Five-color sticky rice - Rich in the flavors of the mountains and forests

The Cao Lan ethnic group in Yen Lang commune still preserves many unique traditional dishes, including the five-color sticky rice dish. This is not only a delicious and beautiful dish that represents the quintessence of the Cao Lan culinary culture, but also contains profound philosophies of life.

Leaves, tubers, and fruits are collected by people in the forest and processed into a liquid soaked with sticky rice to create color for five-color sticky rice.

Like its name, five-color sticky rice has five basic colors: black, red, green, yellow and purple. Sticky rice is made from sticky rice and leaves, tubers and fruits. Since childhood, Mrs. Tran Thi Chi, Dong Da village, Yen Lang commune, went with her grandmothers and mothers to the forest to pick forest leaves to make five-color sticky rice, learned how to wash rice, soak rice in leaf water, and how to steam sticky rice to make it soft and delicious. The secret to making five-color sticky rice with the right color and taste was passed down by Mrs. Chi to her children and grandchildren. Just like that, the five-color sticky rice dish of the Cao Lan people has been preserved and maintained from generation to generation and until today.

After soaking, the rice is put into a steamer to cook.

Ms. Chi said: The sticky rice that Cao Lan people use to cook five-color sticky rice is usually the type of sticky rice grown on the fields, which has a rich, delicious flavor. If there is no sticky rice available, it can be replaced with yellow sticky rice. To create a red color for the sticky rice, Cao Lan people often use crushed khau dam (red rice) trees, extract the concentrated water and soak it with washed sticky rice for 6-7 hours. In a similar way, the yellow color of sticky rice is created from the fruit of the rong ran tree; the green color is from ginger leaves or flowers of the pea flower tree; the purple color is from the leaves of the cam tree and the black color is made from the leaves of the sau sau tree. Among the types of sticky rice, black sticky rice is made more elaborately. Cao Lan people go to the forest to pick sau sau tree leaves, wash them, pound them, and soak them for a day in clean water before soaking them with sticky rice. If soaked immediately with rice, the desired jet-black color will not be achieved. All types of leaves, tubers, and fruits used to soak rice are precious traditional Vietnamese medicinal herbs, which have very good effects on health.

Five-color sticky rice is usually displayed on a large round plate, with the colors arranged in an interwoven manner, looking both beautiful and delicious.

After soaking, the rice is taken out, drained, and then put into a steamer to be cooked. To prevent the sticky rice from mixing colors, the rice soaked in leaves, tubers, and colored fruits is cooked in different pots. People put each batch of mixed colored rice into a steamer lined with a thin, clean cloth inside the steamer, cover the lid tightly, and cook over high heat. When the water in the steamer boils, the cook must have experience and time it just right. The secret to making the sticky rice soft and sticky is to steam it twice, that is, when the sticky rice is almost cooked, take it out, let it cool, and then put it back in the pot to continue cooking until it is fully cooked. When cooked, the aroma of sticky rice blends with the characteristic aroma of the plants and trees in the mountains and forests, creating a unique and different flavor of five-color sticky rice. The cooked sticky rice is displayed on a large, round plate. Each portion of sticky rice with different colors is carefully and skillfully arranged, interwoven like fresh wild flowers, looking both beautiful and delicious. Cao Lan people often eat sticky rice with dishes such as chicken, ham, sausage or sesame salt, depending on each person's preference.

Cao Lan ethnic people often cook five-color sticky rice on holidays and Tet.

Mr. Dao Van Lin, a prestigious person among the Cao Lan ethnic group in Dong Da village, Yen Lang commune, said: The Cao Lan people often make five-color sticky rice on the occasion of Tet, the Going-to-the-fields Festival (full moon of the first lunar month) and the Cold Food Festival (the third day of the third lunar month). Five-color sticky rice is not only a dish but also the cultural quintessence of the Cao Lan people, which has been summarized for thousands of years. The five colors of sticky rice correspond to the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth), symbolizing the harmony and balance of the universe and human beings. Red symbolizes fire, enthusiasm and luck; purple symbolizes a peaceful life; yellow symbolizes fertile land and good crops; green symbolizes mountains, forests, trees and fields, the hope for a prosperous and happy life; black symbolizes the strength and resilience of the Cao Lan people. The 5 colors also symbolize the solidarity and close attachment of the Cao Lan ethnic people here.

From local agricultural products, the Cao Lan ethnic people in Yen Lang commune have used their skillful hands to create delicious dishes, imbued with the flavors of the mountains and forests, to offer to their ancestors with respect and gratitude. Sticky rice is not only a delicious dish but also a work of art, demonstrating the ingenuity and talent of Cao Lan women. Enjoying five-color sticky rice with family and friends during holidays and Tet not only brings a happy, cozy atmosphere but also contributes to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values ​​of the nation.

Tran Tinh

Source: https://baophutho.vn/xoi-ngu-sac-dam-da-huong-sac-nui-rung-239649.htm