Vinh Duc rice paper craft village takes flight from OCOP

Thanks to OCOP certification, products from Vinh Duc rice paper village (Do Luong) have reached many countries and entered major distribution channels.

Craft villages in season

Coming to the rice paper craft village of Vinh Duc - Do Luong at the end of the year, the atmosphere of urgency, bustle and excitement is clearly visible in the village when every household and every person is busy grinding, making rice paper, drying leaves and making candy. The aroma of molasses cooked with ginger and roasted peanuts in large pans mixed together to create a fragrant aroma signaling that Tet is near.

Vinh Duc rice paper village (Do Luong) is nearly 300 years old. Photo: Le Ngoc Phuong

Waking up at 4am, Ms. Thao Cong - a long-time veteran in the profession said that every morning she and 10 workers wake up at 4am to mix the dough and make rice cakes, in time to welcome the new day's sunshine.

In the kitchens, the charcoal is blazing, people are cooking peanut candy, candy, people are making rice paper, spreading rice paper, putting rice paper out to dry, in the yard, strong workers are chopping wood, women are busy turning rice paper…. The work is busy day and night. Dozens of households working in the craft gather in one space to chat, discuss work, and support each other in each stage. On the street, vehicles come and go to get rice paper… All of this creates a vivid, prosperous picture of a village.

Soaking the dough and spreading the cake is also very important to make the cake soft and delicious. Photo: Le Ngoc Phuong

Vinh Duc craft village has been around for about 300 years, Do Luong rice paper with its thick, crispy taste, black sesame, when eaten, you can feel the fragrant, fatty taste, hand-fanned, has won the affection and trust of consumers for many years. The cake is sold not only in Nghe An, Ha Tinh but also to many provinces in the North and Central regions, brought to Japan, Australia... by Nghe An workers far from home.

Preparing to dry the cake. Photo: Tran Chau

New types of rice paper produced in Vinh Duc Craft Village. Photo: Tran Chau

Every day, the craft village consumes tons of rice, sesame, and peanuts. The secret to the famous deliciousness of the rice paper and peanut candy here is Khang Dan new rice, molasses from the molasses villages of Nghe An , carefully selected Nghe An sesame and peanuts, and ginger from Ky Son district, which is small and spicy...

After making the rice paper, it is best to dry it in the sun for one day. Photo: Le Ngoc Phuong

Mr. Nguyen Van Cong, who knows the craft village best and is also the best seller here, said: The ingredients are carefully selected. When the peanuts are imported, the skin must be peeled off to prove that they are dry and not soaked in water. Black sesame is local sesame. Nghia Dan and Tan Ky molasses require taking the middle part of the jar, removing the top and middle layers to ensure purity.

To make the cake delicious, the steps of soaking rice, spreading the cake, turning the cake, and baking the cake are very important. Over the years, experienced bakers have mastered the secrets so that the starch will expand evenly after being soaked in water for enough time, the sticky rice cake will be fragrant when baked, and will not be tough. The charcoal fan cake must be fanned frequently so that the cake is cooked thoroughly and does not burn.

Cooking peanut candy is also very elaborate, experienced people only need to look at how the honey boils, whether the toothpicks are big or small to know if the honey has thickened. When the honey turns slightly yellow, the candy maker uses a chopstick to dip the honey and then drops the chopsticks into a cup of cold water. Then put the end of the chopsticks with honey in the mouth to test, if the honey drops feel crispy in the mouth, it is done. Looking at the pan of boiling honey with tiny toothpicks, Mr. Cong said that the honey has thickened and the peanuts are cooked, ready to turn off the stove.

Grilled rice paper with charcoal. Photo: Le Ngoc Phuong

Since ancient times, when cakes and candies were still luxury gifts, people in Vinh Duc rice paper village knew how to process ingredients from their hometown's agricultural products such as rice, peanuts, sesame... to make famous delicious rice paper, peanut candy, and stuffed candy.

Through many ups and downs along with the competition of many other gifts and candies, the craftsmen in Vinh Duc craft village are always struggling to innovate their thinking, working methods, and marketing methods to make their products fly further and higher. Holding a package of hot and fragrant rice paper that she has just finished, Ms. Thao said that she is very happy that for the past three years, thanks to the OCOP certified product, her goods have been exported to other localities with more confidence and more orders.

Confectionery products are increasingly diverse. Photo: Tran Chau

Ms. Thao said: After being guided by the district, commune, provincial departments and branches, making documents, checking quality, food safety and hygiene, the households also invested in packaging, recording information, origin, and clearer labels. The products have entered the supermarket system in many provinces, each month consuming more than 1 billion VND, this is a dream number for many years. Currently, the products are selling well in Hanoi , Vinh City, Hoa Binh, Son La, Lai Chau...

In addition, the product is also chosen by many agencies, units and tourists from near and far as a traditional gift from the countryside with a variety of sizes and types.

Rice paper goes into the supermarket, out to the capital

Talking about the importance of OCOP certification, Ms. Thao - Mr. Cong said: To achieve OCOP products, in addition to quality, we must pay attention to design, form, especially food safety and expiration date. When achieving 3-star OCOP, the product is trusted to introduce at fairs, exhibitions, supermarkets... the product sells more and also promotes the image of the craft village, promotes the image of the homeland. The people of Vinh Duc craft village are now aware of product competition and pressure from imported goods... so they still work hard with the heart and ethics of traditional craftsmen, choose fresh ingredients, choose workers who love the job, have experience... at the same time, promote the image and products of the craft village. A professional baker can bake 1,000 cakes a day. Hand-baked cakes are still preferred by customers over machine-baked cakes.

Two products, Vinh Duc peanut candy and peanut rice paper, have entered the Vinmart system. Photo: Tran Chau

Mr. Hoang Van Hiep - Chairman of Do Luong District People's Committee said: Vinh Duc rice paper craft village is currently creating jobs for more than 200 households, the monthly salary of workers is about 6-7 million VND, this is not a high salary but it solves the problem of agricultural products for localities, increases the value of processed agricultural products, and at the same time maintains the reputation of a 300-year-old craft village.

Each year, the craft village produces about 1,400 - 1,500 tons, with revenue of tens of billions of VND. Vinh Duc craft village products are one of the typical products of Do Luong district.

For sustainable development, the craft village hopes to have a spacious product showroom and hopes that all levels and sectors will increase product promotion and consumption.

source: https://baonghean.vn/lang-nghe-banh-da-vinh-duc-chap-canh-tu-ocop-10287252.html