Dearest flour stir

(GLO)- Late in the afternoon, a friend from Phu Cat (Gia Lai province) invited me to his house to play and together we made a stir-fried flour dish. To him, this is a rustic, familiar dish of his hometown, associated with the childhood of many generations of people from Xu Nau.

I still remember when we first met, when I visited your house, I saw a few green cassava clumps in your family's small garden. I happily asked and "advised" you on "what plants to plant, what animals to raise" to suit the basalt soil of the suburbs of the mountainous town of Pleiku. You smiled and said: "Yes, let me consider what else to plant. But, no matter what, I can't do without the cassava clumps. They are not only plants but also associated with my childhood and memories."

Stir-fried flour is a favorite dish of the people of Xu Nau. Photo: TUE NGUYEN

Since then, I have known about the first stir-fried cassava flour, made by your own hands. While stirring the flour, you talked about old stories and the rustic gift from your hometown. You said that in the past, in your hometown, almost everyone had a couple of rows of cassava in their garden. After being pulled out of the garden, the cassava was peeled and washed. Next was the step of grinding each cassava on a griddle into a fine powder, then filtering it through a thick cloth. After leaving it overnight, the powder settled into a smooth, pure white layer. That was the best, cleanest flour, reserved for making su se cakes, first stir-fried cassava rice paper... and also for making familiar breakfast dishes.

In times of hardship, stir-fried flour is not just a breakfast dish for the hard-working villagers. It is a lifesaver during storms and floods, when the fields are submerged in white water and markets are far away. Any house that still has a few cassava roots and some fish sauce is considered full. Looking at the pan of clear, thick flour is like seeing the image of the countryside, of the days of wind, salt and dew.

Then your voice dropped slightly, feeling sad: “I still remember clearly the early mornings, Mom was busy in the kitchen, the firewood was red hot, thin smoke curled around her. She was the one stirring the flour for the whole family to eat breakfast. When I was little, every morning I woke up to see Mom’s mixing flour covered neatly in the food basket. Sometimes just looking at it made me feel bored, and I would find something to sulk with Mom. But now, many times, I wish I was a kid again, so I could hear Mom calling me to wake up for breakfast, smell the smell of wood smoke lingering in the wind and crave a piece of soft, cool, chewy flour.”

Many times stirring dough with my friend, I realized that there is no recipe for the best flour dish. Only by doing it a lot will you get used to it and gain experience. Without enough water, the dough will be hard and chewy. Too much water, the dough will be loose, and when you pull the chopsticks, it will fall off and not stick. When stirring the dough over the fire, you have to be steady, if you are a little slow, the dough will be hard. When eating, use chopsticks, one to press the dough, the other to wrap the dough in long, transparent circles, just like wrapping cotton candy. Then dip the cool, soft dough into a bowl of fish sauce mixed with garlic, chili, add a drop of lemon juice, a little MSG, and a little sugar to enhance the flavor.

In fact, every time I pick up a plate of flour and stir it, I think of the tapioca flour stir-fry in Hue . And most of all, I can't help but remember the tapioca flour cooked by the people in the lowland areas of my hometown in the North. It also starts with the fine white flour made from tubers that have been with the farmers for generations, then processed in the unique way of each region to create typical dishes imbued with culture, to love and remember for many children far from home.

From strange to familiar, gradually, I became more fond of this typical dish of the people of Xu Nau and often paid attention to learn more. I know that nowadays, the dish of Nhut Stirred Flour has also been varied. Some people eat it with meat, fish... to make the dish more filling. Some restaurants, especially in the land of Vo, have also introduced and sold the dish of Nhut Stirred Flour - Grilled Perch (or Snakehead) with Fish Sauce. Whether enjoyed with fish or just plain flour, this dish is still loved by many diners, including me. As for my friend, that Nhut Stirred Flour dish is always associated with a dear and unforgettable memory.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/than-thuong-bot-mi-nhut-khuay-post563530.html