Corn after being ground finely. (Photo: Nam Thai/VNA)
In the rocky plateau of Ha Giang, the Mong people fill soil into the holes in the rocks, sowing seeds of hope. The rain and wind of the plateau nurture the seeds, making them sprout into resilient corn plants, giving them plump, even, sweet-smelling ears... to make men men, feeding the Mong people for generations. The Mong people are not only good at planting and caring for corn, but are also skillful in preparing many unique and attractive dishes from corn. Among them, the most typical and closely associated product with them is men men, one of the dishes that has become their long-standing tradition, not only a culinary dish but also a cultural feature passed down from generation to generation. The name men men comes from the Chinese word Guan Huo, meaning steamed corn flour. Although men men is made from a very ordinary ingredient, it gives visitors a very interesting feeling because of its special delicious flavor. The special flavor of Ha Giang men men is because it is made from the best corn variety in the region, hybrid corn or corn from other places does not have the same delicious flavor as this local corn. According to the experience of Mong ethnic elders, delicious men men must be made from non-glutinous corn because non-glutinous corn flour is loose and does not clump like sticky corn. Corn is often hung on the porch or in the kitchen, the biggest and plumpest yellow corn kernels will be chosen to make men men. Mong people often teach their children: "As a man, you must know how to pick herbs to make yeast leaves and make corn wine. As a woman, you must know how to embroider, sew, love your husband, love your children and know how to cook delicious men men". Therefore, Mong women here, whether old or young, know how to make men men; to have a bowl of delicious men men, you must go through the following steps: shelling corn; grinding corn; sifting corn; mixing, kneading corn flour with water and steaming twice. Cooking men men is not difficult, but to get the perfect finished product requires the experienced hands of Ha Giang people. The corn kernels are separated from the corn cob, ground into flour and sifted to remove the husks. When the corn flour is to your liking, you will sprinkle a little water and stir until the corn flour is loose and then place it on the wooden stove to cook in a pan of water.
Men men is usually steamed two to three times in a wooden steamer. (Photo: Nam Thai/VNA)
Corn flour is usually ground by hand using a stone mortar with two overlapping boards, which is very heavy and difficult to operate. The corn will first be peeled off and then ground into fine powder. Steaming the men men also takes two times, the first steaming is to let the water soak into the corn flour, to make the corn flour fluffy and not lumpy, people need to calculate the time appropriately, old corn or young corn both need different times. With young corn flour, the water in the pan just needs to boil, the steam starts to rise to the mouth of the steamer to complete the first steaming, but with old corn, the heat needs to be longer. After the first steaming, the corn flour will be taken out onto a tray, stirred and filtered out the old corn pieces, then the corn is placed in the steamer for the second time until the flour is fully cooked, only then is the Ha Giang men men considered to be fully cooked. Processing men men from start to finish will take at least 2 to 3 hours, so to be in time for the morning market, local people have to wake up from 4-5 am to prepare. People who go to the fields will bring men men to eat for breakfast and lunch. When cooked, men men will have a fragrant aroma, a sweet and rich taste, so the slower you eat it and the more thoroughly you chew it, the more you will feel the aroma and flavor. Ha Giang men men is quite dry and chewy, so if used in the main meal, men men will often be eaten with soup. Each season has its own ingredients, sometimes it is mustard greens, sometimes it is squash, sometimes it is boiled chayote or squash soup. But perhaps the most special soup that also makes diners "fascinated" is king seaweed (also known as lao porridge).
Men men is a familiar dish in every meal of Mong families, made from corn flour. (Photo: Nam Thai/VNA)
In Quan Ba district, every year, the locality regularly organizes traditional festivals about ethnic cultures; in which, the demonstration of delicious and sweet Men Men making processes from the skillful hands of local Mong women is indispensable. This activity aims to create a competitive atmosphere for local people to enthusiastically work and produce; create solidarity among the community, promote traditional cultural identity; contribute to promoting brands, promoting the development of craft villages, creating jobs and increasing income for people; promote cultural values, enrich activities in the spiritual life of ethnic people, creating a good impression on domestic and international tourists. Nowadays, most Mong families still eat Men Men every day, even though poverty no longer haunts them like in the past, but it seems that the "soul" of Men Men has penetrated deeply into their lives. Weddings, funerals, death anniversaries, or any other event, all have the appearance of men men. Each person has a spoon, sitting around a bowl of men men, a bowl of soup, a pot of thang co, eating and chatting. If you ever come to the Ha Giang stone plateau, try this specialty dish with a strong Mong culture./.(Vietnam+)
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