Dong Nai unveils culinary map featuring 100 local dishes

The Dong Nai Chefs Association (DNCA) has completed a culinary map featuring 100 signature dishes made from locally sourced ingredients in preparation for the 2026 Dong Nai Culinary Festival.

Chefs from Buu Long Tourist Area prepare Tan Trieu pomelo salad. Photo: Kabin

Each dish was meticulously prepared and presented to create Dong Nai's culinary map. Photo: Ngoc Lien

Members of the DNCA researched and selected signature local dishes from different parts of the city to create the culinary map.

The map features dishes from northern and southern Dong Nai, specialties from the city's brackish-water areas, and traditional cuisine of ethnic minority communities, creating a comprehensive showcase of the locality's distinctive food culture.

Crispy fried sticky rice, one of Dong Nai's best-known specialties, has earned several prestigious records. Photo: Ngoc Lien

Nguyen Van Thinh, Chairman of the DNCA, said the culinary map featuring 100 local dishes will be officially unveiled at the Dong Nai Culinary Festival, which will also celebrate the association's third anniversary on August 28, 2026.

One of the featured dishes is Crispy fried sticky rice, which has received several prestigious distinctions. In 2014, it set a national record for the largest number of people preparing the dish simultaneously. It was recognized by the Asian Records Organization as an Asian delicacy in 2023 and set the national record for Vietnam's largest deep-fried, puffed, sticky rice made with cashews in 2025.

Other specialties include Tan Trieu pomelo salad, which set the national record for Vietnam's largest pomelo salad platter in 2013; stir-fried beef with nhip leaves, which was recognized among Vietnam's 121 outstanding dishes in 2022; and banh bo (Vietnamese honeycomb sponge cake), which established the national record for the country's largest banh bo in 2014.

The map also features dishes associated with the fruit-growing areas of Xuan Loc and Long Khanh, the brackish-water regions of Nhon Trach and Long Thanh, and specialties from Tri An Lake.

Stir-fried beef with nhip leaves and canh thut (a soup cooked from wild vegetables), traditional dishes of the S'tieng ethnic community in northern Dong Nai. Photo: Ngoc Lien

Thinh said the culinary map is intended to introduce Dong Nai's signature dishes made from local ingredients, helping elevate the city's culinary heritage and promote tourism in Dong Nai and the Southeast region.

Some dishes prepared by the DNCA for the 2026 Dong Nai Culinary Festival include:

Banh quai vac (Vietnamese translucent dumplings) and Tan Mai fish salad, two signature specialties of the former Bien Hoa area, now part of Tran Bien and Tam Hiep wards. Photo: Ngoc Lien

Crispy fried goby fish, a specialty from Tri An Lake. Photo: Ngoc Lien

Fruit jelly and sticky rice with jackfruit and durian, featuring locally grown fruits. Photo: Ngoc Lien

Artistic fruit and vegetable carvings add color and creativity to the culinary map. Photo: Ngoc Lien

Chefs from the association put the finishing touches on the culinary map ahead of the Dong Nai Culinary Festival 2026. Photo: Ngoc Lien.

By N. Lien – Translated by M.Nguyet, Minho