"Autumn scent of young rice calls back
The strange scent of the countryside at the beginning of the season is so exciting
Pale yellow sunshine, gentle breeze
The rustling of the cool wind in Hanoi, thousands of years ago"
The gentle autumn breeze passing by heralds the arrival of an elegant and pure gift. The fragrant scent of young rice reminds people of a rustic dish, simple but containing all the quintessence of heaven and earth, only found in the land of Ha Thanh - green rice flakes.
Each season, Hanoi has its own beauty. But it is only in Autumn that people can fully feel the charm of the capital. That beauty comes from the chilly early mornings, the quiet streets with the first rays of sunlight, or from the rows of trees turning yellow...
And since when, every autumn, people have been looking for the “season of young green rice”. Hanoi in autumn is the image of young green rice baskets on the shoulders of women and mothers moving through every alley, the rustic flavor seems to be quiet in the heart of the bustling city. The green green rice grains are fragile but sweet, containing the essence of the earth and sky, the scent of the sun and wind, so that every time you enjoy them, you will feel nostalgic and nostalgic.
Every autumn, people go looking for "the season of young green rice".
"Precious pearl" bearing the mark of the homeland
In Hanoi, there are many places that know the recipe for making green rice flakes, but when mentioning the craft village of making fragrant green rice flakes recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, we must remember Me Tri village. Located in the suburbs of Hanoi, Me Tri has a history of hundreds of years, always trying to maintain and develop this traditional craft with the desire to pass on the cultural quintessence of the people of Trang An.
With the desire to preserve the traditional green rice making profession that her grandparents passed down to her husband's parents for more than 40 years, since becoming a daughter-in-law of Me Tri village, Ms. Vu Phuc has built the brand Moc Lam - Green Rice Hanoi and hopes that the delicious green rice grains of Vietnam will reach more diners at home and abroad.
Me Tri village has a history of hundreds of years, always trying to preserve and develop this traditional craft with the desire to pass on the cultural quintessence of Trang An people.
Talking to Travellive, Ms. Phuc said: “Since getting married in Me Tri in 2016, my husband's family has a rice roasting workshop that my parents directly make, and the products are readily available, so I started selling rice. From 2016 to 2021, I still worked in an office and only maintained seasonal online business, and my customers were mainly friends and relatives. Later, the number of regular customers gradually increased. The more I attached myself to the product, the more I realized that the rice making profession is really hard and there are gradually fewer young people following the profession passed down by their parents."
There are two seasons of green rice production a year, from the 15th day of the 7th lunar month to the end of the 9th lunar month. Nowadays, we can enjoy green rice all year round, but the harvest season is always the time when young green rice is the most delicious. Each stage requires very high and meticulous techniques that only skilled people can understand. In particular, each place has its own family secrets that cannot be revealed to the outside.
Each step requires very high technique and meticulousness that only skilled people can understand.
According to Ms. Phuc, Me Tri green rice is made from young sticky rice, the grains are just shiny and full of milk. Before harvesting, it is necessary to check the deliciousness of the sticky rice, to ensure that it meets the milk standard before harvesting. After harvesting, each flower is picked clean, then carefully washed in a water tank to select plump, shiny grains. The sticky rice is roasted with wood firewood on a thick-bottomed cast iron pan and the heat is kept even until the grains absorb the heat and turn into a curdled milk. Each batch is roasted like this for about two hours. When roasting green rice, there is always a person on duty to check and adjust the heat accordingly. The green rice is roasted to the right temperature, then ground to remove the shell and pounded three to four times to get the finished product of thin, flat, sticky, fragrant green rice grains.
To get the delicious green rice grains, Ms. Phuc does not hesitate to share her secret: “When making green rice, the most important thing to pay attention to is the roasting stage. The artisan must carefully monitor the heat to get the rice grains roasted to the right degree of doneness. If the fire is too high, the green rice will burn dry, and if the fire is too low, the green rice will stick together and the shell cannot be separated. The roasting process is especially decisive for the deliciousness, softness and stickiness of the green rice grains.”
When making green rice flakes, the most important step to pay attention to is roasting the green rice flakes.
