Spring, when cherry blossoms, plum blossoms bloom all over the villages; It is also the time when the Dao Tien mothers and sisters in Son La are busy preparing delicious dishes with rich national flavors to welcome the traditional New Year. One of them is the perilla chicken salad.

According to the elderly, old women, perilla chicken salad is one of the special dishes that must be included in a Tet tray of the Dao Tien people. Because during Tet holiday, although there are many dishes from meat and fish, every dish is also attractive, but these dishes are fed up with a lot of fat. Therefore, in the Tet tray, the Dao women transmit to each other the secret to processing the perilla chicken salad with the crispness, sweetness of the meat, along with the fragrant aroma of perilla leaves, everyone loves. .

Mr. Ly Van Chin from Suoi Khem village, Phieng Luong commune, Moc Chau district, Son La province, said: “Chicken salad does not use old chicken, only take children from 1kg back to make mannequins. Where are the Dao people?” There must be perilla in there. This dish when you have a friend, siblings come to play at home. “

To make the chicken salad delicious, chewy and crispy, people have to choose our chicken, keep it for about 7 months to make the meat sure and fragrant. When choosing a good chicken, they are slaughtered, then washed with white wine and salt. Soak chicken in salt-mixed white wine for 5 to 10 minutes to eliminate bad odors; after enough time wash with cold water.

Next, put water in the pot, north on the stove. When the water is boiling, let the chicken and a little salt boil, until it is done, take out the water. When the chicken has cooled, use a knife to sharpen the piece to taste, prepare a clean bowl, put all the chicken into the bowl. Then chopped perilla leaves, coriander, basil, scallions … and mix well.

The secret to making a delicious chicken salad is to use guava seeds or bark for processing. This is a spice with a mountain flavor, a unique secret that every family in Dao Tien village knows. When used, the bark of the guava tree must be overheated on embers.

When aromatic, use a sharp knife to shave it into powder, put it in a bowl of chicken and mix seasoning with fish sauce, salt, and MSG. When all the spices are absorbed, add the chicken broth and enjoy it.

Ms. Trieu Thi Ha from Suoi Lin village, Van Ho commune, Van Ho district, Son La province told more about how to cook perilla chicken salad: “Chicken mannequin dish of Dao Tien ethnic group is very characteristic. 

Chickens as a mannequin must choose chicken from a clean chicken, usually a rooster, the better the meat. After boiling, chopping and mixing spices such as perilla, especially must have the seeds mixed in will create a very special flavor. The sweetness of the meat and the aroma of spices, when eaten, are not greasy. On Tet occasion, on the morning of the 1st, after the ceremony is completed, the family will usually make this chicken salad ”./.

VOV