Khau Hang season

(Baonghean) - The rice harvest in the mountainous areas usually begins in mid-September and extends into October according to the lunar calendar. However, to obtain young, ripe rice grains for making khau hang (newly cooked sticky rice), people often choose to plant special fragrant local rice varieties with round, plump grains, such as khau on oi, khau hang ngua, khau dac…

In this gentle sunshine, the women and girls go to the fields together, skillfully using harvesting tools (called "heep") to select plump, disease-free rice stalks with even, beautiful grains, and bundle them neatly into bunches called "khau." The rice chosen for "khau hang" must not be too young. Otherwise, it will become mushy when boiled, while if the rice is too ripe, it will be hard and lose its chewy texture and characteristic aroma.

Processing the meatballs.

To make delicious, fragrant sticky rice cake (khẩu hang), many elaborate steps are required. Young rice, after being harvested and carefully selected, is boiled over a wood fire, then air-dried on a rack above the stove. This stage requires skill and the ability to estimate when the rice grains are ripe, still with their husks intact but evenly cooked. After drying, the rice is pounded in a mortar and winnowed several times to select only the plumpest, round grains. It is then rinsed once, drained for 15-30 minutes, and steamed in a pot. People usually eat khẩu hang with chẻo hạt chà uốm, a type of seed gathered from the forest, dried, separated, and mixed with a little salt to make a paste. Khau hang is also eaten with mọoc fish, mọoc wild chicken, or nhọoc dishes made from forest products such as squirrels, rats, wild boars, pumpkins, and field beans. Many people prefer to eat khẩu hang on its own, using their hands to squeeze and eat it to fully appreciate the rich, fragrant flavor of the freshly cooked rice.

At this time of year, simply walking through the forests, one can smell the distinctive aroma of ripening rice grains. Around the warm fire in their stilt houses, villagers gather, chatting and drying rice on racks, the sound of pounding rice warming the hearts of many. Those who have tasted and enjoyed the flavor of khau hang rice, feeling its gentle sweetness and rich aroma, feel even more attached to and love the taste of their homeland's rice. That flavor constantly beckons and invites those far from home to return.

May Huyen

Tuong Duong Radio and Television Station