Phú Thọ Province

Ear-shaped steamed dumplings filled with seasoned pork and wood-ear mushroom - named for their resemblance to a human ear, the rice flour dough is rolled paper-thin and folded into a half-moon shape then steamed, a Phú Thọ market specialty eaten with a light dipping sauce at Đền Hùng festival season

Braised pork with unripe banana in a turmeric and fermented shrimp paste sauce - the banana absorbs the rich pork fat and tangy paste as it cooks, softening into a silky texture that balances the meat, a Mường community dish eaten with steamed rice throughout Phú Thọ's highland districts

Fish braised with trám olives from Phú Thọ's ancient forest trees - the wild black trám olive adds a sour, resinous depth to the braising liquid that no other ingredient can replicate, slow-cooked in a clay pot with fish sauce and galangal, a highland specialty eaten only where trám trees grow

River moss from Phú Thọ's mountain streams wrapped with lemongrass and wild herbs then grilled over charcoal - a Mường foraging tradition producing a crispy, mineral-flavoured dish eaten as a side with sticky rice, harvested only from clean fast-flowing highland streams where the water runs clear year-round

Young cassava leaves stir-fried with garlic and chilli or cooked into a sour soup with pork - a staple highland green eaten daily by Mường and Dao families in Phú Thọ, the leaves must be boiled first to remove toxins then have a slightly nutty, earthy flavour unlike any lowland vegetable

The legendary anh vũ fish from the Đà River confluence - a rare freshwater species found only at the Red and Lô river meeting point, considered a royal fish served to Hùng Kings, steamed with ginger or braised in fish sauce and now a prized delicacy