Dear Judge Mr. Long Thanh Chiem,
I really want to know the name of typical spices from various regions that you have already had the chance to experience?
Professional Judge Long
Thanh Chiem answered, “Wow! With the answer to this question is c complicated
and should be answered as if re-drawing the Vietnam spice map. I don’t have
enough detailed and deep information for this because I just go to places that
I would like to go, but without any plan. However I will try to list some of
them for you to see how it looks.
“Northwest region (Lao
Cai, Dien Bien…): “Mắt khén” seeds,
cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, chili, pepper …
“Northeast region: “Hạt dỗi” seeds, “mát mật”
leaves, lemongrass, chili, galangal root, turmeric
“Hanoi: dill, “Sương xông” leaves, wormwood, galangal root, turmeric,
dracontomelon duperreanum fruit, pig ear soaked in vinegar and sugar, pepper,
chili, lemongrass, lemon leaves…
“Red River Delta: pepper lolot, Pyrus
granulosa fruit, “quả chay” fruit,
galangal root, lemongrass, chili, pepper…
“The sea in the north: Pepper,
“sả” fruit, chili, galangal root, “mẻ”
which is similar with vinegar but made of rice, fish sauce paste, dill, lemon
leaves and wormwood…
“Highlands: wild pepper,
“tiêu lốt” the same family with
pepper, Ocimum basilicum leaves, “sả”
leaves, ginger, turmeric, salt, chili …
“North central region
(Nghe An, Ha Tinh…): pepper, garlic and chili, fish sauce paste, salt, chili,
“South central region
(Hue, Danang…): Garlic, ginger, galangal root, pepper
“Southeast region:
garlic, pepper, ginger, “sả” leaves, chili,
“lá chúc” - also called Thai lemon
tree, fish sauce paste, salt…
“Southwest region:
garlic, pepper, fish sauce paste, salt, fish sauce, lemon and chili…
“Every spice mentioned
above unique to their regions, but there are still many used throughout other
regions, and some that are more common.”