Understanding sticky rice, "the embodiment of Vietnamese culinary excellence"

Sticky rice, a dish made with glutinous rice, has been a part of Vietnamese cuisine for centuries. It offers a perfect blend of healthy eating habits and culinary enjoyment. It's no exaggeration to say that sticky rice is "the embodiment of Vietnamese culinary excellence."

Abundant and diverse ingredients

The main ingredient for traditional sticky rice is glutinous rice. Original sticky rice usually only contains glutinous rice with a little salt to create soft, ivory-white grains. Most other types of sticky rice incorporate coloring and flavoring agents such as perilla leaves (purple), pandan leaves or galangal leaves (green), gac fruit (red), gardenia powder or turmeric powder (yellow), or various decoctions from leaves, roots, and tubers of plants to create colorful sticky rice.

In addition, glutinous rice is often combined with many different ingredients such as corn, mung beans, red beans, black beans, taro, lotus seeds, gac fruit, etc. This diverse combination not only creates interesting colors but also brings very unique flavors to each type of sticky rice.

Sophisticated processing techniques

To make delicious sticky rice, first and foremost, the glutinous rice grains must meet quality standards. Depending on taste preferences, there are many different types of glutinous rice to offer different flavors and textures. There are five popular and delicious types of glutinous rice commonly used: glutinous rice with yellow flowers, glutinous rice from Tú Lệ, glutinous rice from Điện Biên, glutinous rice with goose, and glutinous rice with velvet.

Glutinous rice is carefully sifted and soaked in water with natural flavorings and colors, such as turmeric water, crushed perilla leaves, etc. It can also be combined with gac fruit seeds after being soaked in water for a sufficient amount of time. Then, all the prepared ingredients are placed in a steamer to cook the sticky rice. The aroma, taste, and chewiness of the sticky rice depend not only on the soaking time, temperature, and steaming time, but also on the skill and finesse of the cook.

Combines flexibly with various spices.

After cooking, sticky rice is combined with various seasonings such as roasted peanuts, fried onions, scallion oil, coconut milk, black sesame seeds, sugar, and salt. This combination creates a rich, unique, and delicious flavor. In Hanoi, sticky rice with mung beans is memorable for its vibrant yellow color created from turmeric water, along with mashed mung beans topped with fragrant fried onions and shredded pork floss. In Saigon, the characteristic sweet sticky rice, served with sugar, coconut milk, and shredded coconut, is a familiar dish for many.

Other variations of sticky rice include pairing it with sausages, Chinese sausage, braised pork with eggs, cinnamon pork sausage, Vietnamese pork sausage, shredded pork floss, etc. Over time, the accompaniments to sticky rice have become increasingly diverse, offering countless choices to suit diners' sweet and savory preferences.

In addition, some forms of packaging for sticky rice, such as lotus leaves or banana leaves, also provide a distinctive aroma, keep the rice warm for longer, and are safer for health. According to Condé Nast Traveller, no matter how it is enjoyed – on the street or in a fancy restaurant – sticky rice always remains "the embodiment of Vietnamese culinary excellence."

The dishes cater to a variety of needs.

Sticky rice is often chosen as a breakfast food because it's filling and provides a feeling of fullness for a long time. Sticky rice provides a large amount of carbohydrates, giving a rich source of energy, and when combined with protein-rich side dishes such as meat, beans, or nuts, it makes the meal nutritious and delicious.

In addition, sticky rice can be flexibly customized to meet the specific dietary needs or preferences of diners. For vegetarians, sticky rice becomes even more useful as it can be consumed regularly.

Connection to culture and tradition

Sticky rice has been around since ancient times, becoming an indispensable part of Vietnamese life, from ordinary days to major milestones, to this day.

When we were children, sticky rice was an indispensable offering at our first birthday celebrations and also a must-have at the Mother Goddess worship ceremony. As we grew older, sticky rice appeared at weddings and engagement ceremonies in vibrant colors and impressive shapes. It was also a must-have dish at ancestral worship ceremonies and New Year's celebrations. Sticky rice is a common sight at holidays, religious ceremonies, and weddings, and is an essential part of Vietnamese family meals.

Sticky rice is not only a simple, everyday dish, but it also carries cultural and traditional values, closely associated with many important customs in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people.

Bi Le