During Tet, people making cassava rice paper in the mountains earn half a million every day.

These days, the production atmosphere in Hung Son cassava rice paper village has become more bustling because this is the main season for making rice paper. Photo: Thai Hien

Coming to Hung Son cassava rice paper village these days, everywhere you can see people busy, some making rice paper, some drying rice paper and then packaging. Under the hands of farmers, rice paper covered with black sesame seeds mixed with cassava flour creates a rustic dish that many people love.

Quickly taking the cooked rice paper down from the stove, Ms. Dinh Thi Hoa, village 9, Hung Son commune shared: People make cassava rice paper from September of the previous year to March of the following year. At first, this was just a side job for the people, but gradually more families joined in.

Every day, mother and daughter Dinh Thi Hoa in village 9, Hung Son commune can coat 500 - 600 pieces but still cannot sell enough. With the import price of 1,400 VND/piece, after deducting expenses, her family's daily income is approximately 500,000 VND. Photo: Thai Hien

Cassava rice paper is a product that demonstrates the ingenuity, skill and sophistication of the people on the left bank of the Lam River.

For Ms. Hoa's family, cassava rice paper is bringing in an important source of income before the Lunar New Year. Every day, Ms. Hoa and her mother make 500-600 cakes but still cannot sell enough. With the import price of 1,400 VND/cake, after deducting expenses, her family earns approximately 500,000 VND per day.

The main ingredient to make rice paper is good quality cassava, carefully selected from tubers with little fiber, plump and round. Photo: Thai Hien

To make cassava rice paper with a rich flavor of the homeland, at first glance it looks very simple, but in fact it requires elaborateness and skill. If the usual rice paper is made from rice flour, the Hung Son people's rice paper is made from delicious cassava grown by the people themselves. The cassava tubers used to make the cake are carefully selected and must meet the requirements such as: less fibrous, plump, round. The cassava is cleaned and then ground. The mixture of cassava flour after being ground with water forms a smooth, white powder, then black sesame, spices are added, mixed and kneaded well. The spices are adjusted depending on the secret of each family's profession.

The tapioca flour mixture after being ground with water forms a smooth, white powder, then add a little black sesame, spices, mix and knead well. The spices are adjusted depending on each family's secret recipe. Photo: Thai Hien

Ms. Truong Thi My, village 9, Hung Son commune shared: Although the job of making rice paper is not hard, you have to stay up late and wake up early, starting at 3am to start making the rice paper, the work lasts until past noon, lunch at 2pm is a common thing. Every day, she alone can make at least 300, at most 500. After deducting expenses, each day she earns from 300,000 to 400,000 VND. According to Ms. My, to have a delicious rice paper, the most important step is making the rice paper, the method is not much different from making rice paper rolls, but the rice paper must be thicker, the doneness of the rice paper also needs to be more careful.

Currently in Hung Son commune, there are more than 40 households following the profession. Photo: Thai Hien

Currently, in Hung Son commune, there are more than 40 households in villages 6, 8, 9 making cassava rice paper, the most in hamlet 9 with more than 30 households following the profession. Hung Son cassava rice paper is currently consumed not only in Anh Son but also in all places in the province such as: Con Cuong, Do Luong, Nam Dan. Cassava rice paper is imported at a price of 1,300 - 1,500 VND/piece. In addition to selling raw rice paper, many households also bake cooked rice paper to sell at a price of 2,500 VND/piece. From cassava tubers in the garden and hills, Hung Son commune people have processed delicious, attractive rice paper, with a rich, sweet, crispy and mild aroma, making people feel the closeness and familiarity of the countryside.