A gift from the countryside

Thirty years ago, when supermarkets appeared in big cities, many people were concerned about the existence of traditional markets. Supermarkets with their advantages of showing urban civilization seemed to be in contrast to the makeshift, dark and dirty shops of the markets.

The most popular gift is probably "popcorn".

After a period of several decades, supermarkets have opened everywhere, naturally meeting the shopping needs of consumers, including small supermarkets, + or 24/7, but traditional markets have not disappeared as people used to think. Saying that to lure the story, the shelves in large and small supermarkets are packed with domestically produced and imported goods. Especially, we have to mention food with famous, eye-catching brands, beautifully packaged... If that is the case, where are the gifts from the countryside displayed? Do city people, especially children, still expect "countryside, seasonal" gifts?

Of course, in the future, supermarkets will also sell boxed lunches, so it will not be difficult to put hometown gifts on the shelves. These include sesame candy, peanut candy, sam-pa cake, mung bean cake, fish cake... And supermarket goers can easily find a package of hometown flavors in their shopping cart.

However, in supermarkets, there are only imported and domestically produced popcorns, while the local gifts are still not as abundant as in the markets and on the streets. It is really hard to believe that in the city, the local gifts are still in high demand. Obviously, many people still choose traditional flavors for their breakfast, afternoon snacks and snacks.

In winter, from the city to the countryside, the most favorite gift is probably “popcorn”. Popcorn, rice popcorn, popcorn buds, ginger popcorn, honey popcorn, sugar popcorn, loose or square, round… there are all kinds.

Village markets, general markets in the countryside or suburbs are often startled by the sound of popping popcorn. For a long time, people thought that this method no longer exists, but it is not, just go to Sau market - Hoai Duc - Hanoi and you will see it right away. After that popping sound, there is the aroma of popcorn, pick up a handful and eat it right away, it is extremely delicious, then you know the appeal of this popular gift.

The batch of regular corn pops, the batch of sticky corn buds, the batch sweet with sugar and fragrant with ginger, that's just talking about the corn, not to mention the rice. Sticky rice and regular rice also pop into delicious popcorn and with great skill, the worker mixes sugar and molasses and rolls them into cakes, packages, and packs them in large and small bags.

In the cold winter of the North, the middle-aged and the elderly who know how to "bite the bullet" will surely miss the roasted sticky rice, which is fragrant and extremely sweet. Now, there are not many places that welcome the cold with this gift, but only popcorn. Many people joke that:

- In winter, the whole village and town eat popcorn.

It's not wrong, because it must be said that from all the suburban streets, popcorn is coming to the city on all means of transport. Bakeries sell popcorn, rice shops sell popcorn, and snack shops also have bags of popcorn for sale. In this cold weather, the crackling and fun of popcorn and rice is probably more attractive than candy. Because candy and cakes are hard to eat, just making a bag of popcorn, popcorn sticks with a teapot is the best. All are made from corn and rice, no need to worry about preservatives or fillers. Because just look at the roadside to the suburbs, many people have popcorn stick making machines. Rice, peanuts, sesame or brown rice just need to be put into the machine to produce a stick product, crispy, fragrant.

In winter, there are many shops in the market selling popcorn, but the street vendors with popcorn carts are really attractive. In addition to traditional popcorn, rice popcorn, honey popcorn, and sugar popcorn, on these carts there are a lot of popcorn, sticks, fried dough sticks, and snacks. There are crispy fried dough sticks with chicken thighs, crabs, and bones... that's the name, but they are made from rice flour and spices. There are sweet, crispy chopsticks, with a taste like instant noodles, like salty and spicy chips. Women love this dish because the salty taste is usually not boring, sometimes a small plate with a cup of milk is enough for breakfast. For an afternoon snack, just a few handfuls of popcorn with a cup of hot tea is enough for grandparents to have a delicious, unique snack. Because it attracts so many buyers, the street vendors' carts are much less crowded by the afternoon.

However, when the owners of that car go home to rest, other cars return to the street in the street lights, ignoring the North wind. Along with dishes such as roasted chestnuts, roasted corn, sunflower seeds... popcorn still dominates. There is no gift as delicious, nutritious and cheap as this one. For only 10 thousand VND, young people can happily share it. While waiting for the food, the bag of popcorn is enough to warm the hearts of hungry friends. And so, popcorn often follows students into the shop in a very bustling way. Many students smile brightly, holding the popcorn stick, remembering the funny name they used to call it when they were kids, "Sun Wukong Stick".

Following the wholesaler, I know that, apart from the "popcorn poppers" selling on To Huu and Trung Van streets, National Highway 21 to Chua Huong in Thanh Oai district can be said to be the "popcorn warehouse" for the city. In the past, this route had a few traditional popcorn poppers, but now it has become a full range of agents with a team of women packing and selling non-stop. This is a wholesale and retail agent with daily import and sales quantities calculated in tons and quintals, not in kilograms as we usually think.

On winter days, people who buy goods from the village and the city line up in circles inside and outside, people who go back to the countryside also stop by to buy big and small bags to bring back to the city as gifts. The city has no shortage of luxury gifts, but to have a bag of popcorn, popcorn sticks, honey popcorn, sugar popcorn that is just out of the oven and not soggy, bought at the source, everyone appreciates it.

Some middle-aged people are afraid of getting fat, some have diabetes but still pick up a stick of popcorn, or a handful of sweet popcorn to sip with a cup of tea. From this fragrant taste, memories spread to the past. Remembering the subsidy period with popcorn, there was also cinnamon rice paper. The cake melted on the tongue, extremely sweet and fragrant, now the old flavor cannot be found. Cinnamon rice paper is now thick, crispy, and burns the tongue. Then remembering, after popcorn had corn fiber, "worms" also came from corn but were like silkworms, without corn fiber, children loved it, and then there was "phồng pheo" too. It looked like shrimp chips, but bigger, sometimes stuck together in a block, crispy in the mouth... Back then, hunger and poverty made everything delicious. Now the economy is better, this hometown specialty is still the best...

Winter has come to the North, along with peanut candy, stuffed sausage candy, fish cake, lam tea, gai cake, honey cake, khuc cake, ash cake... it is not an exaggeration to say that popcorn, rice popcorn, honey popcorn, sugar popcorn have made the winter of this land much warmer with the taste of home and stories returning from memories.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/mot-mon-qua-que-10296189.html