Every autumn, Me Tri village always lights up the fire from two or three o'clock in the morning to roast green rice. Partly to save time from harvesting to roasting so that the rice grains can retain their freshness, resulting in a soft and fragrant green rice product, and partly to take advantage of the heat before sunrise, which saves the farmers from hardship.
To recognize delicious green rice with the standard flavor of Me Tri village, Ms. Phuc said: “When eating, the green rice grains must stick tightly to the gums and be difficult to remove, that is the standard young green rice. Young green rice grains are made from newly milked rice grains, so after roasting, the finished product is as thin as a tamarind leaf. When exposed to sunlight, they are clear and soft, each small green rice grain is not broken or cracked much. The green rice grains are soft and moist but must be loose and not lumpy. The standard green rice grains of Me Tri village are light yellow, not green. Depending on the rice variety and the heat level as well as the roasting experience of the artisan, the green rice can be light yellow or dark yellow.”
Me Tri village's standard green rice flakes have a light yellow color, not green.
The art of enjoying the quintessence of heaven and earth
Green rice flakes are a unique gift of the country, an offering from the vast green rice fields, carrying within it the rustic, simple and pure flavor of the Vietnamese countryside.
Com is not a food for those who eat in a hurry, eating com must be done little by little, leisurely and savored. Eating com is chewing slowly, leisurely, blending the sticky and fatty taste of com with the fragrant smell of new rice, with a hint of the gentle scent of lotus leaves, how delicious and pure it is. Hanoians eat com alone, eating it alone to enjoy the color, the elegant and refined flavor, truly "eating the fragrance and flowers", eating to enjoy the autumn sky, their soul wandering with the mountains and rivers. Besides, fresh young com is also suitable to dip with ripe bananas. The sweet and fatty taste of bananas combined with the soft, sticky young com grains creates a harmonious flavor that melts in the mouth.
Green rice flakes are not a food for those who eat in a hurry. Green rice flakes should be eaten little by little, slowly and with enjoyment.
In particular, fresh green rice is often wrapped in lotus leaves. Because lotus leaves do not destroy the scent of green rice, but are also a flower symbolizing purity and innocence, “living near the mud but not smelling of the mud”. Only lotus leaves are worthy to wrap the “green rice pearls” – the most quintessential gift of heaven and earth to mankind.
The fresh green color of the fragrant green rice flakes mixed with the pure scent of lotus leaves creates a special flavor. The seller also skillfully uses loosely tied rice straws to wrap the green rice flakes, creating a pleasing and delicate look that makes diners feel moved. Those who are far from home, especially the elderly, consider the green rice flakes wrapped in yellow straws as a luxury.
For Hanoians, green rice has a very unique flavor, symbolizing the culinary sophistication. From green rice grains, people can process into many unique gifts, full of the flavor of the countryside.
From green rice grains, people can make many unique gifts, rich in the flavor of the countryside.
Fried young rice with coconut is one of the most memorable snacks every autumn. Made from raw young rice, young coconut water, shredded coconut, and refined sugar through a meticulous processing process, fried young rice reaches a sticky and sweet consistency. At Moc Lam, we do not use rich coconut milk as a dipping sauce as people often use. Instead, we only roll it on a layer of fresh coconut rice with light sugar, helping to preserve the rich aroma of young rice, following the quintessential flavor of the ancient Trang An people. Make a pot of good tea, choose a beautiful plate, cut each piece of fried young rice, admire, inhale, savor its quintessential sticky and fragrant flavor, sip lotus tea... and you will feel the whole autumn there.
Besides, sticky rice with green rice is also an elegant dish that contributes to the diverse and unique beauty of Vietnamese cuisine. Cooked from simple ingredients such as green rice, lotus seeds, green beans, shredded coconut, sticky rice has a mild, sweet flavor of green rice grains made from young rice with a characteristic aroma. The flavor of green rice mixed with the sweet taste of green beans, stewed lotus seeds, and the richness of shredded coconut creates an irresistible appeal.
In addition, Hanoi also has many dishes made from green rice with authentic and unique delicious flavors such as green rice cake, green rice sausage...
