Thú vị các món cá cúng đầu năm mới của người Thái Nghệ An

Thai women in Luom village, Yen Thang commune, Tuong Duong district prepare food for Tet. Photo: Ho Phuong

Tet is an occasion for Thai people to show off their most beautiful self-woven brocade dresses, participate in many cultural and artistic activities such as swinging, throwing balls, and wine dancing... It is an occasion for the elderly to sit together and chat, recalling their beautiful memories with their children and grandchildren, an opportunity for village boys and girls to date and flirt, and this is also an occasion for children to enjoy a full meal, dress up nicely and run around the village...

They begin to stop farming and forest work at the end of the 24th, until the 25th of December. All family members gather at home, abstaining from heavy work, the oldest woman is assigned the responsibility of going to the market, the remaining family members join hands to repair the house, fences, flagpoles... to prepare for Tet.

Ancestral worship tray during Tet holiday of Thai Tay Muong people in Nghe An. Photo: Quoc Phong

The Thai people in Western Nghe An have many cultural activities during Tet. The most special is the culinary culture. The dishes on the Thai people's Tet tray are prepared very methodically, elaborately and carefully. The jars of rice wine have been brewed for 9 months, the sticky rice wine is cooked with leaf yeast made by the people themselves, brewed and distilled meticulously. The main foods are mountain products such as squirrels, mice, wild meat (dried in the kitchen), dried bamboo shoots, sour meat, sausage, sticky rice... But on the Thai people's Tet trays, pork, chicken and especially fish are indispensable.

At the moment of New Year's Eve, families slaughter chickens to invite their ancestors to come home to celebrate Tet. The first morning of Tet is the most important day, so families invite shamans to their homes to worship their ancestors. Depending on the customs and conditions of each family and locality, the homeowner prepares the best products of the family to perform the ceremony to thank the ancestors and pray for good luck in the new year. Wealthy families often slaughter a whole pig. Pork is processed into many different dishes, and the pig's head is cleaned and boiled to offer to the ancestors.

A shaman performs a ritual during the Thai New Year. Photo: Ho Phuong

Fish is considered an indispensable dish on the Thai people's Tet offering tray. Fish are caught from rivers and streams or bought and carefully processed into many different dishes. Large fish are cut into slices, smoked on the stove for 3 days, then dried into "pa giang" (kitchen-dried fish) which is delicious and easy to preserve.

Small fish are mixed with lemongrass, herbs, sticky rice, mac khen, spices... wrapped in banana leaves to make "pa mooc" (fish sprouts), a typical culinary culture of the Thai people. The fish are thinly sliced, marinated with spices, dipped in water from the wild elm leaves to make a sweet and fragrant la ca dish. The fish are put in bamboo tubes, cooked with giang leaves soup, braised fish...

Grilled fish is a very elaborate dish, which must comply with strict regulations according to ancient customs. Grilled fish must be cut along the spine when slaughtered, not cut open the belly as usual, then the intestines are cleaned. After being slaughtered, the fish is spread out, clamped with bamboo and grilled to make "pa phe" (split fish), or spices and aromatic herbs are put into the belly of the fish to make "pa top" (folded fish), or the ribs are cut along the marinated ribs to make "pa pinh diet". The fish does not need to be large, but any family must have at least 7 fish and 3 grilled fish dishes on the Tet offering tray.

Daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law are needed to carry the tray when offering. Photo: Quoc Phong

After the offering, the whole family gathered around the first meal of the year, from children to the elderly, everyone enjoyed the fish dish to pray for luck. After eating, the family members began to go out to celebrate the New Year.

Mr. Ha Vinh Hoa, an elderly person in Khe Choang village, Chau Khe, Con Cuong, said that the custom of offering fish at the beginning of the year is a long-standing tradition originating from the remembrance and gratitude of ancestors from ancient times, when Thai villages began to form along rivers and streams.

For Thai people, in addition to the first day of the new year, there is another equally important day called “Tet Day”. Each Thai family usually chooses a day to hold the most lavish meal during Tet. On this day, the family will prepare traditional dishes, invite shamans, brothers, friends, and neighbors to eat and drink, and enjoy rice wine.

People of Boong village, Lang Khe commune, Con Cuong district, enjoy Tet holiday. Photo: Ho Phuong

“Keeping up with the new lifestyle, many old customs have gradually faded away, but the custom of offering fish at the beginning of the year is still maintained in every Thai family, as a beautiful indigenous culture that lives forever with us Thai people” - Ms. Hoa added.