Reminiscing about sticky rice and areca flower sweet soup on the Vu Lan ceremony tray

Vu Lan Festival is approaching, on the street corners of Hanoi , plates of sticky rice, bowls of areca flower sweet soup sold in restaurants, street vendors... evoke many old memories in the hearts of Hanoians.

Reminiscing about old memories

Raspberry mash, areca flower tea (sweet tea).

These past few days, journalist Vinh Quyen has been excitedly touring famous sweet soup shops in Hanoi, tasting dozens of bowls of sweet soup, searching for the old flavors. But regretfully returning, the flavors of the past now only remain in her memories. She diligently went to the market, soaked rice, soaked beans, and "rolled up her sleeves" to show off her culinary skills according to her grandmother's recipe. "Grandma often used rock sugar to cook sweet soup, when adding tapioca starch, she would stir it evenly in one direction, making it until the water was clear. She added just enough beans, because it was a snack, not a filling dish," Ms. Vinh Quyen recalled.

Journalist Vinh Quyen (center) with culinary expert Nguyen Phuong Hai and journalist Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung.

Finished, she wrapped up, bringing it to the appointment with people with "culinary taste". In a small space, with melodious music , many generations of young and old, some are culinary experts, some are gourmets, some are connoisseurs of Hanoi's delicacies... sat together, "tasting" the sticky rice and cau flower sweet soup. Sipping the soft, sticky rice grains, enough to seduce the human taste buds, with a bowl of elegant sweet soup, some sweet, some rich, but each flavor is faintly present and not there; stories about sticky rice and cau flower sweet soup, the nostalgic feelings about these two special gifts, were "confessed", mixed with the nods and attentive, appreciative eyes of the participants. The same story about sticky rice, sweet soup, and the recipe she taught, but “my grandmother seemed to be ‘too picky’, especially when it came to making beans. She didn’t like pre-made, peeled beans from the market, she only liked beans that were ground in half; when she brought them home, she soaked them, then washed them, until the water was clear enough to be used for cooking… My grandmother didn’t cook sticky rice, but steamed them, pounded them by hand, then held them together like a heart, then sliced ​​them very finely… That’s how she cooked sticky rice, and when she cooked sweet soup, she also had her own requirements. In the past, rock sugar often had threads or was dirty, so when cooking, she often filtered it through a layer of gauze. The same was true for processing tapioca starch and grapefruit flowers. When everything was done, she told us grandchildren to “sprinkle beans, but just a little bit”, culinary expert Nguyen Phuong Hai enthusiastically shared. As for sticky rice, Mr. Hai recalled, the people of Hanoi in the past often chose tangerine sticky rice or yellow flower sticky rice and green beans (green beans with small, fragrant, and rich flavors) beans) to make. The approximate ratio is 1 kg of rice combined with less than 300 grams of beans. Sticky rice and areca flower sweet soup blend together, very rustic and simple, no shredded coconut, no vanilla, no topping (topping: food added to sweet soup, a saying of young people), but when enjoying, "each flavor has its own taste". This is what made Mr. Hai "fall in love" with the taste of sticky rice and sweet soup cooked by his grandmother, every time he goes away from Hanoi, his heart cannot help but miss it.

The older generation often called it sticky rice and sweet soup, some people also called it areca flower soup, seeing the beans floating in the bowl of soup reminded them of areca flower petals falling in the yard.

Hanoians enjoy famous sweet soup together.

Ms. Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung, journalist and author of the book series “Ha Thanh Huong Xua Vi Cu” brings a very different experience. She said that when cooking this dish, monk Dam Anh at Phung Thanh Pagoda (Dong Da District, Hanoi) often uses tapioca starch, marinated with grapefruit or jasmine flowers. The tapioca starch is filtered clean and smooth and stirred thoroughly, the dessert is still fragrant and sticky the next day... But the “best” dish is the sticky rice cooked by the monk, the rice grains are soft, plump, and plump, with a faint aroma from the rice to the bean layer covering the outside. As for writer Le Phuong Lien, sticky rice and areca flower sweet soup is a delicate combination, evoking many poetic associations: “From childhood to adulthood, I have been attached to plates of sticky rice and bowls of areca flower sweet soup (sweet soup), they are very familiar in my life. According to Hanoian saying, enjoying them is very elegant, the combination of sticky rice and sweet soup is just enough, harmonious. The act of blowing sticky rice and cooking sweet soup creates a close connection in terms of emotions and taste of people... It also has the meaning of yin and yang, the bowl of sweet soup symbolizes the Yin element, the plate of sticky rice symbolizes the Yang element...”

