Thanh minh five-color sticky rice

Every year, at the end of February and the beginning of March of the lunar calendar, Cao Bang people prepare offerings, incense, etc. to visit graves (also known as Thanh Minh Festival), to remember their ancestors, grandparents, parents and the deceased. The most typical dish on this occasion is five-color sticky rice: red, black, purple, yellow, green.

Each color of sticky rice contains a deep meaning. Red sticky rice represents the desire to live, the spirit of solidarity. Yellow represents prosperity, abundance and prosperity. Purple represents loyal, steadfast, eternal love. Black represents the filial piety of descendants towards their ancestors. Green represents the desire for peace , the color of mountains and forests...

The raw material for making sticky rice is Cao Bang fragrant sticky rice, which has a characteristic stickiness and aroma; the coloring agents are all natural leaves, safe and non-toxic. All types of sticky rice are soaked in colored water for 6-8 hours so that the rice grains are saturated with water, when cooked, they will expand and become sticky and fragrant.

Yellow sticky rice uses bjoóc phôn flowers. This type of flower appears after the beginning of spring, the flowers are white, tiny and clustered together, have a characteristic aroma, and a slightly strong taste. Boil the flowers in warm water for 10 - 15 minutes until the water turns bright yellow, has a characteristic aroma of the flower, filter the water and soak it with sticky rice, the rice grains turn bright yellow. Bjoóc phôn sticky rice has a characteristic aroma, is delicious, and has a beautiful color.

Black sticky rice uses the leaves of the Sau Sau tree that grows in the forest. After picking the leaves, choose the fragrant young leaves, chop them finely, pound them evenly until they are crushed, then dry them and boil them to get the water. Soak the sticky rice in the Sau Sau leaf water until the rice turns dark green. The longer you soak it, the softer and stickier the sticky rice will be when cooked. The cooked sticky rice has a shiny black color and the characteristic aroma of Sau Sau leaves.

Purple sticky rice is also called purple sticky rice. Wash purple leaves, put them in a pot to boil, filter the water and soak it with sticky rice, then steam it. The cooked sticky rice has a purple color, the rice grains are shiny and beautiful, and has the aroma of purple leaves.

Red sticky rice uses red purple leaves, washed, boiled and filtered, then soaked with sticky rice, then steamed. The cooked sticky rice will have a beautiful natural red color and the aroma of purple leaves.

Green sticky rice is made from pandan leaves cut into pieces, then put into a blender or pounded and dissolved with filtered water, stirred well and filtered through a sieve to get the water, discarding the pandan leaves. Then soak the rice in pandan leaf water. The cooked sticky rice has a beautiful natural green color, the rice grains are shiny and sticky.

Red and purple leaves give beautiful sticky rice colors and fragrant leaf scent.

For sticky rice, after steaming the first time, let it cool and then steam for another 15 - 20 minutes, the sticky rice will be softer, more supple and drier.

Trang Nguyen

Source: https://baocaobang.vn/xoi-ngu-sac-thanh-minh-3176159.html