Khe Kem sticky rice

(Baonghean.vn) - People often say that if you haven't been to Kem waterfall, you haven't been to Con Cuong. If you have been to Kem waterfall and haven't enjoyed sticky rice after bathing in the waterfall, it would be a pity.

To make a batch of delicious sticky rice that diners will praise requires a lot of effort. The Thai people of Con Cuong also have their own secrets so that tourists who come to see Khe Kem waterfall and enjoy sticky rice will remember it forever.

First, the fragrant sticky rice must be cleaned and soaked in an aluminum pot for a while to expand. When soaking, cut the coconut meat into thin strips, soak in coconut milk to let the sticky rice absorb, then pour it into a basket to drain. The bamboo tubes for grilling are cut from young bamboo trees in the forest, cut one section at a time. If you cut old bamboo tubes, they will break when grilled.

Sticky rice mixed with shredded coconut. Photo: Tuong Vi

Even measuring the rice requires skill, measuring soaked sticky rice to about half the tube, adding a pinch of salt, pouring water to fill two-thirds of the tube. In some areas, people use young wild banana leaves, rolled into a ball and put them inside the bamboo tube.

Then use banana leaves to cover the end of the tube and place the young bamboo tube over hot coals. Do not heat it directly over the fire, as this may burn the bamboo tube and cause the rice to cook unevenly. Turn the bamboo tube over until it is evenly heated and gradually charred. When the water in the bamboo tube boils dry and gives off a fragrant smell, the bamboo tube is evenly charred, meaning the rice is cooked.

Measure about half of the bamboo tube with sticky rice, then add water before baking. Photo: Tuong Vi

Rice is not cooked directly on the stove. The rice tubes are placed next to the red fire to cook gradually, rotated evenly, it takes up to 1.5 hours to cook a batch of rice like this. Photo: Tuong Vi

Bamboo rice tubes are dried next to the fire and then grilled over charcoal until completely dry. Photo: Tuong Vi

Take the bamboo tube out and wait for it to cool down, open the banana leaf, use a knife to cut the mouth of the tube into small strips about 1cm. Use a knife to split the outer layer of the rice, leaving the paper layer.

When enjoying bamboo rice, customers just need to use their hands to pick up the paper layer like peeling a banana. The fragrant bamboo rice sticks, the aroma of young bamboo tubes, young wild banana leaves, and stream water. Dipping with sesame salt and peanuts creates a characteristic flavor that is chewy and delicious.

If you want to eat hot and scorched sticky rice, just reheat the tube after peeling off all the fine skin. The paper skin may be scorched but is still "safe" because there is still a layer of wild banana peel covering it inside.

Sticky rice with grilled mackerel is like "a young girl meeting a young man". At Kem waterfall, visitors often enjoy sticky rice with grilled chicken and wild banana flower salad. Each tube of rice costs 20,000 VND.

Tourists come to bathe in Kem waterfall and enjoy sticky rice. Photo: Tuong Vi

During the summer, many children also take the opportunity to learn how to make sticky rice from their parents because this is not only a Thai dish but also a way for them to help their parents earn extra income during the tourist season.