Thắng cố

/tʰaŋ˧˥ ko˧˥/TAHNG KOH

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Soup & stew
Northwest highlands (Lào Cai and Hà Giang)

When: Festive
Taste: RichSavory
Made with: Offal

History

Thắng cố is the traditional stew of the Hmong people of Vietnam's northern highlands, cooked in a huge pan over charcoal at markets, village festivals and gatherings. It was traditionally made with horse meat, later also with beef, buffalo, goat or pork, and uses almost every part: head meat, heart, liver, intestines, bones and blood. The meat is first fried in its own fat after a rub of salt, cardamom, cinnamon and grilled lime leaves, then simmered for hours; diners ladle it out as they eat. The Vietnamese source says the dish came from Yunnan in China and spread to the Kinh, Dao and Tày, and a Hmong cook in Bắc Hà, Lào Cai, said in 2011 that the local horse version was nearly two hundred years old.

Sources

Thắng cố (vi Wikipedia) read 2026-11-01
Vietnamese cuisine (Wikipedia) read 2026-11-01

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How to pronounce Thắng cố

In the International Phonetic Alphabet it is /tʰaŋ˧˥ ko˧˥/. In plain English letters that is TAHNG KOH, with the stress on the syllable in capitals. There is no recording by a native speaker yet, so use the spelling and the IPA.

What is Thắng cố?

Thắng cố is a soup or stew of Vietnam. Where it comes from: Northwest highlands (Lào Cai and Hà Giang). People usually eat it on festive days. Its main ingredients are offal. It tastes rich and savory.

Where Thắng cố comes from

Thắng cố is one of 36 signature dishes of Vietnam on this map. See all dishes from Đông Bắc.

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Food of Vietnam

Dishes like Thắng cố in other countries

Same type of dish and similar main ingredients as Thắng cố:

Chaogan 炒肝 · Soup & stew · Beijing, China
Chaogan is a thick Beijing stew of pork liver and pork intestine, seasoned with garlic, vinegar and soy sauce and thickened with starch.
Motsunabe もつ鍋 · Soup & stew · Fukuoka, Japan
Motsunabe is a hot pot of beef or pork offal, mainly small intestine, that is best known in Fukuoka.
Soto Betawi · Soup & stew · Jakarta (Betawi), Indonesia
Soto Betawi is the beef soup of the Betawi, the native people of Jakarta.
Khash խաշ · Soup & stew · Syunik, Armenia
Khash is a hot, clear soup of boiled cow or sheep parts, which may include the head, feet and stomach, simmered for a long time with herbs.