(Baonghean.vn) - Rice wine is a product closely associated with the cultural life of the ethnic minorities in Western Nghe An. Making a delicious jar of rice wine requires many steps; even the process of making the drinking straws is very elaborate.
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| The plant used for making drinking straws is called bamboo, belonging to the same family as bamboo, but with smaller stems, branches, and leaves. The plant has a soft stem, with a base diameter of 1.5-2.5 cm. When young, the stem is banana-leaf green, turning bright green or yellow as it matures. Branches grow from 1/2 to 2/3 of the stem's height. The stem is also divided into many segments, each spaced about 15-20 cm apart. The leaves are soft, thin, green, rough, lance-shaped, with 4-5 leaves at the end of each branch. The stem has no thorns. (Photo: Dinh Tuan) |
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| Following Mr. La Hong Muon (1958), residing in Mac village, Thach Giam commune (Tuong Duong district), into the forest to cut bamboo stalks for making drinking pipes. According to Mr. Muon's experience, one must choose stalks that are neither too old nor too young; if they are too young or too old, they break easily. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
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| Tools used to make a drinking straw. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
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| Mr. La Hong Muon is one of the few people still making drinking straws. He said, "To make them, you have to go through many stages, and every union requires workers to be very careful and meticulous." Photo: Dinh Tuan |
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| Of all the steps, drilling the bamboo tube is perhaps the most difficult. To make it easier, people have created a very unique drilling method: they sharpen a piece of steel wire, insert it into a bamboo tube, and secure it. When drilling, they simply insert the bamboo, place the drill bit inside, and rotate the handle, thus drilling through the bamboo nodes. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
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| Next, holes are drilled so that when drinking, the liquor will flow in through these holes. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
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| There are two ways to prevent the pipe from breaking. The first is to draw in hot water heated on the stove and hold it in the pipe for 2-3 minutes. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
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| The second method is to heat the drill over a fire after drilling through the pipe. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
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| Heating the wire over a fire before bending is the most common method used by locals. Because the wire has already been drilled and shaped, it won't explode when heated over the fire. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
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| Once the process is complete, the stalks will be hung on top of the kitchen rack to protect them from termites. They will only be taken down when needed. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
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| Bamboo pipes, when used for drinking, offer a very distinctive flavor. Currently, each pipe is sold by locals for 5,000 - 10,000 VND. Photo: Dinh Tuan |
Dinh Tuan
