Rare animals on the table of ancient kings

These are the specialties, the oysters from the Vietnamese countryside are offered to the king, the ancient emperor to enjoy .

In the old days, the best things from costumes, utensils to food, to food were offered to kings and emperors. Each meal of the emperor has hundreds of dishes, every dish is well-known and delicious, but sometimes, they have not been touched by chopsticks once.

Among them, let's go find the whereabouts and origins of some dishes in the ancient Vietnamese court .

1. Chicken ripe

Perhaps one of us also heard the story of Son Tinh, Thuy Tinh, about the gift of King Hung challenging the wedding: ripe chicken. Thinking like this chicken is only in legend, so the truth is not so. This is a true breed of chicken in Vietnam and once a favorite dish of kings.

Close up of a ripe chicken with curling tail feathers, vibrant colors, big, strong legs

This breed is small in size, usually not more than 1.5kg, bright red crest, big legs, probably raised in Xuan Son, Tan Son, Phu Tho - the ancestral land of Hung kings.

In fact, this is exactly the same type of chicken because almost every chicken has 3.4 spikes growing on each side, connected together, sprawling at the top is curved like wild boar fangs. The number of chickens with 9 spurs is really rare and in the past, such chickens must bring tribute to the king and lord.

Special spoons of ripe chicken seem to be only in legend

The dish that is loved by the old monarchs is bringing the ripe chicken, placing it on the bamboo, steaming the water and eating it with the thick cake - a traditional cake of the Vietnamese people.

According to Mr. Ly Phuc Lam, the ripe chicken 'king' in Xuan Son said that this breed is very special, many people want to bring it to the delta to breed and breed, but keep them out of the forest of Xuan Son mountain as chicken. die slowly, dead, unable to live. He also happily said: 'If you can eat ripe chickens, you will be . king'.

2. Anh Vu fish

Along on the land of King Hung Phu Tho, we will also encounter a special food only for the ancient kings at the confluence of Bach Hac (Viet Tri) - Anh Vu fish.

Dai Viet Su book signed all the letters that said, Hung Quoc Vuong (King Hung 3), there was a fisherman who caught in Lo River a strange fish, muzzle like a muzzle, belly with white scales, red fins immediately brought up. king.

Close up of cartilage cartilage of Anh Vu fish

The king used to see that the meat was white and delicious, and it was good to eat like a tonic, and from then on, the committee who had caught this fish had to offer the king. After advancing the gate, the king's chef will steam the fish up and offer the king to use the crunchy and sweet lip cartilage. Welded fish meat should work as antidote, kidney tonic.

Another area said that once in the Vietnam-China border in Phu Tho, there was a tall corn plant. The King of Ngo ordered Ly Bach to come here to suppress.

Finished, the tree fell and the stump turned into a cave. From then on, every winter, Anh Vu will follow the cave to our country again, the summer will be warm again.

From a scientific point of view, the English name Vu has Semilabeo notabilis, belonging to the carp family, has 2 pairs of antennae. This fish has an unusually large lip cartilage block because they eat moss growing on the river bed, when they use their lips to stick to the rock, so it is so developed.

However, due to too much fishing, the number of Anh Vu fish in the wild has almost disappeared.

3. Ginseng holding

Referring to this phrase, people immediately think of the familiar song 'West Lake ginseng'. Indeed, ginseng is one of the famous specialties of the ancient Ha Thanh land, one of the 'luxurious' dishes favored by kings.

The name 'ginseng' means that the bird eats ginseng. Legend has it that this is a bird living in Truong Bach mountain (North Korean border and China), with incredible health, tonic meat thanks to eating a slender, shade-loving plant, prefers dry fear of water. Snow mountain peak.

The ginseng bird has a head hair, a black neck coat, the back has a grayish-green fur (lead blue).Underneath the abdomen is also a lighter but bluish green, the tail and chest, darker fur, the lower abdomen light up .

That year, people at the foot of the mountain encountered a pandemic, those who were still alive were about to die. Luckily, a girl remembered this strange bird so she climbed to the top of the mountain, found a humanoid tuber, called ginseng, to eat and save lives. At this time, everyone gave this bird the name 'ginseng'.

Because eating ginseng, ginseng is thought to be a great food. This is also a favorite dish of King Tu Duc. In the history of the nation, King Tu Duc was rare, listening to gossip and holding great things to order the people along West Lake, every year, he had to pay 10 pairs of precious birds for the king to eat. Later, due to the overwhelming opposition of the people, the new king pleadedly canceled this tribute.

The herds of flocks "flapping the Sun's wings" are now only in songs

Today, due to the over-hunting of these rare birds, the amount of ginseng in the West Lake is nearly gone. They seem to have become the past, becoming the past of a long time away.