Preserving the traditional glutinous rice cake making craft in Hoi An.

(QNO) - Ash-wrapped rice dumplings are a traditional dish in Hoi An city during the Dragon Boat Festival (the 15th day of the 5th lunar month every year), but this craft is gradually disappearing.

Mrs. Ty's family makes glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in banana leaves to supply the market for the Dragon Boat Festival. Photo: NGUYEN QUYNH

Nowadays, the number of families making glutinous rice dumplings in Hoi An is dwindling due to the scarcity of ingredients, and most of the people who make this type of dumpling are elderly. Hoi An residents only make this dish to supply the market during the Dragon Boat Festival.

The glutinous rice dumplings are tied quite carefully with string to prevent water from seeping in during steaming.
Photo: NGUYEN QUYNH

Following a narrow alley, we arrived at the traditional glutinous rice cake making facility of Mrs. Le Thi Ty's family (58 years old, Son Pho 1 neighborhood, Cam Chau ward, Hoi An) on a day at the end of May.

In her small, one-story house, Mrs. Ty and six other residents of the neighborhood are busy with tasks such as cutting reed leaves, wrapping cakes, filtering ash water, and stripping bamboo strips.

Glutinous rice is soaked and washed before being used to wrap the glutinous rice dumplings. Photo: NGUYEN QUYNH

Ms. Ty said that her family has been involved in making glutinous rice cakes with ash for over 17 years. She sources the ingredients for the cakes from leaves in the highlands of Phuoc Son, clam shells from Cu Lao Cham island (Hoi An), and glutinous rice from An Giang province.

"To make the distinctive Hoi An-style glutinous rice dumplings, I choose glutinous rice that is free of any other types of rice, soak it until soft, and rinse it thoroughly. The leaves must be carefully washed and boiled before wrapping the dumplings, and the clam shells are burned to ash and the resulting liquid is filtered out."

"My family's glutinous rice dumplings are made without preservatives, so they can't be stored for long. They are soft and chewy when eaten, which is why they are very popular with customers," said Mrs. Ty.

Hoi An's glutinous rice dumplings are made with great care and are visually appealing. Photo: NGUYEN QUYNH

This year, Mrs. Ty's family prepared 300 kg of glutinous rice along with other ingredients to make about 30,000 glutinous rice dumplings and other traditional Vietnamese cakes to supply to the market from the 1st to the 4th day of the fifth lunar month.

Mrs. Ty's family's ash-wrapped rice cakes are sold not only in Hoi An city but also to customers in other districts, cities, and towns such as Dien Ban, Tam Ky, and Da Nang . Mrs. Ty sells ash-wrapped rice cakes for 19,000 VND per dozen, while the other types of rice cakes are more expensive.

Although her family has a tradition of making glutinous rice dumplings, neither of Mrs. Ty's two sons followed in her footsteps. "My biggest worry is that the craft of making glutinous rice dumplings will gradually die out, because nowadays this type of dumpling is quite common, making it difficult to compete, and the income isn't high, so no young people are pursuing it," Mrs. Ty lamented.

Sticky rice dumplings wrapped in banana leaves have a soft, chewy texture and a delicious aroma when eaten. Photo: NGUYEN QUYNH

According to the Hoi An Cultural Heritage Conservation Management Center, the glutinous rice cake with ash has a "sister" cake called "tau xa," which is much larger because it's filled with a sweet, sugar-coated black bean paste, making it particularly delicious and, of course, more expensive. The glutinous rice cake with ash is very common and relatively affordable. The "tau xa" cake, on the other hand, is considered a more prestigious gift exchanged between close friends and family during the Dragon Boat Festival.

According to the traditional customs of the people of Hoi An in the past, the Dragon Boat Festival, like the Lunar New Year, was an occasion for people to express their feelings, gratitude, or strengthen relationships through gift-giving.

According to the beliefs of the people of Quang Nam , on the ancestral altar during the Dragon Boat Festival, in addition to tea, sticky rice, and meat, the ash-wrapped rice cake is an indispensable item.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/giu-nghe-banh-u-tro-o-hoi-an-3155702.html