Hanoi – the capital with thousands years of culture, not only the beauty of the people here, but Hanoi also has a unique culinary culture. Speaking of culinary culture, we cannot fail to mention a specialty of Hanoi – Green sticky rice (Cốm) in Vong village. This is a folk and elegant food in the autumn Hanoi. And now Com is a special street food of Hanoi which you should not miss while on your trip in Hanoi.
The legend has it that in the autumn from thousands years ago, when rice in flowering period, there was a very huge storm which destroyed all paddy fields. The local people in Vong village had to collect and roast remaining young rice to eat. Unbelievable the dish as the last resort turned out to have distinctively delicious taste and later become a delicacy of the village – Com Vong (Green sticky rice of Vong village).
The more they do, the more experience and creativity they have, so the grain is increasingly green, thinner, more flexible and more fragrant.
Up to now, green sticky rice in Vong village are sold all over the streets and markets in Hanoi. Each fall, the women in Vong village hang their wooden shoulder poles with full of Com – young seedlings in the baskets, go along the streets and advertise “Com, please”, it sounds familiar. Talking about how to make nuggets, of course, people in many countrysides of Vietnam know how to do, but admitted that there is no where to get nut sticky and delicious as in the village Vong.
The process of making grains is quite complicated. After harvesting the green rice they have to go through some preliminary processing, then continue to roast at the appropriate temperature to have delicious and flexible Com. There are usually three types:
-The early season seed is thin, soft, flexible, suitable for vegetarian or eaten with banana, is a kind of glutinous rice at early season.
-Mid-season seed are often used to make fried nuggets.
-End of season seed is usually large, thick and slightly hard to eat, only suitable for cooking or sticky rice.
This green sticky rice (Com) can not be eaten much. The Com seller does not carry too much as selling rice or selling vegetables. And Com can not be made as much as other sticky rice products. This has created a special feature of Com.
Com cereal pies of Vong village are an indispensable gift in Vietnamese weddings. Beside betel leaves, wine, cigarettes, fruit… the groom brought to the bride’s house hundreds of cereal pies, hundreds of “Xu xe” cakes (Husband and wife cake). The red color of the “Xu-xe” cakes coincided with the green of the Com pies, as a wish of hundred years of love for the young couple.
Green Sticky Rice Hanoi have represented the art of processing Hanoi delicacies, you should not miss a chance to taste this street food of Hanoi when you travel to Hanoi during the Fall season. This is also a special gift to bring home after your trip.
