rice husk, thinly spread, and dried. The wine yeast of the Gia Rai is processed uniquely from forest tree powder. After pounding the yeast, sprinkle it on the rice, remix the rice husks, pour it into the jar, and cover it with dried banana leaves.
The liquor of the Gia Rai is as rich as the heart of the people here. When drinking, remember to line the fresh banana leaf on top and fill the jar with water.
Natural conditions are not favorable; Gia Rai do not have many specialties and products like other regions. But with things that nature has bestowed over generations, these specialties have contributed to the story of the Gia Rai.
Experience the life, typical activities, and unique dishes of Gia Rai ethnic people exceptionally well. It is deplorable if you have not drunk the straw liquor and have not tried Tai Lop or the Gia Rai people’s flour soup.
