Điện Biên Province

Whole fish stuffed with lemongrass, dill, and mắc khén pepper then folded and grilled over charcoal - a T'ai ethnic specialty where the fish is bent into a U-shape, creating crispy skin on both sides

Buffalo meat dried and smoked above the hearth for months - deeply chewy and intensely smoky, seasoned with mắc khén and wild ginger, torn by hand and eaten with sticky rice

Free-range highland chicken grilled over charcoal with mắc khén - the Sichuan-like pepper native to northwest Vietnam - giving the skin a numbing, citrusy heat found in no other Vietnamese grilled chicken

Duck braised with banana blossom, lemongrass, and fermented black bean paste - a T'ai ethnic specialty slow-cooked until the duck falls apart and the banana blossom absorbs the rich, fragrant broth

Fragrant sticky rice grown on the Mường Thanh valley slopes - naturally sweet and slightly nutty, steamed in bamboo baskets and eaten for every meal by T'ai families, considered the finest sticky rice in all of Vietnam

Fresh cabbage leaves wrapped around unripe elaeagnus fruit, chilli, and toasted sesame - a tart, crunchy T'ai snack eaten between meals, the sour green nhót fruit giving a flavour punch unique to the northwest highlands