Asia's MOST ISOLATED Market!! Rare Mountain Hmong Food!! | TRIBAL VIETNAM EP6

what are people selling in the whole market that's how many different things food our high land food mission continues in vietnam's isolated northwest last time andrew and i experienced ancient thai recipes that have withstood the test of time today we're at it again traveling back in time as we head to one of the world's most isolated markets it's really unsettling it's putting me on it andrew good morning my man good morning mr sunny another day another fun food video if we can get to our next location because right now we are traveling through the second most dangerous paths in all of vietnam how do you feel about my ability to host the show and drive the second most dangerous pass in vietnam at the same time you know just keep your eyes forward a little bit but then the camera can't see my face right now we are on our way to baka city this is a really interesting place it's kind of a huge melting pot of all these different cultures all in one place from there we're gonna be able to explore so many different new ethnic groups that we've not yet discovered for example so far we've visited the black hmong people today we're going to be visiting the white mung people what's the difference i don't know huh so we're going to go find out so we are just entering the village right now look at this half the village is out here trying to help prepare the fields for something thank oh dude they're sewing corn in most of asia rice is king but in these parts it's all about the corn corn grows much more easily in this harsh terrain it doesn't require as much water as rice and it's calorie dense the way you know that they have a lot of corn here is instead of rice wine you often will drink corn water which is even more potent yeah it's brutal andrew and i are on a mission to discover one of asia's most hard to reach mountain markets but first we're stopping at the home of a white hmong market vendor her name is miss chat and every afternoon she prepares the food she'll sell at the market the next day it starts with corn today we're going to make uh you know there's not exactly a good translation for the name of this food they were calling it kind of a corn powder it all starts here on the mill and begin this staple monk dish is called men i can totally reach that it was consumed more in the past when rice was less available and more difficult to grow and she's going to flip the switch now it's found mostly in markets where folks from near and far can get a taste of the past the corn goes from this upper here and then it goes to the bottom of this giant rotating stone once it's between these two stones it just gets grounded to a dust there used to be places here where you'd put wood and manually grind the corn now they have a motor and so it's much easier than it used to be after the corn is turned into a fine powder it gets strained to get rid of any lumps then mixed with water and steamed in a wood trunk for 20 minutes [Music] first of all thank you so much for having us here today andrew if i may back up for a second you know there are 54 different ethnic groups in vietnam four of those are mung she belongs to the white hmong tribe but i'm curious what sets the white monk people apart from other tribes in this area when they pass away the club for the funeral is a one so that's we call the white hormone i understand you grow food around here you sell the food how did you learn this recipe is there something that was passed down from generation to generation we learn from the parents i'm assuming her parents learned from their grandparents and she learned from her parents yeah and andrew today we're going to learn from her oh i can't wait uh tell her that she's my mom today and that she will pass the tradition to me [ __ ] the amendment is about half done steaming and she's going to dump it out right here when you touch it it feels like cornmeal it's kind of coarse and a bit dry still so she's adding some more water and then really massaging it she's mostly putting water on her hand as it burns it's not funny that's my mom so she's going to take it from here put it back in the steamer it's going to finish steaming and once it's all the way done it's ready to take to the market tomorrow [Applause] [Music] wow [Music] this is crazy so we're at the market now what is the name of this market sorry there's a lot of pig screaming it's a little hard to hear you this is lumpin market one of the few locations where you can find several of vietnam's ethnic groups rubbing shoulders and engaging in good old-fashioned commerce if they can make it breed it or grow it then they'll strap it to a motorbike and sell it here what are people selling in the whole market they sell many different things food this is ah spelled simply hey today she'll be our bridge to those who speak only in the hmong language did you get any of that i just hear a pig streaming yeah it was pretty tough the thing with pigs is like you could tickle them or torture them and you get the same sound it sounds like there's pigs being tortured all over correct they're just being picked up why do some people have a cage and she has pig bags it's not the way it's at it's easier to carry oh so she just throws a pig in a bag puts it on our bike and rides all the way here yes can i take a look at this pig is this a good pig yeah it's good looking big how can you tell the chopping a little bit healthy do these rules apply for humans too i'm a little bit chubby and just a little bit healthy only while we've been shopping for little piggies miss chat has set up her stall and is serving her customers in this market's food court there's a logistical issue and being a food vendor at a market like this she comes here on a bike not a truck so she brings half the food and then half the food she makes here the men men is made beforehand some of her pork she'll actually get from a vendor here and cook it here and then there's this this is the tofu she started making yesterday at her home all she did was