Ban flower Rau ban
Rau ban is the young flower and leaf of the ban tree, picked on the passes in spring and made into salads or stir-fried with meat. The salad is dressed with galangal or sesame, and some cooks add chilli, mắc khén, and wild seeds for an aromatic plate.
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Search on KlookWhy it matters
Vietnam News quotes elder Bùi Thị Điệt: a young woman named Ban died looking for the man her parents had refused, and a white spring tree grew at that spot. Hoàng Thị Nọong, quoted by Vietnam News, names xôi ban, ban salad, fried ban flowers with bamboo shoots, and ban soup.
Taste
Vietnam News quotes Nọong on the salad: chilli, peppers, dổi, mắc khén, and wild seeds. Writer Nguyễn Hoàng Hưng, quoted there, calls that salad aromatic.
How to enjoy it
The culture desk’s plates are nộm rau ban, ban salad with galangal, stir-fried ban with meat, and ban salad with sesame. Eat them at a fire.
Vietnamnet names stir-fried ban with wild pork, salad with galangal, and sesame salad, and says March brings white, red, and purple ban.
Xôi ban, fried ban flowers with bamboo shoots, and ban soup are names on Vietnam News.
Where to try it
The festival table and the passes, in March on the culture desk and in March and April on Vietnam News.