Sapa Thang Co – Top Delicacy In Northwest  Vietnam

Have you ever thought about traveling to Sapa and creating a list of delicacies to taste? If yes, you may be once in your life thinking about Sapa Thang Co – A special traditional dish in the highlands of Northwest Vietnam.

If you are curious about this unique dish, let’s take a bit of time to look at this article! You can discover so many interesting information about Sapa Thang Co.

⛱ View more: What To Eat In Sapa? Top 5 Must-Try Dishes For Tourists

Sapa Thang Co Introduction

Thang Co is known as a traditional dish of the Hmong ethnic community in Sapa. This dish has been here for a long time according to the time flow of immigrants settling in the Vietnam Northwest highland. In the past, Thang Co was often served for people to taste during holidays and festivals. Now, this dish is becoming more common to be a top food choice for tourists visiting Sapa.

Anyone who comes back from the Northwest always tells about Thang Co, and how its flavor is incredible. However, not many people truly try it because Thang Co is cooked with several unique ingredients – mainly horse meat.  A lot of travelers – especially foreign visitors are scared of this dish because it is cooked with horse meat. That is the reason why Thang Co also has another name called: Horse Meat Soup.

The Origins of Horse Meat Soup – Thang Co

Thang Co is originated in Yunnan, China. This dish has reached Vietnam for over 200 years since the Hmong people and Tay people immigrated to Bac Ha. Moreover, “Thắng cố” in the Mong language means “a water pot”. However, others said that “Thắng cố” means “a meat soup” in the Mong language.

At first, locals mainly used horse meat to cook Thang Co. At present, during the integration process, Thang Co is cooked not only with horse meat but also buffalo meat, beef, or pork. There are different recipes existing for Thang Co dishes. However, Northwest residents own the best recipe to cook the most mouth-watering flavor of Thang Co soup.

How to Cook Sapa Thang Co?

To cook Thang Co, you should prepare the ingredient list below first including Thang Co plant, cardamon, citronella, ginger, star aniseed, cinnamon twig, and different meat types such as horse meat, pork, buffalo meat, beef, and cleaned internal organs. The internal organs will be rubbed with flour, lemon, and salt, then people will water it to be clear.

After that, meat types and organs will be seasoned with different plants such as Thang Co plants, cardamon, citronella, ginger, star aniseed, cinnamon twig, and other seasonings like salt, sauce, chili,…  in about 30 minutes. After that, people will boil the water and stock it until it is cooked.

How Does Thang Co Sapa Vietnam Taste?

Thang Co has a unique taste that not everyone can truly enjoy its strange flavors. Its taste is a bit greasy of internal organs. Moreover, people will feel the flavors of bitter, hot, sweet, sour, and fresh from Sapa’s natural smells. For instance, many people adore eating durian. But not all people are really into durian because its thickening smell makes them intolerable.

Thang Co Sapa Lao Cai is somehow like that. It makes people feel weird when trying the first time but they will be fallen in love with it soon for the second or third taste. And we ensure that this dish will not let you down if you have enough bravery to eat it. 

What Ways to Eat Thang Co Right?

However, how can you eat Thang Co like a true local? Hmong people eat Thang Co with different vegetables and diverse special sauces depending on their favorite. One of the common types is white salty sauce mixed with lemon, chilies, and black pepper.

Another type of Thang Co sauce is monosodium glutamate combined with lemon and black pepper. Additionally, you can use fish sauce or soy sauce instead. Especially, when eating Thang Co, the highland residents of ten drink corn wine to make its flavors more savory.

Where to Eat Thang Co in Sapa?

If you travel to Sapa, there are a lot of outdoor stalls and restaurants serving Thang Co. Normally, this is a kind of meat soup or you can call it a hot pot type and a Thang Co soup pan can serve up to 5 eaters. However, if there is only one on the trip, you can ask the owner for a bowl of Thang Co soup and enjoy it by yourself.

So, which are the restaurants to taste at Thang Co? Tourists can go to A Phu Restaurant located at 15 Fanispan Street, Sapa Town, or A Quynh Restaurant at 15 Thach Son Street, Sapa Town to enjoy the delectable Thang Co flavors. Moreover, this dish is quite popular these days. So, you can easily find many restaurants serving Thang Co here.

Sapa Thang Co Price

The price for Thang Co soup can be varied depending on each restaurant you choose from. However, its cost will range from 100,000 VND to 300,000 VND. Sapa Thang Co is not only a unique delicacy in Sapa but it also reflects a part of the culture and traditional as well as custom values of Hmong people.

Besides, there is the phrase called “Cheer Thang Co” coming up with locals and small businessmen in the market to celebrate this long-standing delicacy in Sapa. Hence, when you make a trip to Sapa and visit local markets, let’s ask them this phrase to know more about the story of Sapa Thang Co.

Other Recommended Sapa Specialties

In addition to Thang Co, you can spend time tasting other incredible food in the Northwest highland. For example, you should try to eat Com Lam – a famous rice covered in bamboo body and burned until the rice is cooked. Or there is a beautiful sticky rice called “Xôi ngũ sắc” – which means five-color sticky rice. Especially, do not miss the chance to eat “Thịt trâu gác bếp” – “dried buffalo meat” of people living in Sapa.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, Sun Getaways Travel has just introduced the most famous specialties in Sapa: Sapa Thang Co to you. For the beginner, Thang Co is not suitable for a Demanding eater. However, for those who can eat it once, we ensure Sapa Thang Co is a must-try dish when traveling to Sapa.

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