09:13, 16/07/2023
In many highland areas of the Northwest, there is a specialty of fragrant sticky rice, which is an attractive gift for tourists …
The names that have become brands include: Tu Le sticky rice (Van Chan, Yen Bai), My Lung sticky rice (Yen Lap, Phu Tho), Dien Bien sticky rice (Dien Bien), black crow sticky rice (Thanh Son, Phu Tho), Lai Chau purple sticky rice... These are agricultural products that have been preserved and cultivated by ethnic minorities in the highlands for generations on the sky-high mountain slopes.
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| Fragrant green rice grains make up the green rice festival in the Northwest highlands. |
Cultivated on the mountain slopes, highland sticky rice absorbs the essence of the sun and wind, of the cool spring water, of the fertile soil to produce bountiful harvests. In the highlands, people usually only grow one crop a year; the soil and climate are very suitable for native, non-hybrid sticky rice varieties. The rice plants only rely on the nutrients of the soil, the purity of the climate and the diligent care of the highland people to grow, crystallizing into sweet, fragrant sticky rice grains like "heavenly pearls" that nature bestows upon humans.
Highland sticky rice has quite different characteristics compared to regular sticky rice. Dien Bien sticky rice has long, white grains; Tu Le sticky rice has round grains, clear white, at first glance you won't know it's sticky rice. As for Ga Crow sticky rice from Muong My Lung (Phu Tho), the grains are pure white and round; Lai Chau purple sticky rice is jet black. These types of rice all have a fragrant aroma before and after being steamed. In particular, when you want to steam sticky rice, some types only need to be soaked in water for about 30 minutes before being put into the steamer. When cooked, the sticky rice grains are shiny, not sticky to the hand, and have an attractive aroma.
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| Sticky rice contributes to the culinary flavor of the Northwest highlands. |
Sticky rice is an indispensable ingredient in the culinary culture of ethnic groups in the Northwest highlands because it is the main ingredient that creates dishes with rich flavors. In meals, in rituals, and village festivals, sticky rice is the centerpiece of the tray and an important offering for people to offer to gods and ancestors. Thanks to the creativity and ingenuity in combining different natural leaf colors, people have created a five-color sticky rice dish with 5 unique colors, symbolizing the five elements in folk beliefs: white (metal), green (wood), black (water), red (fire), yellow (earth). People believe that life needs the harmony of the above 5 colors so that people and all things are always healthy, prosperous and develop naturally.
On the occasion of the full moon of January, the full moon of July, and the Lunar New Year, people use sticky rice to wrap cakes such as banh chung, banh rom, banh giay, banh lang, etc. In addition, bamboo rice and roasted green rice have long been culinary specialties in the highlands. Sticky rice is also an indispensable ingredient for people in the highlands to perform rituals and festivals during the year, typically the new rice celebration, the sacred forest worshiping ceremony, the green rice festival, wedding ceremonies, Thanh minh festival, long tong festival, Gau Tao festival, etc. Especially, when autumn comes, people in the Northwest highlands bustlingly organize the green rice festival to celebrate the bountiful harvest. From the fragrant green rice grains, people in the highlands process them into unique dishes such as green rice in bamboo tubes, green rice sticky rice, green rice cakes, and duck green rice porridge.
From the fragrant sticky rice specialties of one region, highland sticky rice has spread its fragrance to all regions, becoming an attractive tourism product for visitors when stopping to explore the beauty of lands such as Tu Le, Mai Chau, Dien Bien, Muong Lo, Moc Chau...
Nguyen The Luong
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