Kon Tum leaf salad, from the forests of the Central Highlands.

It's called "leaf salad" because, at first glance, you only see leaves. An authentic plate of leaf salad in the Central Highlands is estimated to contain 30-60 different types of leaves. Some are unique to the Central Highlands, such as the leaves of the Trâm tree, the red Ngạnh plant, bear's bile, the Bứa plant, and the Đại Bi plant... while others are easier to find, such as the Chùm ruột plant, Ngũ Gia Bì plant, fig leaves, guava leaves, mango leaves, Đinh Lăng plant, Càng Cua plant, perilla leaves, Mơ leaves, and cabbage leaves...

The salad is served with thinly sliced ​​boiled pork belly and golden-fried prawns (with heads removed), resulting in a dish that is both rich and tender. The pork skin is prepared with great care, being sliced ​​into strips and mixed with finely ground galangal and spices. A plate of whole peppercorns, coarse salt, and bird's eye chili, a type of green chili with a distinctive aroma from the red basalt soil, is also essential.

But perhaps the most distinctive feature of this specialty dish is the dipping sauce. The dipping sauce for Kon Tum leaf salad is not ordinary fish sauce or soy sauce, but is specially made from fermented glutinous rice, also known as rice wine lees. When the fermented rice has a fragrant aroma, it is mixed with dried shrimp and pork belly, then ground into a paste. Hot oil is heated on the stove, dried onions are sautéed until fragrant, then the mixture is added, along with fermented rice paste, chili paste, and spices, stirred well, and simmered over low heat. This sauce is not meant to be tasted; the cook must rely on the aroma to know when everything in the pan is cooked to the perfect consistency and has reached its best flavor before serving.

The way to enjoy leaf salad is quite elaborate and far from simple. First, large leaves like those of the fig tree or cabbage are used to form a small cone, and then smaller leaves are added inside. However, people don't wrap many different types of leaves at once; they usually wrap around 10 leaves at a time for a more manageable and easier-to-hold portion.

Then, add a slice of pork, a piece of shrimp, and a few strands of pork skin on top. Be sure to add salt and pepper for the perfect flavor. Finally, spoon a little dipping sauce over everything, then pop the whole roll into your mouth and slowly savor the wild, pungent, and refreshing blend of flavors from the Central Highlands. Each time you wrap it in leaves, you can choose different types of leaves to create unique flavors: sometimes the nutty taste of fig leaves, the slightly bitter taste of guava leaves, or the mild, sour taste of mango leaves.

Leaf salad stands out with its distinctive flavor of various leaves blended with a dipping sauce that is sour, slightly bitter, spicy, and pungent, creating a unique and delicious taste. Therefore, many people can't stop wrapping and eating it.
Kon Tum leaf salad is a harmonious blend of sour, spicy, sweet, nutty, fatty, and pungent flavors… Once you've tasted it, you'll remember it forever. This dish is very refreshing and has a harmonious combination of sour, salty, sweet, and astringent flavors that stimulate the taste buds. Besides being a unique dish, forest leaf salad also has medicinal uses such as treating headaches, night sweats, back pain, stomach pain, and high blood pressure…

Despite the diverse variety of leaves, it's only in spring, when the flowers and plants sprout, that this leaf salad dish features 56 different types of leaves; in other seasons, there are only about 30-40 types of forest leaves. When picking, only those that are just right are chosen, avoiding overly mature leaves which would be too harsh to eat, and also saving the young leaves for later. Only in Kon Tum, where the clear blue Dak Bla River meanders at the foot of the majestic Ngoc Linh mountain, can one truly appreciate the unique, highland flavor of this delightful dish.

According to locals, the leaf salad dish originated from the habit of ethnic minorities who often picked forest leaves to eat instead of rice while working in the fields. Among the leaf salad restaurants in Kon Tum, Ut Cung restaurant (on Tran Cao Van street) is considered the first and most authentic, with a history of over 20 years. It began when the father, a soldier, spent a lot of time with ethnic minorities and learned about edible forest leaves. He then developed the dish by adding various spices to create a unique signature dish. This Kon Tum leaf salad has been recognized twice by the Vietnam Record Organization as one of the Top 10 Vietnamese specialties with Asian culinary value.

My Tong