The scent of autumn rice flakes

The Tay people in Ngan Son and Bang Van communes have maintained the tradition of making puffed rice for a very long time.

Fragrant like a pearl from heaven

In some northern communes of Thai Nguyen province, the season for making young rice flakes (cốm) among the Tay ethnic group usually begins from around mid-August to early October according to the lunar calendar.

While the terraced rice fields were still shrouded in mountain mist, the women went out to the fields to select and cut each young glutinous rice stalk using a very simple yet unique tool that the Tay people call "hep". This tool helps the women easily select the desired glutinous rice stalks from the vast rice fields.

The sticky rice flakes (cốm) made by the Tay ethnic people in Ngan Son and Bang Van communes have long been loved by many because they are made from a delicious type of glutinous rice that locals call "Khau Nua Lech". Following the mothers and grandmothers as they harvest rice in the Khau Nua Lech fields, where the grains are about to ripen, we realized the special appeal of this type of glutinous rice.

Just approaching the "Khau Nua Lech" rice fields, one can already feel the fresh, intoxicating aroma spreading across a vast area. This fragrance will be carried home by mothers and sisters, greeted by their children.

Ms. Phan Thi Them from Thuong An village, Bang Van commune, explained to us that: Glutinous rice must be harvested in the morning, avoiding direct sunlight as much as possible because the sun will dry out the sap, making the finished rice flakes less delicious and chewy. After harvesting, the young glutinous rice is threshed, washed, and then boiled. The boiling stage is a crucial step that determines the softness or firmness of the finished rice flakes.

The Tay people harvest young glutinous rice grains to make flattened rice flakes using a tool called Hep.

The Tay people harvest young glutinous rice grains to make flattened rice flakes using a tool called a "hep".

The Tay people in northern Thai Nguyen province call Com (young sticky rice flakes) "Khau Mau". After harvesting, the glutinous rice stalks must be threshed, cleaned of broken grains, and immediately boiled to ensure the Com retains its chewy texture.

The rice grains, boiled until just cooked, are removed from the pot and roasted in large cast-iron pans. The purpose of roasting is to dry the husks and firm up the grains inside, so that when pounded, the grains will not break apart or stick to the husks. At this point, the fragrant aroma of the local glutinous rice fills the stilt house and spreads throughout the village and surrounding alleys.

After roasting, the rice grains are spread out on a bamboo mat to cool. During the peak season for making cốm (roasted rice flakes), every household prepares a large, golden bamboo mat on the porch of their stilt house. Once cooled, the task of pounding the rice to make cốm is usually entrusted to young men because it requires more physical strength.

To make a delicious batch of puffed rice, the rice must be pounded very carefully, separating the husks without crushing the grains. After pounding, the women will sift and winnow the rice to remove the husks and pick out any unhulled grains. This work is usually time-consuming and requires meticulousness and skill.

Through the diligent and patient efforts of the mothers and sisters, the rice grains are filtered, clean and pristine, and their fragrant aroma begins to spread, enveloping the entire village. According to the traditional method of making rice flakes in Bang Van and Ngan Son, after being sifted clean, the rice grains are pounded again to increase their softness and elasticity. A batch of rice flakes produced has flat, green grains with a fragrant, rich aroma of young rice.

OCOP products are popular.

The story behind the origin of Tay ethnic group's sticky rice flakes is quite unique. During lean seasons when there was no rice to eat, people had to harvest unripe rice for sustenance. Later, they devised a way to process these young sticky rice grains into the sticky rice flakes we know today.

In Bang Van and Ngan Son communes, sticky rice flakes are packaged and vacuum-sealed by households to extend their shelf life and sold in various markets. The Tay people have developed this traditional culinary art passed down from their ancestors, turning it into a marketable product and increasing their income.

Nowadays, roasting rice flakes has become easier thanks to the use of machinery.

Ms. Dinh Thi Mai from Thuong An village, Bang Van commune, said: "Our Khau Nua Lech sticky rice flakes have been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product at the provincial level since 2022. Our sticky rice flakes are sold in Bac Kan and Duc Xuan wards, the center of Thai Nguyen province, and some other provinces and cities such as Hanoi and Binh Phuoc. The retail price is 120,000 VND/kg. Currently, we are encouraging people to participate in growing only glutinous rice to produce goods on a larger scale."

Besides Bang Van commune, many villages in Ngan Son commune also produce sticky rice flakes, such as Hop Tien 1, Tan Lap, Hoang Phai, and Na Ngan.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong, Head of the Culture and Information Department of Ngan Son commune, said: Ngan Son commune has established two cooperatives for making puffed rice. Currently, the entire commune cultivates the Khau Nua Lech rice variety on an area of more than 30 hectares. People plant glutinous rice in a staggered manner to extend the time for making puffed rice.

Every year, local authorities also actively promote their local specialties, such as organizing rice pounding competitions, to encourage people to preserve the culinary traditions of their ancestors and to promote the products and cultural beauty.

While people in other regions and ethnic groups have many ways of preparing sticky rice flakes, such as sticky rice flakes with salt and pepper, sticky rice flakes with coconut filling, sticky rice flake cakes, etc., the Tay people in the northern highlands of Thai Nguyen enjoy sticky rice flakes in a simple way.

The most distinctive dish is sticky rice flakes stir-fried with mung beans and sugar. While the rice flakes are being roasted, the women prepare by soaking the mung beans for cooking, then stirring them in a pan with sugar. The rice flakes are then mixed evenly in the hot pan with the mung beans in the right proportions so that when eaten, it has the fragrant taste of rice flakes, the mild sweetness of sugar, the nutty flavor of mung beans, and the chewy texture of sticky rice. In addition, people also make puffed rice flakes and rice flake patties.

When the golden sunlight slants across the trees in front of the house, the sound of buffalo bells echoes from the distant hills, and the faint aroma of freshly roasted rice wafts through the air, it evokes memories of seasons gone by. Perhaps that's why autumn also becomes gentler and more beautiful.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/202509/huong-com-mua-thu-4b357f1/