Bồ Khai leaves – a rustic specialty of the Bắc Kạn mountains.

Speaking of the specialty dishes of Bắc Kạn, alongside grilled fish, sour shrimp paste, or smoked sausage, one cannot overlook Bồ Khai vegetable – a humble type of vegetable that carries the rich flavors of the mountains and forests.

Bồ Khai vegetable is a climbing plant with tendrils, and its stem can grow over 10m long. In the past, this type of vegetable often grew naturally on mountain slopes, in forests, or along fields. The Tày ethnic people in Bắc Kạn usually harvest the young tops to prepare familiar dishes for their daily meals.

Initially, Bồ Khai vegetable was just a simple wild vegetable of the local people. However, thanks to its distinctive flavor and many health benefits, this vegetable has become increasingly well-known. Subsequently, the people of Bắc Kạn began to cultivate Bồ Khai vegetable more widely, turning it into one of the famous specialties that visitors should try when they have the chance to visit this land.

Bồ Khai vegetable has a very unique flavor, slightly pungent, with a sweet aftertaste and crispiness when eaten. This vegetable is not only appealing due to its unusual taste but also contains many nutrients such as fiber, protein, vitamin C, calcium, and various minerals beneficial for the body. In folk medicine, Bồ Khai vegetable is also known as a vegetable with a neutral property, slightly bitter, and both the stem, leaves, and tops can be used as ingredients in some remedies. The dried stems and leaves of Bồ Khai vegetable are also used by locals to brew drinking water, aiding in body detoxification.

From Bồ Khai vegetable, the people of Bắc Kạn can prepare many delicious dishes such as Bồ Khai stir-fried with garlic, stir-fried with eggs, stir-fried with beef, or cooked in soup. Among them, Bồ Khai stir-fried with garlic is the most familiar and beloved dish. The young vegetable tops are washed clean, gently squeezed to reduce the pungent smell, and then quickly stir-fried with fragrant garlic. It's that simple, yet the dish has an incredibly captivating flavor: crisp green vegetables, fragrant garlic, rich taste, and a very unique characteristic of the Bắc Kạn mountains and forests.

Not elaborate, not luxurious, Bồ Khai vegetable still leaves a lasting impression on those who enjoy it due to its rustic, natural, and deeply local essence. If you have the chance to visit Bắc Kạn, don't forget to try a plate of hot Bồ Khai stir-fried with garlic to fully experience the rustic flavors of the Northeast mountainous region.