Ky Son border region specialties attract tourists
With many ethnic minorities living together with the typical natural conditions of vast mountains and hills, the border district of Ky Son (Nghe An) possesses many products bearing the mark of the land and people here. Many specialties have been developed by the locality into OCOP products.
Coming to Ky Son on the chilly days of early winter, the dish of beef jerky by the fire is always the first choice of tourists. "Giang" in Thai means meat to be hung on the stove. Ky Son beef jerky has long been a famous specialty that people naturally remember whenever mentioning this highland land.
Bo giang has long been present in the cultural life of the local people. In the past, whenever a family had an important event, people often slaughtered many cows and pigs to worship and treat the villagers. The large amount of meat could not be used up in those days, and there was no refrigerator to preserve it, so people came up with the idea of hanging each piece of meat over the fire to dry, thus creating a unique and attractive dish that remains to this day.
Of course, compared to the way it was made decades ago, nowadays, the beef in Ky Son has been processed much more elaborately with a delicious chewy taste, the rich aroma of fresh beef, the smoke of firewood permeating every fiber of the meat, bringing out the original flavor of the mountains and forests. Currently, the beef in Ky Son has been certified as an OCOP product, this is an advantage for this specialty to become more and more widely known to consumers nationwide.
Not only bo giang but when mentioning Ky Son cuisine, many people immediately think of the famous black chicken dish. Ky Son native black chicken is one of the specialty chicken breeds of the Central region. Black chicken meat is fragrant, delicious, sweet. People here often raise it for daily use and especially when welcoming distinguished guests. Black chicken adapts to high mountains, cold climates, eats natural foods such as corn, vegetables, tubers, fruits, so black chicken meat is very nutritious and can be processed into many delicious dishes.
With its available advantages, Ky Son district has built a Project No. to develop black chicken farming in Muong Long commune. The district has distributed 1,000 breeding chickens and provided technical guidance to 10 farming households in Muong Long commune, provided 2 incubators and 2 generators for households to breed native chickens. At the same time, coordinated with experts and functional agencies to support Muong Long Agricultural and Community Tourism Cooperative to successfully protect the OCOP brand for black chickens.
From the initial success, Ky Son district has proposed the Provincial Farmers' Association to support the expansion of black chicken farming in Ky Son district in communes with strengths such as Huoi Tu, Nam Can, Na Loi in the direction of bio-safety, creating sustainable livelihoods for local people. Black chicken is a specialty that always has a stable output, especially during holidays and Tet, when customers often have to order in advance to be able to enjoy it.
In addition to rustic dishes such as beef, black chicken, wild boar... nature has also bestowed upon Ky Son many precious agricultural products with the distinctive flavor of the mountains and forests. With an area of about 800 hectares, Ky Son is considered the ginger capital of Nghe An. For generations, ginger has been a native plant grown by ethnic minorities in Ky Son district on swidden fields. With its unique climate and geographical location, ginger grows and develops well, with a high essential oil content and a strong aroma that is rarely found anywhere else.
It is known that after Ky Son fresh ginger achieved 3-star OCOP certification in 2020, in addition to selling fresh ginger, production facilities have also processed new products from ginger such as: ginger essential oil, dried ginger slices, ginger powder... which have been well received by the market.
In Ky Son district, Muong Long commune is considered the "little Sa Pa" of Nghe An. Nature has bestowed this place with poetic scenery with the famous Muong Long Heaven Gate, this is also a paradise of fruit trees such as plums and peaches. Of which, the plum growing area is the largest in the district with nearly 30 hectares.
During the harvest season, local plum gardens are red and ripe, with densely packed fruits that look very eye-catching and beautiful. The estimated yield is about 30 tons/ha. Muong Long plums are clean plums, not sprayed with pesticides, and are increasingly popular with customers. Currently, plums are not only a poverty-reducing tree, but many households have actively transformed plum gardens into famous check-in spots to attract tourists.
Mr. Tho Ba Re - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ky Son district, said: As a border district with many difficulties, however, nature has also favored the locality with many famous products, which have been built by the district into OCOP products with strong consumption, such as bo giang, fresh ginger, ginger essential oil, black chicken, Shan Tuyet tea... Besides, the district also has products with great potential such as taro, green squash, upland sticky rice, Mong beef...
From those strengths, the district will gradually invest and expand the scale and area of agricultural products, both increasing income for the people, exploiting local potential, and at the same time creating leverage to develop tourism, bringing Ky Son closer to visitors from all over the world.
