Cuisine of the Chinese people of Ca Mau

Country cuisine on the street
Chinese culinary specialties
Culinary quintessence of Vietnamese ethnic groups

According to research documents on Chinese cuisine , dumplings are a cultural cuisine with a long history dating back to the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period. It is an indispensable dish in families and restaurants; it is a dry food in the luggage of merchants, scholars and even poor workers.

Bao symbolizes the desire for fertility, because the skin of the bao is made from baking powder with the meaning of continuous development. Therefore, in the offerings to heaven and earth, the Land God, groundbreaking ceremonies, opening ceremonies and folk festivals, bao is indispensable.

A Chinese dumpling shop in Bac Lieu ward with many different fillings.

On the other hand, dumplings also symbolize strength, faith and unity in defeating evil, and are considered a scapegoat to ward off bad luck. This meaning comes from a folk tale from the Three Kingdoms period. It is said that Zhuge Liang had hundreds of thousands of dumplings shaped into human heads to offer to the gods, in order to ward off the epidemic that was harming the soldiers.

The peach-shaped dumpling tower symbolizes longevity.

Over thousands of years of history, the dumpling has become a Chinese identity and a symbol of China, converging the values of traditional culture. Therefore, films about culture, history, or Chinese travel experiences cannot fail to mention dumplings. It is the meaning of solidarity, with dozens, hundreds of dumplings forming a tower of dumplings in the ceremony to worship ancestors and thank the gods; it means prosperity, because the word "bao" is homophonous with the word "purse" (red envelope); it shows abundance, when dumplings are very diverse and have many variations in fillings, such as mixed meat filling with minced pork mixed with cassava, Chinese sausage, duck eggs, char siu, black fungus..., or sweet dumplings with green bean filling, taro filling, chicken egg filling (cade) and also dumplings without filling, fried dumplings served with fried chicken or braised duck.

Steamed buns with braised duck represent abundance.

Compared to other types of dumplings, the Chaozhou dumplings in Ca Mau are mainly steamed dumplings that are seasoned to taste, with fatty and sweet meat fillings but not too rich, the dumpling skin is soft and white, easy to break without falling apart; especially the sweet dumplings, smooth skin, fragrant, with many typical fillings.

More than anything, for the Chinese, this dish represents the bond and solidarity of the community. Specifically, after the end of traditional cultural festivals or parties, people often give each other a pair of dumplings, which can be round dumplings symbolizing perfection, development, and fortune, or peach-shaped dumplings symbolizing longevity... This is also the reason to explain why Chinese dumplings are often printed with the word "Phuc".

The dumplings offered to the Land God before the groundbreaking ceremony of the Chaozhou people of Ca Mau have the word Phuc printed on them (the plate of dumplings is in the middle of the offering table).

One of the strategic orientations of Ca Mau province is to develop tourism, and exploiting the culinary dishes imbued with traditional culture of ethnic groups will contribute significantly to promoting this strength.

From traditional meat dumplings, you can create seafood dumplings with shrimp and crab meat fillings, which will become a dish with strong regional characteristics and will certainly create its own unique identity when Ca Mau crab and shrimp have become specialties.

Lu Dung

Source: https://baocamau.vn/my-thuc-cua-nguoi-hoa-ca-mau-a40037.html