The salad made from leaves was once recognized as one of the top 10 specialties of Vietnam with culinary value in Asia. True to its name, this dish consists mainly of… leaves. The people of Kon Tum use 30 – 60 different types of leaves, divided into 3 main groups.

First are the easy-to-find and easy-to-grow leaves right in the backyard like kale, basil, mint, mint, ginseng, lemon leaves, mulberry leaves, garlic chives, pennywort, water spinach, water dropwort, coriander…

Next are the less common leaves in meals like guava leaves, mango leaves, uterus bunch, five-leafed chicken run… Finally, the characteristic forest leaves of the Central Highlands region, usually known only by locals such as campion leaves, red piper betel leaves, bear’s-foot leaves, banyan leaves, magnolia grandiflora, orchid leaves, wild tamarind leaves, humpback leaves, hop leaves,…

“Having tried the leaf salad in Kon Tum city for the first time, I couldn’t recognize the strange leaves on the table. When the restaurant staff introduced them, me and my friends were amazed by the unfamiliar names,” said Mr. Quoc Hung (Ho Chi Minh City), a diner.

According to the owner of a restaurant on Tran Cao Van street, Kon Tum city, restaurants here serve leaf salad all year round. However, depending on the season, weather, and climate, the leaves in the salad vary. The rainy season (from late April to November) is the most diverse time for this dish, with the possibility of combining 50-60 types of leaves.

According to research, this dish has been around for a long time. Previously, locals would go into the forest to clear land, often picking forest leaves to eat for lunch, then bringing them home to eat for dinner. Later on, they combined various leaves with accompanying foods like shrimp, meat to create a distinctive dish to serve distant guests.

The various leaves are harvested by local people early in the morning. Only those familiar with the forest can accurately distinguish between different types of leaves, avoiding toxic ones that are dangerous to eat. Some types are hard to find, requiring experienced people who remember locations, ready to cross the forest, sneak into large bushes, or climb steep rock cliffs.

Amidst the lush green “leaf trays” are accompanying dishes like pork belly, dried forest shrimp, and pig skin.

Pork belly is chosen in pieces with both lean meat and fat to prevent it from being too greasy or too dry, boiled and thinly sliced. Dried forest shrimp is cleaned and then roasted until fragrant, dry and rough on the outside but soft and moist inside. The pig skin is also boiled, thinly shredded like making nem chao, then mixed with vermicelli and some accompanying spices. In addition, there is a dish of rock salt, green pepper, and chili.

The most special and meticulous part of this leaf salad is the dipping sauce. The dipping sauce is made from a mixture of fermented glutinous rice, fermented with dried shrimp, pork belly, and when looked at, it resembles a thick turmeric-colored porridge.

The chef prepares a pan of hot oil on the stove, fries dry onions until fragrant, then adds the mixture, adds tamarind, satay, spices, and stirs with a lively fire. There is an “unwritten rule” that the chef does not taste but relies on the fragrance to determine whether the dipping sauce is tasty or not.

The accompanying dishes and dipping sauce are nicely arranged in the middle of the leaf tray. When eating, diners have to roll up each layer of leaves slowly. First, use a large leaf like mulberry leaf, lemon leaf, rolled into a small funnel shape, then choose 5 – 7 types of leaves as desired, add slices of boiled meat, pig skin, roasted shrimp.

Then, use a spoon to add some dipping sauce, add chili or green pepper, and put it in your mouth to enjoy. With each roll, diners can choose different types of leaves to appreciate the diversity of flavors.

The rich taste of shrimp, meat harmoniously combined with the leafy, bitter taste, light sourness, adding a bit of spiciness from the green chili, pepper, and the greasy taste of the dipping sauce… makes diners delighted. This dish is refreshing and not greasy. In addition, the leaves also have medicinal properties, and healing benefits.

This dish is quite popular in restaurants, homestays, or accommodations in Kon Tum. Each serving of leaf salad is served generously, for about 3 – 4 people to enjoy, with prices ranging from 100,000 – 150,000 VND.
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