“One can is 10 thousand dong, six cans are 50 thousand dong”, that is the price that Mr. Tran Cong Tinh, residing in Cai Ngang hamlet, Hoa Thanh commune, Ca Mau city, a rice-popping professional, announced to customers. Immediately after “closing the order”, Mr. Tinh quickly received the rice and mixed the ingredients to pop the rice.

Mr. Tinh and his wife used to work in Binh Duong province, then the Covid-19 pandemic became complicated, they returned to their hometown to avoid the epidemic and have stayed there until now. Every day, they travel on the car from morning to late afternoon, preparing to bring food and water, resting wherever they go. To avoid the rain and sun, he also built a roof on the car with a rubber sheet. The busiest days usually fall on the weekend, sometimes reaching the 10 kg mark of rice.

“Having a car is also very convenient, as long as there is a road, I can go anywhere. On sunny days, my work is more expensive than on rainy days. I usually park my car in Ward 8 or in the gas - electricity - fertilizer office area (Ward 1, Ca Mau City). The rice is brought by the customers, and the other ingredients are prepared by myself; the most cumbersome thing is the generator, this machine can only burn tube rice flakes, but rice flakes require a complicated fire starter. This job is also good for making a living, the hard part is having to travel all the time, but after traveling a lot, I get used to it,” Tinh shared.

Not only is the tube rice delicious, but the process of making each piece of rice is also very enjoyable to watch.

Rice flakes are ivory white, round in shape, hollow inside. Depending on the buyer's preference, they are cut into different lengths and have a characteristic sweet taste of rice, rich, fatty, and crispy. In addition to pure rice flakes to keep the original flavor, a few other ingredients can be mixed in to make the flavor more delicious and attractive.

Mr. Tinh shared: "Depending on each person's preference, you can adjust the sweetness by adding less sugar or no sugar. In addition, I also add green beans, instant noodles, noodle seasoning... mix well and then pour the mixture into the machine."

Not only do I love green rice, but the process of making it is also interesting. On the green rice popper, there is a funnel at one end to put the ingredients in and roll them smoothly, the other end to release the green rice, the finished product is continuously pushed out, at this time quickly use scissors to cut it into pieces, sections as desired.

In the past, when snacks were not as abundant as they are now, young rice flakes were a favorite dish for both children and adults, kept in the house, especially during Tet. Young rice flakes are best eaten immediately after being baked, still hot and fragrant with the taste of rice.

Ms. Nguyen Mong Nghi, Ward 1, Ca Mau City, confided: “It has been more than 20 years since I have seen the image of popping rice. Sometimes when I go to the market, I see people displaying all kinds of rice, but I still prefer to bring the rice out to pop and enjoy it on the spot. If you want to eat sweet or bland, you can adjust it. Today, I brought out 5 cans of rice to pop, the finished product came out in 2 big bags, maybe I will bring some back to my hometown to share with everyone.”

Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung, 65 years old, Ward 1, Ca Mau City, shared: “In front of my house on Song Doc River, I sometimes see cars or boats popping green rice, but now it is very rare. I remember the price used to be only 2-3 thousand VND/can, there were many children so I popped a lot at once to save for fun, I personally like to just pop traditional rice, because the rice is already sweet, eating green rice with tea is also interesting”.

In the past, to pop rice, the makers often ran along canals and rivers, sneaking into remote areas by small ferries, announcing wherever they went by using loudspeakers. That was also a signal for people to bring rice to pop rice. Nowadays, the number of people making rice pops is gradually decreasing, instead of running to the place, they pop rice at home and deliver it to customers to buy and resell. So suddenly when you come across the image of people making rice pops anywhere, hearing the popping sound, your heart flutters when thinking about the small joys of the past. The taste of the homeland is still intact as ever, just a simple snack but has followed many generations through their childhood./.

Nhi Ngo

Source: https://baocamau.vn/com-ong-tuoi-tho-a2955.html