Cao Bằng Province

Whole roast duck marinated in seven spices including mắc mật, star anise, and galangal - the skin lacquers to a deep mahogany and shatters on bite, a Cao Bằng specialty distinct from any other Vietnamese roast duck

Steamed rice flour cakes filled with pork and fragrant herbs, wrapped in banana leaf - a Tày breakfast staple sold at Cao Bằng morning markets, eaten with chilli sauce and pickled vegetables

Sticky rice cakes filled with black ant eggs harvested in spring - the eggs pop with a subtle sourness and rich flavour, a Tày seasonal delicacy eaten only in April and May when ant colonies are full

Air-dried highland sausage seasoned with mắc khén pepper, wild garlic, and rice wine - hung above the hearth for weeks until deeply smoky and chewy, sliced thin and eaten with sticky rice