Mom's rice balls

For today's younger generation, rice balls may be unfamiliar, or even something they've never eaten, because with improved economic conditions , many ready-made dishes are readily available everywhere. However, for those born in the 1980s, especially in rural areas, rice balls were a familiar food.

My family was struggling financially back then, and my childhood was filled with my mother's rice balls wrapped in banana leaves. At that time, there was no secondary school in our village, so my sisters and I had to go to the district school. The distance from home to school was too far, so I often stayed at school during lunchtime to continue studying in the afternoon. For seven long years, my mother's rice balls accompanied us to school. We grew up to be who we are today thanks to those rice balls, and we've been able to learn so much thanks to them.

To me, my mother is a capable, diligent, and skillful person. Every morning, she wakes up very early to prepare rice balls for my sisters and me to pack for lunch when we have to stay at school all day. And on days when my father works far away and can't come home for lunch, she carefully makes him a rice ball for him to eat at lunchtime. Whenever she has free time, she often teaches me how to make this dish.

My mother said that making rice balls doesn't take many steps, but it requires skill and meticulousness. To make delicious rice balls, the first thing is to prepare good quality, sticky rice that has been sun-dried just right; this will help the rice balls stick together and remain dry.

After washing the rice thoroughly, my mother would cook it in a cast-iron pot, adding more water than usual to prevent the rice from drying out and making it difficult for the rice balls to stick together. The rice had to be molded while still hot so that the grains would stick together and not break apart. She would roll the rice balls thoroughly until they were smooth and formed a single mass. The tools used to mold the rice were banana leaves cut into square pieces, wiped clean, and then briefly heated over a fire. For the rice balls, my mother made peanut salt. This salt consisted of roasted peanuts, shelled and ground, then mixed with dry roasted white salt and sugar to taste… Many people might think making rice balls is simple and anyone can do it, but in reality, it's not. It requires skill to cook and mold delicious rice balls.

Even today, many people still love rice balls with roasted peanuts. It's a popular choice for a light breakfast or a snack in the afternoon, being both healthy and convenient, saving time. My childhood and the hardships of that time are over; now that I'm an adult, I enjoy many delicious dishes, but sometimes I still crave the taste of rice balls with roasted peanuts that my mother used to make.

The fragrant aroma of rice wrapped in banana leaves lingers, reminding me of my mother's sweat, tears, and lifelong sacrifices… She packed all her love into that ball of rice!

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