The noodle-making craft in Thuong Cat

(Baonghean)Thuong Cat village (Tan Son - Do Luong) is famous for its traditional craft of making rice noodles, passed down from father to son. Thanks to this craft, the lives of the Catholic parishioners here are becoming increasingly prosperous.

The village elders say that the tradition of making rice noodles in Thuong Cat has existed for an unknown period of time. In the past, the rice noodles from Thuong Cat were famous throughout Nghe An province. Anyone traveling from Luong to Do Luong who hadn't tasted the rice noodles couldn't be considered to have truly visited Do Luong. Back then, Thuong Cat was very poor, with barren, rocky hills. The villagers carried rice noodles to sell everywhere every day. Thanks to the noodles, poor farmers were able to get through the difficult times of the third lunar month.

Making rice noodles on banana leaves is quite elaborate; the noodles are stretched thinly on fresh banana leaves, and the longer and thinner they are, the better they taste. That's why, in the past, during the spring festival in Thuong Cat, they even held a "rice noodle pulling" competition. No one ever won first place because everyone in Thuong Cat was so skilled. In the 1990s, it seemed that rice noodles on banana leaves were no longer known. The people of Thuong Cat mainly made them by hand, in larger quantities to meet market demand. However, manual production remains very hard and laborious. The 25 households in Thuong Cat work day and night making noodles, but still can't keep up with market demand.

Thuong Cat rice noodles are sold in rural markets.

In 2010, Thuong Cat made a "breakthrough" in its vermicelli production methods. Several households boldly invested in machinery and technology to produce vermicelli, reducing labor and increasing efficiency. For example, Mr. Nguyen Van Thuong invested over 100 million VND in vermicelli and rice paper making machines, and Mr. Nguyen Van Luan invested over 50 million VND in a vermicelli making machine.
Mr. Thuong shared: "The entire rice noodle production process is closed-loop, with most stages handled by machinery. For example, soaking and fermenting rice, grinding rice flour... Previously, we had to use wood and rice husks as fuel for cooking, but now we use steam-compressed ovens to steam the noodles, which is very convenient. The characteristic of machine-made noodles is that the strands are uniform, cooked thoroughly, and have a chewy texture, ensuring food safety. But to produce delicious noodles and maintain the 'Thuong Cat noodles' brand, besides using modern technology, Mr. Thuong still has his secret recipe to ensure the noodles produced don't have a sour taste, and the white strands are fragrant and delicious."

Previously, Mr. Thuong's family, consisting of four workers, could only produce 100 kg of rice noodles per day, working diligently all day. However, thanks to machinery, only two workers are needed to produce over 500 kg of rice noodles per day. On average, Mr. Thuong produces about 300 kg of rice noodles and 300 kg of rice rolls daily. After deducting expenses, he earns a profit of over 300,000 VND per day.

Mr. Thuong added: Since his family acquired the machine, more than 20 households making rice noodles have stopped producing them manually. They mainly bring their rice flour to him to process, and the labor cost is quite low, 1000 VND/kg of rice flour. According to Mr. Thuong, there are times when they can't produce enough noodles to meet market demand. For example, for weddings and engagement ceremonies, they have to order in advance. Or during holidays, his family produces over 1 ton of noodles to supply the market. Currently, Thuong Cat rice noodles are expanding their distribution to neighboring districts such as Anh Son, Con Cuong, and Yen Thanh… Many households in Thuong Cat buy noodles from Mr. Thuong daily to resell. For instance, Mr. Nguyen Duc Tho buys about 100 kg of noodles daily at 6,000 VND/kg and sells them retail at markets for 8,000 VND/kg, earning a profit of over 150,000 VND per day after deducting expenses. Mr. Nguyen Van Hoi's family, one of the near-poor households, buys over 100 kg of both rice rolls and vermicelli noodles daily to sell at local markets, earning over 200,000 VND in profit each day. From selling vermicelli noodles, he has been able to support his children's education and plans to build a new house next year.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Tan, Chairman of the Tan Son Commune People's Committee, said: Tan Son is encouraging people to buy more modern machinery to expand the noodle-making industry. Thuong Cat has more than 100 households, but only 25 households are engaged in this profession. The noodle-making industry is bringing practical economic benefits to the people, contributing to the preservation of a delicious traditional Vietnamese dish.

Van Truong