Looking at the plates of sticky rice and bowls of sweet soup made from cau flowers (sweet soup), Ms. Pham Kim Dung (Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi) recalls the memories of her mother, a woman who spent her whole life making and selling plates of sticky rice and bowls of sweet soup made from cau flowers in Hanoi's Old Quarter. With Vu Lan festival approaching, Ms. Dung and her daughter invited each other to "date" and explore Hanoi's traditional cuisine, enjoying bowls of sweet soup made from cau flowers and sticky rice. “I remember the time I helped my mother make sticky rice and sweet soup. My mother told me to be meticulous and slowly pick out each broken, blackened grain of rice. She taught me how to clean the beans, how to make a dish of sweet and fragrant yellow sticky rice and sweet soup. Enjoying a bowl of sweet soup with sticky rice, I felt like I was returning to my childhood years. I was very happy when my daughter felt it, she said: Mom, let's go into the kitchen to make this dish someday!... Actually, this dish is difficult and laborious, but my mother and I will definitely go into the kitchen together, preserving the beautiful memories of the two of us,” shared Ms. Kim Dung. “The indispensable duo” in the old feasts . Exploring the culinary culture of many regions in our country, there are few places where sticky rice is served with sweet soup. According to culinary expert Nguyen Phuong Hai, it is one of the desserts in vegetarian feasts, a typical sticky rice dish only found in Hanoi with sticky rice, green beans, tapioca flour... the preparation is elaborate, requiring dexterity. Simple ingredients, but through the skillful hands of Hanoi women, a delicious, elegant sticky rice dish, makes many diners linger when visiting Hanoi. This is also the only sticky rice dish enjoyed with sweet soup (areca flower sweet soup)... For temples, in addition to elaborate vegetarian trays, since ancient times, people have also offered simple sticky rice and sweet soup trays, sending their kind hearts to monks, ancestors... That is why the pair of sticky rice and sweet soup are often associated with the offerings for the 15th of the 7th lunar month and Vu Lan festival of the people of Hanoi in the past.

Traditional Vu Lan offerings include crushed sticky rice and areca flower sweet soup.

“My family not only makes sticky rice and sweet soup on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month and Vu Lan festival, but also makes it on death anniversaries when inviting guests to our house. Until now, we still maintain it, my grandmother taught my mother, my mother taught me and my children and grandchildren are also gradually learning how to make it. Besides, I also create content on social networks, making videos instructing people on how to cook traditional Hanoi dishes so that everyone knows how to make them, so that these delicate dishes will not be lost, especially sticky rice and cau flower sweet soup (sugar sweet soup) will last forever”, culinary expert Nguyen Phuong Hai said. Similarly, for Ms. Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung, sticky rice and sugar sweet soup (areca flower sweet soup) are among the delicate and pure dishes and offerings on the altars of Hanoians to worship Buddha and ancestors. To make this delicate sticky rice dish, it requires the diligence, skillful hands and patience of the maker. Combining beans, rice, sugar... to create a 'classic' dessert in old Hanoi cuisine is not an easy task. "During Vu Lan festival, as well as other festivals, I also try to cook sticky rice and sweet dessert to offer to my ancestors and to show my children the beauty of Hanoi's culinary culture, hoping that they will contribute to preserving and spreading this dish to future generations," Ms. Tuyet Nhung shared.

Sticky rice and areca flower sweet soup appear in sticky rice shops on the streets of Hanoi.

Sticky rice and areca flower sweet soup (sweet soup) still appear in the Vu Lan and 7th lunar month feasts of Hanoians, but with busy lives, many people order them from traditional sweet soup shops, cake shops... to offer to their grandparents and ancestors. Bowls and cups of sticky rice and sweet soup also appear in many street vendors or sidewalk sticky rice shops, at affordable prices (ranging from 15,000 VND - 20,000 VND). Whether cooked at home or ordered from a restaurant, the combination of sticky rice and areca flower sweet soup (sweet soup) is still an elegant combination in the Vu Lan and 7th lunar month feasts; a culinary culture of Hanoians through many generations. As a young person, having had the opportunity to experience many different types of sticky rice and sweet soup, Bui Bao Chau (20 years old, student) still has a special affection for the duo of sticky rice and cau flower sweet soup: “The tea is very clear and refreshing; the sticky rice smells of green beans. This also reminds me of my mother when she was young, carefully and meticulously learning how to cook sweet soup and sticky rice from my grandmother…

Writer Le Phuong Lien (middle) happily enjoys a bowl of sticky rice and sweet soup with generations of Hanoians.

Ms. Tran Thu Phuong (Cau Giay District, Hanoi) after many years still cannot forget the taste of sticky rice and sweet soup from her childhood: "The characteristic flavor of pomelo flowers, each piece of sweet soup is cool, the scent of flowers is fragrant... many years have passed but that flavor is still intact in me, even though life is busy, sometimes I miss the opportunity to cook sticky rice and sweet soup...". As for Ms. Nguyen Van Anh (Hoang Mai District, Hanoi) shared: "This is a dish very suitable for the autumn weather of Hanoi, the cool taste of sweet soup, cooked from tapioca starch with rock sugar, pomelo flowers... enhances the aroma and flavor of green beans and tapioca. The sticky rice grains are soft, plump, surrounded by a layer of green beans with a gentle fragrance... But to fully enjoy the taste, you must enjoy sticky rice with cau flower sweet soup, the flavors blend and intertwine to create a unique experience. Until now, when eating cau flower sweet soup, I always think of sticky rice, they are an inseparable pair". No one knows since when the sticky rice and sweet soup made from cau flowers (sweet soup) have been deeply imprinted in the minds of Hanoians, and once tried, they are filled with nostalgia. Then, they remind themselves of their responsibility to preserve and spread the traditional values ​​in Hanoi's culinary culture through many generations.

Hong Phuong/ Tin Tuc Newspaper

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/am-thuc/hoai-niem-xoi-vo-che-hoa-cau-trong-mam-le-vu-lan-20240813190536757.htm