Bamboo rice - specialty of the Northwest region of Nghe An
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Bamboo Rice Grilling Technique |
According to the experience of the Thai people in Quy Chau district (Nghe An), to make delicious Khau Co Lam (sticky rice) requires many steps.
People choose young bamboo trees, good bamboo tubes must be cut from trees that are not too young and not too old to receive the most sunlight. Each tube has one node removed, the remaining end acts as the bottom of the pot.
Rice to cook sticky rice in bamboo tube is selected from delicious sticky rice, soaked until it expands, then washed, sprinkled with a little salt, mixed well, then put the rice in the tube and poured water to cover the rice. The mouth of the bamboo tube must be plugged with wild banana leaves or dong leaves so that the sticky rice is not bitter but still retains its flavor.
Grilling bamboo tubes requires skill, placing the bamboo tubes on the stove and turning each tube evenly so that the sticky rice does not become tough. After about an hour, the enticing aroma of sticky rice will be released, which is a sign that the rice is cooked.
Before eating, use a knife to split off the burnt outer layer, then peel off the white inner layer to reveal the sticky rice shaped like a solid tube surrounded by a thin white layer of bamboo pulp.
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Bamboo rice in festival. |
In the past, bamboo rice was preferred for women during their childbearing years. According to Thai people's belief, women who eat bamboo rice after giving birth will avoid using metal pots: cast iron, aluminum, copper... so it does not affect the health and quality of the mother's milk.
For generations, bamboo rice has become a "favorite" dish of ethnic groups, especially at festivals in the western districts of Nghe An, such as: Hang Bua Festival, Tham Om (Quy Chau), Nine-room Temple (Que Phong)... This "cuisine" has been favored by foreign tourists, in hotels and restaurants today, bamboo rice has the position of "first dish" on the menu of "gods".
However, in the current market, in addition to those who make "real", delicious sticky rice, there are still some who make poor quality sticky rice, using bamboo tubes that are too old and do not have a silk membrane, or boiling them in a pot instead of grilling each tube... This has invisibly lost the quintessential flavor of the mountains and forests.
Article and photos: Tran Ngoc Lan -Quy Chau, Nghe An
