Traditional craft in Nghe An: the "mouthwatering" treat.
(Baonghean.vn) - The days of "rice cakes covered in ash selling out fast enough to keep up with cattle sales" are long gone. Over the years, people in Nam Dan town have remained dedicated to making rice cakes to earn a living and preserve a long-standing traditional craft.
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| The people of Nam Dan often recite the saying: "You'll crave the rice cakes and steamed rice dumplings even before you see them," to describe the deliciousness of the rice cakes at Sa Nam market.Rice cakeOnce a local specialty, deeply rooted in regional cuisine: "Sa Nam, on the riverbank and by the ferry/ Three rows of rice cakes with beef, a heavenly delight." Today, not as many people make rice cakes around Sa Nam market as before, but some families still cling to this traditional craft. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Making rice cakes involves many steps: making molds, grinding flour, cooking the batter, pouring the batter... In the past, when the cakes were cooked, people here would pour them into bamboo trays or rice bowls. Later, they improved the method by using small pieces of banana leaf sheaths, cut into circles, to create molds. In recent years, many people have replaced banana leaf sheaths with molds made from cut PV plastic pipes. A plastic pipe mold with a diameter of 8 cm and a thickness of 1.5 cm, lined with banana leaves, will produce uniformly sized rice cakes. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Ms. Ho Thi Lieu (36 years old), residing in Nam Bac Son hamlet, Nam Dan town, said that her husband's family has been making rice cakes for three generations. According to Ms. Lieu, rice cakes are made from rice flour and lime water. After boiling the lime water, the rice flour mixture is poured in, then cooked over low heat, stirring constantly. The most laborious part of cooking the rice cakes is the pot, which the cook has to "hold" for the whole afternoon and stir continuously. Cooking rice cakes is manageable in winter, but it's very hot in summer. Photo: Huy Thu |
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In the past, Sa Nam rice cakes were made directly from rice. Later, with the advent of mills and motorized flour grinders, they were made from a mixture of rice flour, thus making the rice cake making process less strenuous. However, cooking one pot of rice cakes (about 10kg of rice) still takes several hours. Photo: Huy Thu |
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When the cakes are cooked, the pot must be immediately removed from the stove and the hot batter scooped into the molds. Ms. Lieu's family cooks about 30 kg of rice daily, usually at dusk and dawn. Each kilogram of rice can make 20-25 cakes. Ms. Lieu says that the income from making rice cakes isn't enough to make them rich, but it helps her family maintain a stable life. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| According to experienced cooks, making delicious rice cakes (bánh đúc) requires first selecting the right rice, which is commonly used today. Furthermore, experience, mixing techniques, and controlling the heat are crucial, especially the amount of lime water used for each batch. A batch of delicious, perfectly cooked cakes must meet the requirements of being "firm, smooth, and beautifully colored," solidifying firmly, appearing bright white, and retaining their flavor. (Photo: Huy Thư) |
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| Ms. Tran Thi Hong (50 years old), residing in Van An Hamlet, Nam Dan town, said that her parents' family in Bac Son hamlet, Van Dien commune (formerly), has been making and selling rice cakes at Sa Nam market and many other rural markets in the district for five generations. She herself learned to grind flour and helped her mother make rice cakes since the third grade, then brought the trade to her husband's home and has been involved in it for decades. (Photo: Huy Thu) |
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| From a simple, everyday dish sold and used as an offering to ancestors during festivals, bánh đúc (rice cake) has evolved into a popular local delicacy.Sa NamIt has become a specialty of Nam Dan. Eating banh duc (rice cake) with soy sauce, shrimp paste, or with clams and crab roe leaves an unforgettable impression. Photo: Huy Thu |
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Although the market offers many delicious treats and exotic cakes, the traditional, rustic rice cake from Sa Nam market is still cherished by customers as a special treat.specialty"Rare and hard to find." Because of this, the people who make rice cakes in Nam Dan town have become more attached to and fond of their traditional craft. Photo: Huy Thu |
| The arduous work of making rice cakes in Nam Dan town. Video: Huy Thu |
