It took a ton of rice for a Thai Nguyen woman to produce delicious fiber that people can eat all year round

In 2014, after getting married, Ms. Truong Thi Huong - Director of Huong Manh Cooperative (Tan Loi commune, Dong Hy district, Thai Nguyen province) and her husband started producing rice noodles and have maintained it since then. now.

According to Ms. Huong, before getting married, her husband made rice noodles for a short time, so after getting married, due to not having a stable job, the couple decided to invest in machinery and equipment to make rice noodles. noodle production.

At that time, we didn't have much experience, so the couple worked and learned gradually. The first time she started making noodles, she and her husband lost a ton of rice without being able to produce a finished product, because they didn't make it right until it spoiled. It took a month of back and forth work, but Huong and her husband finally produced their first complete batch of rice noodles.

Since then, her family's noodles have become increasingly high quality and popular with many customers, so wherever they are made, they are sold out. Customers not only buy to eat but also buy as gifts, so there are times when there are not enough goods to sell.

Because the product quality is highly appreciated, in 2022, with the encouragement and support of local levels and industries, Ms. Huong and her husband established Huong Manh Cooperative in Tan Loi commune, Dong Hy district, Thai Nguyen province. with 7 members. Currently, the cooperative has two main products: vermicelli noodles and pho noodles packaged in different weights.

To make delicious, quality noodles, choosing ingredients is extremely important. The rice is carefully selected by Ms. Huong, not mixed, is the common type of rice, white bao thai and standard pink bao thai. "Noodles are made entirely from 100% pure rice without any impurities mixed, so good rice will produce delicious products," Ms. Huong said.

After selecting the ingredients, the rice will be thoroughly washed and then soaked overnight until the next morning, then ground into powder. After that step, the flour will be filtered and pressed for about 5-6 hours, then put into the noodle extruder. Once the noodles have formed into fibers, they will continue to be incubated overnight until the next morning, put in the washing tank, dried and then packaged.

Previously, when there was no drying oven, Ms. Huong's family's noodle production depended a lot on the weather. If the weather rained, production would not be possible. But since the family invested in a drying oven, even when it rains, they can still produce noodles, but the cost will be higher.

According to Ms. Huong, the best weather to produce noodles is the dry time from July to December of the year, when the noodles produced will be beautiful and of good quality, at the same time, the shelf life will be longer without tarnished. 

On the contrary, in January, February and March, noodles are very likely to break. In May and June, due to the hot weather, the noodles can only be used for a short period of 3 days before they lose their color, so at that time, her family only makes noodles to deliver to customers, not for stock. reserve.

The difference with Ms. Huong's family's rice noodles product is that the noodles are clear white, when cooked, they are chewy and crispy, not mushy. After cooking, they can be left for a long time without falling apart. like many types of rice noodles on the market today. 

This quality is possible because Ms. Huong uses a stone mortar to grind the flour, not a dry flour mill, because according to Ms. Huong, when using a dry flour mill, the noodles will not be white and clear but will be opaque. , when cooked, it becomes mushy, affecting the quality.

Ms. Huong shared that the best selling time for her family is from December (the month adjacent to the Lunar New Year) to January and February of the following year. With two sets of machines, an extruder and a coating machine like today, on average every day, Ms. Huong's family produces 12 - 2,5 quintals of noodles depending on the time. To maintain the production and consumption of noodles, Ms. Huong's family is currently using 4 workers including her and her husband and an additional daily hired worker.

Currently, Ms. Huong's family's rice noodle products, in addition to being sold to the market to people and agents in Thai Nguyen, are also brought into supermarkets, bus stops and sold to a number of provinces and cities. such as: Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Da Nang...

Rice noodle products are being sold by Ms. Huong's family at prices ranging from 25.000 - 30.000 VND/kg depending on the type of rice. Some products sold in supermarkets are priced at 50.000 - 60.000 VND.kg. Up to now, the product has been registered with barcodes, traceability stamps, and origin with quality product packaging.

It is planned that in the near future, Ms. Huong's family will invest in another noodle extrusion machine to expand production scale to meet the market demand for products. However, the biggest difficulty currently facing the cooperative is that it still lacks capital, so Ms. Huong hopes to receive support from all levels and branches to expand its scale and build a product showroom.

Up to now, Ms. Huong is completing paperwork on food safety and hygiene to register for OCOP product competition this year. “Hopefully, after the product receives OCOP certification, it will be an opportunity to help the cooperative expand its consumption market, thereby helping the product go further, affirming its reputation in the market, creating more income for workers.” Ms. Huong expressed her wish.