The unique cuisine of Thai people is always most chosen by visitors whenever they come to Điện Biên to experience the culture of local indigenous ethnic groups there. It is famous for its grilled dishes that are meticulously prepared and marinated, with their own flavours that cannot be mixed with any other ethnic dish or cooking method.

These days, restaurants specialising in serving ethnic food and cultural tourism villages around the Điện Biên Phủ City and and Điện Biên District are always crowded with diners.

The main dishes in a Thai feast are grills, salads and soups. Meat of livestock, poultry or aquafood all can be marinated then grilled. There are different ways to marinate the meat depending on its type but some of the most commonly used spices including wild forest chili, garlic and mắc khén - a speciality spice originating from the northwestern region of Việt Nam, that is quite close to pepper with mild spicy taste and intense aroma. 

Phiêng Lơi cultural village in the Điện Biên Phủ City these days welcomes crowded visitors who booked to stay and enjoy local delicacies.

Lò Thị Xuyến, owner of Kim Xuyến restaurant in the village said: "Since the beginning of March, the restaurant has received so many customers mainly from outside the province. As they come from far away, they are very excited to enjoy traditional dishes here. Their most favourite orders include the popular grilled dishes of chicken, fish, pork, buffalo, beef and eel.

Thai people often prepare grilled pork wrapped in banana leaves. The pork meat is cut in slices or minced carefully, and marinated with spices then grilled over burning charcoal. Before, the pork used to be wrapped in a large square shape and put on a plate to serve for each meal but now, to make it more convenient and easy for visitors to enjoy, it is divided into small and moderate pieces with only about 12cm length.

To prepare a grilled dish, the cook should choose fresh meat, usually best part of the animal such as the rump. After simple preparation, the meat will be chopped and mixed with green onions, coriander, and seasoning.

It is especially important to marinate the meat with fish sauce to enhance the aroma. The banana leaves should be wiped clean, then heated over a fire to wilt and cut into square pieces for easy wrapping. The marinated meat should not be left too long for it to become watery. After about 15 minutes, the meat will be soaked in spices and divided into portions for packaging. Each package only has about three small spoons of meat placed in the middle of the banana leaf and then tightly folded in two edges so that when being grilled, the meat still retains its sweet and hot flavour. About 30 minutes before mealtime, the meat is put it on the wood stove to grill. The charcoal should be heated moderately so that the meat can be slowly cooked, without drying out or losing its sweet flavour.

Speaking about Thai ethnic cuisine, it should mention nộm hoa ban (Bauhinia flower salad). This is an indispensable dish in the traditional Thai feast, especially in every March and April - when the flowers are in full bloom. Bauhinia flower​​​​​​​ salad is combined with vegetables from the forest such as Erythropalum scandens and bitter bamboo shoots. After boiling thoroughly to reduce the acrid taste, the flowers will be squeezed out and then mixed with boiled beef and bitter bamboo shoots. The spices mixed into the flower salad are not complicated, especially not sour like other salads. Usually, there are only galangal, garlic, chili, coriander and seasoning.

The soup dishes in the traditional Thai feast are also very diverse. In addition to bon soup and eggplant soup, buffalo foot soup cooked with some sour leaves is very pleasant to eat. The buffalo foot, after cleaning will be burned on charcoal, chopped into small pieces and then put into a pot to boil. When it's almost done, the cook will add the sour leaves and boil them together.

The rusticity has created a unique feature for the culinary culture of Thai people in Điện Biên. Delicious dishes help visitors from far away better feel the flavours of the mountains and forests.

If you have the opportunity to go to the Northwest, come to Điện Biên to enjoy Thai ethnic cuisine.