Nostalgia for sticky rice and areca flower sweet soup on Vu Lan festival 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 are now only in her memories. She diligently went to the market, soaked rice, soaked beans, "rolled up her sleeves" and showed off her culinary skills according to her grandmother's recipe. "Grandma often used rock sugar to cook sweet soup, when adding tapioca flour, she would stir it in one direction, 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 (middle) with culinary expert Nguyen Phuong Hai and journalist Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung.

Finished, she wrapped up and brought 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 delicacies… sat together, “tasting” the sticky rice and areca flower sweet soup. Sipping the soft, sticky rice grains, rich 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 some not; stories about sticky rice and areca 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 fussy’, especially when it came to making beans. She didn’t like ready-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 clenched them like a heart, then chopped 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 she cooked it, 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 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 (a type of green bean with green skin and heart, small, fragrant, and rich in flavor). 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 grated coconut, no vanilla, no topping (topping: food added to sweet soup, a saying of young people), but when enjoying, "each flavor has its own flavor". 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 can't 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.

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 flowers or jasmine flowers. The tapioca starch is filtered cleanly, smooth and stirred thoroughly, the dessert is still fragrant and sticky the next day... But the "best" dish is the sticky rice that the monk cooks, 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 are 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, in terms of human taste... 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) recalled 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 on Hanoi's Old Quarter. With Vu Lan festival approaching, Ms. Dung and her daughter decided to "date" and explore Hanoi's traditional cuisine, enjoying bowls of sweet soup made from cau flowers and fragrant 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 up each broken, blackened grain of rice. She taught me how to clean the beans and how to make a dish of sweet and fragrant yellow sticky rice and sweet soup. Enjoying a bowl of sweet soup with broken sticky rice, I felt like I was returning to my childhood years. I was very happy when my daughter felt the same way. She said: Mom, let's make this dish together someday!... Actually, this dish is difficult and laborious, but my mother and I will definitely cook together to preserve the beautiful memories of the two of us,” Kim Dung shared. “The indispensable duo” in the old feast. 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 and requires skill. 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, expressing their sincere hearts to monks, ancestors... That is why the duo of sticky rice and sweet soup is often associated with the offerings of the Full Moon Festival in July, 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 on death anniversaries when inviting guests to our house. We still do it now, 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 areca flower sweet soup (sweet soup) will last forever”, culinary expert Nguyen Phuong Hai said. Similarly, for Ms. Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung, sticky rice and areca flower sweet soup are among the delicate and pure dishes and offerings on the altars of Hanoians to Buddha and ancestors. To make this delicate sticky rice dish, it requires the meticulousness, 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 July Full Moon Festival trays 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 duo of sticky rice and areca flower sweet soup (sweet soup) is still an elegant combination in the Vu Lan and July Full Moon Festival trays; a culinary culture of Hanoians through many generations. As a young person, having 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 areca flower sweet soup: “The tea is very clear and refreshing; the sticky rice has the fragrant smell of green beans. This also reminds me of my mother when she was a child, 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 grapefruit 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 that is very suitable for the autumn weather of Hanoi, the cool taste of sweet soup, cooked from tapioca starch with rock sugar, grapefruit 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, it is an inseparable pair". No one knows since when xoi vo and che hoa cau (sweetened 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