grind the soybeans here she's added water some herbs and boiled it for an hour and then that is going to be served with the men men sounds like a good breakfast right good morning this is beautiful this is all food that you've made today do you like eating your own cooking yeah no ma'am she loved it that's why she made it oh that's a good answer yeah that's great so this is called men men how do we eat that do we just eat it plain yeah just eat it all right let's try it out oh it's so dry i don't mean this in a disparaging way first of all it's a beautiful looking dish but it's very very dry it's super dry it's like eating sawdust almost like it soaks up all your spit and then you need this so you mix it with tofu [Music] now tofu tastes good it tastes like silky tofu but it is a bit bland i think this is all the flavor right here what is going on in this bowl it's chili sauce oh yeah nice healthy chocolate yeah me too all right cheers okay so that's all the flavor that is spicy my mouth is ablaze already i went from like no flavor to flavor overload man if you just ate that alone or that alone you'd be so disappointed about the combination that's right here this is the star the trotters how does she prepare these after the pork trotters are boiled for two hours she cuts them into thin slices and seasons the meat with their secret spices and lime leaves that is crazy good i can't believe how tender the trotter's gotten yeah these are great it's a real hearty breakfast you'd be full all day i think that's the point many years have you been working here selling around 20 years 20 years is a long time how has the market changed over the 20 years is changing a lot every year it's just growing bigger and bigger and more people sell it more people more time from here we're going to meet a cultural guru so he's going to show us some of his traditions and talk about how they can be preserved into the future there's one problem i feel like we should bring a gift what is like a bomb gift you bring bottle of rice wine or some meat what about a pig that would be super happy but it's a little bit too much let's see we're gonna find that balance are we just gonna blow this guy away maybe we blow this guy away while sunny is off doing whatever sunny's doing i have been tasked with buying gifts for our white mom cultural guru we are here in what is clearly the alcohol section can i try some of this while andrew was shopping for gifts i'm taking a look at what else this market has to offer [Music] that's got some pun the average family in this area is making two to three hundred dollars a month so that means they really need to be careful with their spending but a lot of the stuff at this market is actually pretty inexpensive oh she's going to get a streak as well [Laughter] oh that's great i have no idea what that means but i'll take it exhibit one the honeycomb sandal when you're up here in the north even when it's cold you see about half the people wearing these sandals and that's because they cost about one dollar super affordable i just paid a little over ten dollars for this whole thing i think that's a pretty good deal let's see what else we can find what we found out is giving a pig as a gift is a little bit too much but i think a chicken could be a pretty good compromise so for items that people can't get from a big manufacturer people will just make locally here for example this any ideas i think we take a look ah homemade cowbell one dollar okay so this is seventy thousand that's like three or four dollars for a chicken that's a pretty good deal i think this guy comes in at about ten dollars it's not bad but we're gonna weigh it i thought this was by chicken i don't know why we're getting a weight what is this for this is like a mortal combat weapon okay i was wrong here the whole time apparently it's per kilo oh it's like an old school paper cutter this is how they do circumcisions locally it's a brutal process that concludes my market tour is andrew done shopping let's find out seven or eight dollars for a chicken it still seems like a fair deal to me i was surprised at how cheap it was i'll take it good deal sir put her there it is an honor meet our cultural guru mr foam here he's going to reveal his culinary traditions including the most intimidating dish i've tried so far on this trip and we've tried a lot we have come bearing gifts this is alcohol and a chicken huh first of all what do you think of the chicken he picked it himself he said it's very nice and healthy chicken oh good i'm glad i was told it would taste delicious we're excited to be here because you are a man of both of music and mixology hmm it turns out as part of his culture preserving journey and because the man enjoys a good buzz mr foam makes his own moonshine from corn how did you learn to make corn wine here great mom and grandfather are doing that so they learn from the family most of the hard alcohol in vietnam is made with rice what's the difference with the corn one kung wine is more powerful and you get more easy to addicted it's my understanding that once you partake in your first creative endeavor drinking the alcohol that gets you kind of souped up and ready for your other creative endeavor playing traditional music if it's okay we'd just really love to witness you playing this instrument can we do that how am i yes no problem [Applause] [Music] [Applause] this is a clang a traditional mongord mouth organ due to the tonal nature of the hmong language each tone of this instrument corresponds to among spoken word to folks here listening to a clan is like listening to a story and claimed players are known as storytellers mr thumb's father taught him to play at age 14. now many years later this has become an integral way for him to preserve his culture there's one more way he preserves his culture food so right now we're making some very traditional mung foods here a big intestine that's already been cleaned out so they've got a funnel they've got the intestine into the nozzle there that is avant-garde art right there after you take one