Colorful green bean candies

My childhood is associated with Cam Ranh land, associated with the hot sun with the salty taste of the sea, of the soil, of the sand embracing me. Many times, struggling with life, I wonder: Do I feel tired after being an adult for so long? I wish I could return to my childhood. In my memory, that is a place with kites full of wind, loud laughter, summer days with the chirping of cicadas; a place without making a living, without worries, chaos or haste... That place has only peace, laughter and the warmth of family.

Photo: Internet

When I was young, I was very attached to my grandmother. At that time, I was probably only in first or second grade, enough to remember the most beautiful memories. My house was just a few slopes away from my grandmother's house, it only took about 5 minutes to walk. I loved my grandmother's hunched back every Sunday morning when she went to the district market. I would wait for her to come home from the market to wait for her to give me a gift, sometimes a package of sticky rice with corn, a big puffed cotton candy in beautiful colors of green, pink, and yellow, or some boiled sweet potatoes wrapped in banana leaves.

My grandmother - a Hue woman who endured the hardships of life, endured the sun and rain all year round, single-handedly took care of her children. To me, she is the lullaby sounds that resonate in the wind, blowing my soul into a peaceful afternoon nap. She is the sturdy, wide-bent back that carries me through the winding village roads shaded by coconut trees. On summer days when I don't have to go to school, I go and stay at my grandmother's house and never want to go home. My grandmother cooks very well. I love having her make fatty flan cakes for me. What I love even more is that I get to make candy with my grandmother, which are the most beautiful and delicious candies I have ever eaten: colorful green bean candies. In my memory, those are candies made from green beans, rolled into small balls, wrapped in poly-luya paper, colorful cellophane, and cut into fringes.

The candy is made from peeled mung beans and sugar. The mung beans are boiled, mashed, then simmered with sugar. The heat for simmering the beans must be low, I remember my grandmother had to constantly use bamboo chopsticks to stir evenly until the flour and sugar thickened. The process of rolling the candy into balls had to be done very quickly. My grandmother did not forget to pick a piece for me so I could roll the candy into my own balls as a reward from her. I loved it so much, smiling. I told my grandmother: "I will roll them into beautiful candies, I hope my friends will like them and come buy a lot, right grandma!", then I was very excited with my results. What I liked most was the process of drying and folding the candy wrapping paper. There are 2 types of wrapping paper, which are polythene paper or colorful cellophane paper. When I was little, I was drawn into the colorful world when I watched my grandmother cut the paper, the 2 ends of the paper were cut into small strips so that after wrapping, there would be beautiful tassels.

A corner of Cam Ranh City. Photo: VAN KY

When the batches of colorful candies were ready, my grandmother and I went to the alley entrance, where people often passed by, to gather and sell, forming a spontaneous small market, where everyone had something to sell to earn a little extra money for the market at the end of the day. The summer sun was sweltering, sweat was dripping down my forehead, cheeks, and shoulders. I received the coins from the customers, carefully smoothed them out and put them in a small bucket. On days when I didn’t sell much, my grandmother gave me a few handfuls of candies to take home and treat my friends. Just waiting for that, my friends competed to choose the color they liked, quickly ate the small green beans, then held the candy wrapper up high as a mirror to look through, the sky and earth, the scenery at that time was tinged with the brilliant green, red, purple, and yellow colors that were magically shimmering.

The taste of colorful green bean candy - I call it the taste of nostalgia - the taste of childhood, a source of fresh green water, nurturing the soul and always giving me sweet nostalgia like the candies of the past.

TRAN KIM TO UYEN

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