 |
| The finished rice flakes are packaged and vacuum-sealed before being delivered to customers. |
Memories of the old rice flake season
No one remembers exactly when the tradition of making puffed rice (cốm) began in Son Vinh hamlet. All they know is that every year, as the rice fields begin to turn golden in October, the whole village resounds with the sounds of pestles and mortars, and the lively chatter of laughter. Mrs. Tran Thi Ma, now over 70 years old, still vividly remembers her youth spent making puffed rice. “Back then, my village was the only one in the whole region that made puffed rice. Every harvest season, the young people in the village would make puffed rice all night long without anyone getting tired. It was so much fun!” she recounted, her eyes sparkling with excitement mixed with a touch of nostalgia.
Grandma Ma's memories unfolded vividly like a slow-motion film: chilly nights, villagers gathered around the fire, hands nimbly pounding rice to make cốm (a type of Vietnamese rice snack), the scent of fresh rice mingling with the rhythmic pounding of pestles, the playful laughter of children, and the boisterous chatter of the women. Cốm back then was not just a food item, but the embodiment of community spirit, youth, and memories.
"In the old days, making green rice flakes required manual pounding. From threshing the rice, roasting, sifting, to pounding, everything was done by hand. They selected glutinous rice that was just ripe, threshed it in small handfuls, and roasted it in a pan or smoked it over charcoal in an earthen oven. If smoked, they had to change the charcoal tray several times to ensure the green rice flakes cooked evenly and turned a beautiful green color," Mrs. Ma recounted.
The pounded glutinous rice is offered to guests, served with steamed and mashed mung beans. The fragrant aroma of the glutinous rice blends with the nutty flavor of the mung beans, creating an unforgettable taste. In Grandma Ma's distant gaze, it seems as if her entire youth is brought back to life in the vibrant green color of the rice.
Adapting to the new pace of life.
Despite its unique cultural value, the traditional craft of making puffed rice in Son Vinh once faced the risk of disappearing. But thanks to dedicated individuals like Ms. Nguyen Thi He, the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Ma, this old craft has found new life.
Learning from her mother and grandmother, Ms. Hè found a way to combine traditional techniques with modern machinery. The first batch of rice flakes made with a machine only yielded... 2kg from an entire sack of rice. But she didn't give up; she learned from experience, and today, the product made by her family is considered among the best in the region.
 |
| Ms. Ma currently assists Ms. He and her husband with some steps in the rice flake making process at the factory. |
Each rice harvest, Ms. Hè and her husband, Mr. Ma Khắc Chung, can harvest 5-6 quintals of rice, sometimes up to 1 ton on peak days. Previously, the rice was washed in basins and roasted in pans, but now they have improved the process using washing tanks and modified tea-drying equipment suitable for roasting, saving labor and increasing yield. After roasting, the rice is passed through a machine for threshing, sieving, and pressing, replacing the manual pounding and sieving processes of the past.
These improvements helped Son Vinh rice flakes retain their traditional flavor while being more uniform, clean, and appealing. The market increasingly favored the product, prompting Ms. He to decide to expand production.
Cooperative groups - A foundation for the rice flake industry to reach further.
In March 2022, Ms. Hè and 14 other members established the Sơn Vinh Sticky Rice Flakes Production Cooperative. With a modern machinery system, a standard-compliant factory, and a well-structured process, the cooperative not only helps her family but also creates livelihoods for many other households in the village.
With the support and experience gained from Me Tri rice flake village ( Hanoi ), Ms. He learned the secret of adjusting the temperature and adding water during the roasting process, making the rice flakes softer, more chewy, and more fragrant. "Having learned the good techniques, I just improved my own method. The core principle remains preserving the essence of my hometown's rice flakes," she shared.
Thanks to its superior quality, Son Vinh rice flakes, produced by Ms. He and her husband and other members of the cooperative, sell out as soon as they are made. No longer are they sold at local markets; customers now proactively seek them out directly at the factory. Many even place year-round orders, opening up prospects for building a strong brand for this traditional craft product.
With a 5-hectare area of glutinous rice grown according to VietGAP standards, the cooperative has produced nearly 10 tons of puffed rice per season. In 2023, Son Vinh glutinous rice puffed rice was recognized as a 3-star OCOP product. In 2024, it was further honored as a "Typical Agricultural Product of Thai Nguyen Province".
Most recently, at the 2nd Thai Nguyen Outstanding Farmers Award Conference in 2025, Ms. Nguyen Thi He was honored as a top-performing household in production and business at the provincial level with a revenue of 1.6 billion VND and a profit of 851 million VND.
 |
| Hè and Chung, a married couple, are harvesting glutinous rice, the ingredient for making cốm (Vietnamese rice flakes). |
Amidst the ever-changing rural life, the craft of making Son Vinh rice flakes still retains its authentic essence. More than just a culinary product, the rice flakes here carry the story of people who love their craft, are diligent, creative, and know how to preserve the traditional skills passed down from their ancestors.
From traditional handcrafted hands to modern machinery, from the memories of pounding rice late at night to the spacious production workshops of today, the green rice flakes still retain the flavor of the earth and sky, of the community spirit, and the pride of the people of Dinh Hoa, Thai Nguyen.
Today, in addition to traditional rice flakes, thanks to equipment that helps preserve their freshness and deliciousness for a long time, Ms. Hè has also created many types of Tet cakes made from rice flakes, imbued with the flavors of spring, expanding the direction for the village's traditional craft products.
"Com (a type of Vietnamese rice snack) can be stored in the freezer for a very long time while still maintaining its quality," Ms. Hè shared, as an affirmation of the potential for her hometown's product to reach further markets.
Every season, the people of Son Vinh not only create a simple, rustic local delicacy, but also encapsulate a whole realm of memories and a long-standing cultural tradition into each tender green grain of rice. From the diligent hands of the villagers, these fragrant, chewy grains of rice preserve and spread the soul of their homeland, silently connecting the past with the present, from the bamboo baskets at the village entrance to the specialty stalls throughout the region. In each green grain of rice, the spirit of the countryside remains, deep, enduring, and continuously spreading.
Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/kinh-te/202507/hon-que-trong-tung-hat-ngoc-xanh-3462239/
Comment (0)