deep breath and blow it into the intestine then you fill it up with this insane mixture this mixture starts with chopped pig lungs and fat add that to the pork blood and add ginger look at that the whole thing is filling up they're kind of massaging it working it out trying to get the blood all the way through from here they're gonna hang this up over the fireplace where it's gonna smoke we have quite a spread here we have so many different foods i saw the blood sausage being made this isn't the one i saw them make this is one that's much much much much much much much much much much older preserving meat is a crucial part of hmong food culture every kind of hmong living every kind of country the major thing once a year they solder a pig and preserve it by smoking the meat that meat can be eaten throughout the year because hmong people don't have frieza so they learn how to smoke it some meats age better how old was this one is around four months that's a good amount of time and some age worse this one has a distinct odor it is funky how long has this one been hanging around four months all right so these are from the same pig yeah it's the same people um let's try this no no no no no oh he's in the driver's seat i don't know what to do let him take over buddy just do what the man says he's giving us some of this okay oh i got a giant paddy bit he's fanning me i don't know what to say this smells distinctly rotten it's beyond fermented should be good to make this soup the smoked pork trotters are boiled with daikon for one hour cheers it's not often that i worry about getting sick as i'm eating a food but this happens to be one of those times this soup oozes a musty fungal odor that's telling every sense in my body to be careful perhaps this is where the corn wine comes in whole body really funky man it's almost just like a cheesy like blue cheese pork but i'm done with it if it doesn't get me sick and i can see why you could have this as an acquired taste it kind of reminds me of truffles or smelly cheeses something where at first it's kind of like oh what the hell's going on here and then over time you would start to crave it let's try this this is the pork belly this looks really good right yeah smoked pork belly gets grilled over a fire then cut in thin pieces and stir fried with the corn wine and a bit of ginger how is it that's really good it's kind of like an intensely salty bacon i'm a fan of this one come on let's go [Laughter] sorry it's okay just have some sausage just have some sausage and i'll be okay okay after the blood sausage is smoked for a couple of months it gets boiled in hot water to bring it back to life squishy juicy it does not have a sausage taste no super salty there's blood in there but it doesn't have that minerality that blood usually has right the casing is kind of much more chewy than a normal sausage i imagine because it's real intestine i'm a fan of this too these are the perfect drinking compliments especially if you've got a wine like this it's so salty you need something to drink you need to chase that with something then yeah it's a delicious cycle of chasing but overall i love the pork belly the most the sausage the next this one i could just go ahead and not have it here at all i'm with you same order culture is a living thing from the time you're a kid have a lot of the hmong traditions changed or began to fade it grows it changes our young people are changing a lot the isolating nature of these mountains has helped preserve the local culture here for generations but still there are keeps and culture in there so not totally changed but as modern life creeps closer and closer it may only be a matter of time before ethnic minority customs are washed away into the mainstream forever 100 years from now what are some of the hmong traditions that you hope absolutely hold miss chan is the skirt to tell there is smoke and mr foam yeah go ahead and lose the costume that must wear mount clothes to tell that you're among so that's why it's important to have it in their own ways fight to push that day back as long as they can [Music] next time on our best ever highland food mission andrew and i head to another market but this time the market gets a little too real oh shh oh they're oh man he's powering it around being an influencer doesn't require millions of fans all you need is this t-shirt entertain and inspire at your own pace don't be an influencer be a micro influencer get your shirt now okay make sure your lenses are clean we're about to start so listen tell us about the wine that you make here they're made out of corn and the east and east oh yeast yes ah you're fired i'm just kidding this looks like my nose connecting he just blew air into the intestine he literally blew a fart into the intestine oh what are we doing photo now you're married she continues to separate it make it all nice and separated boom guys another fun food video i hope you enjoyed it because i enjoyed it and andrew was just kind of lukewarm on the whole thing but he survived anyways i liked it okay he liked it too guys you can subscribe to andrew and his youtube channel right here go to his channel right now subscribe and check out what this guy's up to guys that is it for this one thank you so much for watching i will see you next time a piece i don't you never say it you gotta say it really i thought it was your thing i don't want to feel it i got the hand actually that's a good point i should just do it myself yeah

Channel: Best Ever Food Review Show

Views: 1,663,494

Rating: 4.9184737 out of 5

Keywords: best ever food review show, befrs team, befrs, sonny side, vietnam, asian country, asia, south east asia, north west vietnam trip, adventure, Andrew, exotic food, Son La province, ethnic people food, hmong people, Hmong unique food, White Hmong traditional cuisine, travelling in vietnam, traditional food, CORN WINE, HMONG COUSCOUS, TOFU CURD, Aged meat, SMOKED STUFF INTESTINE, SMOKED PORK BELLY

Id: Ki1V79Ouoio

Length: 19min 32sec (1172 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 06 2021