Specialty Sour Meat from Thanh Sơn – A Delicious Gift from the Ancestral Land

The ancient land of Thanh Sơn (Phú Thọ) is renowned for its diverse and rich culinary culture, and the mere mention of its dishes evokes excitement: “The unique mossy rocks, the flavorful sour meat.”

When you think of sour meat from Thanh Sơn, you’ll immediately imagine the earthy flavor of the meat, the crispiness of grilled skin blending with the sour taste of fermented liquor, and the sweet bitterness of leaves that are extremely easy to eat, making it an excellent accompaniment for drinking sessions.


Only a very few households in Thanh Sơn, Phú Thọ, have preserved the secret of preparing this sour meat following the traditional Mường style. The sour meat producers are supplying this unique specialty to the market, satisfying even the most discerning diners.

The ingredients for preparing sour meat include: pork belly, roasted corn powder, roasted bean powder, and various spices such as salt, sugar, garlic, chili, etc. The sour meat-making process involves several stages: roasting the pork skin until it turns golden, rotating the pork until it is nearly cooked, and slicing the best parts of the pork, such as pork belly, pork buttocks, and lean pork, into thin pieces. These pieces are then marinated with a bit of salt and spices, mixed evenly with roasted corn and beans, ensuring that the powder adheres evenly to the surface of the meat. The next step is to prepare large, clean tubs, dry them, line them with guava leaves, place the marinated meat inside, cover the surface with guava leaves, and press them tightly. After 5 – 7 days, when the meat pieces become dry, tender, sour, sweet, and fragrant, they are ready to be eaten. People often eat this meat with various types of leaves such as guava leaves, peach leaves, apricot leaves, linden leaves, aromatic herbs, etc., and dip it in chili sauce to fully experience the unique and fresh flavors that this dish brings.



To ensure safety and convenience during use, after marinating for just the right amount of time, the sour meat is packaged in plastic boxes and plastic tubes, each weighing 250 grams. When using, customers only need to twist the plastic box lid or open the tube lid, remove the guava leaves on the surface, and display the meat on a plate. It is extremely quick, convenient, and efficient.


The sour meat products are kept for up to two months in the refrigerator under cool storage conditions, as they have absorbed all the air in the box and tube, with a sealed film covering the top.

Sour meat is a small, meaningful gift that preserves the taste of the mountainous land, the culinary essence of the people of the Ancestral Land, and it will surely leave a lasting memory for travelers returning to their homeland.

In recent years, sour meat products have been associated with tours to Thanh Sơn town. Tourists not only get to admire the tea hills but also savor the sour meat specialty and experience the sour meat-making process. Importantly, sour meat has become an indispensable signature product for tourists to buy as gifts for their loved ones.