Get rich by producing rice noodles

The crackling sound of the sun-dried rice cakes falling off the bamboo fence, the scent of new rice wafting in the wind, signaled that a new batch of noodles was about to be completed. Everyone urged each other to collect the cakes and bring them home. If they were late, the cakes would become dry and brittle, easily broken, and difficult to cut into long strands. By the time the collection was finished, the sun was at its zenith.

Ms. Vu Thi Thu (left) and her daughter wrap rice paper before slicing it.

Waiting until the rice cakes were stacked neatly, wrapped in damp cloth waiting to be cut into strands, we had the opportunity to learn about the rice noodle production here. Ms. Vu Thi Thu in Ao De 1 village said that although her husband's family had been experimenting with rice noodle production for decades, they only took advantage of production during the off-season. The noodles were mainly made for eating, and the amount of noodles sold was very small. She said that when she became a daughter-in-law in Ao De 1 village in 1996, her husband and she did many other jobs such as producing tofu, making wine, cultivating tobacco plants... but their income was unstable due to lack of output. After researching the market and learning from experiences in noodle production in many places, realizing that the rice noodle production profession tended to develop strongly, bringing high and stable income, in 2006, she and her husband borrowed nearly 200 million VND to buy a flour mill, a cake making machine, and a noodle cutting machine to replace the manual method, which had low productivity.

Because the noodles are made from Khang Dan rice (a type of rice that has a light, rich taste and does not break when cooked), Ms. Thu's family's products sell very well, earning tens of millions of dong per month. Learning her family's method, more than a dozen households in the village, such as Mr. Tran Xuan Chien and Mr. Tran Xuan Kien, have also followed suit. Pointing to the high-rise buildings in the village, Ms. Thu said proudly: "What my family and the noodle makers here have today, is largely due to the income from producing rice noodles."

Faced with the increasingly high demands of the market on issues such as: Origin, provenance, quality assessment, packaging, product packaging labels; and receiving support from the People's Committee of Huong Lac commune (now Lang Giang commune) in consulting on OCOP product registration documents, printing labels, in 2024, Ms. Thu's family and rice noodle producers in the village joined together to participate in the voting. The 3-star OCOP product "Huong Lac Rice Noodles" was formed and known to consumers everywhere.

“Since being recognized as OCOP standard, our Huong Lac rice noodles have been introduced into retail systems in and outside the province such as Hanoi , Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Quang Ninh province... Thanks to that, the noodle output of households has increased 3-4 times compared to before, bringing in high and stable income. Many households have changed their lives thanks to noodle production,” said Ms. Thu.

Article and photos: Dai La

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/giau-len-nho-san-xuat-my-gao-postid432546.bbg