Tran Cao Van is a quiet street located in the center of Kon Tum city. Every noon or late afternoon, this small street is bustling with traffic, tourists come to enjoy the "leaf salad", a specialty considered the most unique of the Central Highlands: Kon Tum leaf salad
 |
| Kon Tum leaf salad, a dish rich in the flavor of the Central Highlands mountains and forests |
The Central Highlands always captivates people with the sun and wind of the vast plateau. It attracts not only by the majestic waterfalls, red dirt roads, high mountains, coffee fields, vast rubber plantations, the cultural diversity of ethnic minorities... but also by the land famous for its diverse and unique cuisine with its own flavor of the mountains and forests.
When it comes to Central Highlands cuisine, we often think of familiar dishes such as bamboo-tube rice, grilled chicken, dishes made from wild game meat such as wild boar, one-sun-dried beef, venison, porcupine... all kinds of catfish, sturgeon, Serepok river fish, grilled stream fish in bamboo tubes or dishes made from insects... But Kon Tum leaf salad is even more special, as it is considered the dish with the most authentic flavor of the Central Highlands. People even say that if you have not enjoyed leaf salad, you are not considered to have been to Kon Tum, to the Central Highlands. On the world stage, leaf salad is also honored to be one of the 10 Vietnamese dishes that have achieved the culinary quintessence of Asia.
In Vietnam, salad is one of the dishes with many variations, can be eaten directly on the plate as a salad (dried beef salad, pig ear salad, shredded chicken salad...) or eaten in the form of rolls, using rice paper to roll the mixture of meat, fish, vegetables and then dip in the sauce. The typical flavor of salad is usually cool, sweet and sour, crispy and spicy to stimulate the taste buds. The main ingredients are usually meat, shrimp, fish, the accompanying vegetables are often few and depending on the type of salad, there will be a corresponding typical vegetable dish.
However, Kon Tum leaf salad is completely the opposite. The reason it is called "leaf salad" is because this dish is all leaves and leaves, shrimp and meat are the accompanying elements that stimulate the taste buds. The first feeling when the restaurant brings out the leaf salad will probably overwhelm the first-time diner, because covering the entire dining table is a tray or plate of green leaves that is pleasing to the eye.
Kon Tum leaf salad is a dish that can be eaten all year round, but there is still a difference in the rainy or dry season, because the number of leaves depends on the weather and climate. In the dry season, the leaf salad tray is limited to 30-40 types of forest leaves, in the rainy season when the trees in the forest are lush, it is also the time when the leaf salad has the most diverse accompanying leaves, up to more than 60-70 types. Later, over time, some rare forest trees, the leaf tray has also been reduced quite a bit, but basically it is still divided into three types of leaves.
The first type is simple leaves that are easy to find and grow in the home garden such as: mustard greens, perilla, mint, ginseng, Vietnamese balm, fig leaves, dream leaves, green onions, pennywort, fish mint, basil... The second type of leaves, although familiar but quite strange on the Vietnamese dinner table, is: guava leaves, mango leaves, star fruit, ivy... And finally, there are the wild leaves of the Central Highlands, which farmers have to get up very early in the morning to collect: myrtle leaves, red-flowered clematis, bear bile, garcinia leaves, great compassion, passionflower, wild tamarind, xam xuong, choi moi... along with a series of strange leaves that only locals know. This leaf picking job is very tiring, sometimes dangerous because you have to go through the forest, sneak into bushes that are full of insects, snakes and centipedes. Not to mention that it requires the picker to be very careful, because if you don't know how to distinguish, it's easy to pick strange plants that can poison the eater.
The main ingredient is leaves, which is as hard as it is, preparing the side dishes is equally hard, including many side dishes and different ways of processing. The plate of pork belly must be both lean and fat, thinly sliced. The plate of fried golden shrimp with the head carefully cut off. The plate of pork skin is processed like nem chao, thinly sliced and mixed with rice powder and spices. In addition, there is also a plate of salt with black pepper and green chili to stimulate the taste buds.
The most important thing and considered the soul of the dish, the thing that helps to blend the whole forest leaves and shrimp, meat... perfectly comes from the bowl of turmeric yellow, thick dipping sauce. It is not fish sauce, soy sauce or ordinary dipping sauce. It must go through several stages, from fermented sticky rice to incubate with dried shrimp, pork belly, and then puree. Next, put the mixture on a hot pan with fried shallots, add rice vinegar, satay, spices and stir well on a low heat to make it.
 |
| A tray of leaf salad must have both color and flavor, including dozens of types of forest leaves, a plate of shrimp, pork belly, pork skin... |
 |
| Must be accompanied with a plate of coarse salt, black pepper, and green chili pepper to stimulate the taste buds. |
 |
| The special dipping sauce is only available in leaf salad, without it it would be difficult to harmonize dozens of different flavors. |
Because it is so elaborate, the way to eat and enjoy the whole salad is also quite "complicated". You cannot rush but must follow the order to be able to roll a salad successfully. Salad does not use rice paper but uses the leaves to roll everything.
First, choose the largest leaf such as mustard leaf, perilla leaf, roll it into a small funnel in the palm of your hand, then depending on your taste, add other smaller leaves. Next, put in a few slices of boiled meat, a few fried shrimp, a pinch of pork skin, sprinkle a few grains of salt, pepper and chili for flavor. Then finally, pour on a small spoon of turmeric yellow dipping sauce, then you have successfully rolled a salad and can enjoy it.
Kon Tum Leaf Salad is considered to be well-rounded and delicious if it ensures the full rich flavor of meat, shrimp, the spicy taste of pepper, chili, the salty taste of salt, the sour and fatty taste of the dipping sauce... melting into the light, cool taste of forest leaves that already include the sour, astringent, bitter, and rich flavors of each type of leaf.
Leaf salad is not only delicious but also a very eye-catching dish. A beautiful leaf salad tray is exactly like a painting with a variety of colors such as dark green, light green, red, pink, purple, yellow... We cannot roll dozens of types of leaves into a salad at the same time, but each roll has a different flavor depending on the type of leaf chosen, urging the eater to explore and learn about the world of leaves in the Central Highlands forest.
Only nearly 30 years old, leaf salad is loved by many people because of its unique flavor of the mountains and forests. In particular, eating leaf salad regularly is very good for health because many types of leaves have high medicinal and healing properties, not to mention the surprisingly cheap price, a meal for 3-4 people, a table covered with leaves only costs from 100-200,000 VND.
Nowadays, Kon Tum leaf salad is famous throughout the Central Highlands, sold in many restaurants in Kon Tum province and even Gia Lai, but the best is still the restaurant chain located on Tran Cao Van street. If you have the opportunity to come to Kon Tum, remember this address to fully enjoy the most quintessential dish of the Central Highlands.
If you would like your information to appear here, please contact:Email: info@nguoikontum.com
Fone: (+84) 939-516-161