Witnessing the century-old traditional ginger jam village in Hue

    PHÚC ĐẠT - NGUYỄN LUÂN |

    HUE - To have a batch of ginger jam with the right flavor for Tet, long-standing ginger jam workshops in Hue have to be meticulous, the most important step being the ginger stewing step.

    Moi dip Tet Nguyen Dan can ke, khong khi tap nap, ron rang tren khap cac lang nghe truyen thong lai khien nguoi ta hao huc. Tai phuong Kim Long, quan Phu Xuan (TP Hue), cac co so, ho gia dinh lam mut gung truyen thong dang tat bat chuan bi cho mua Tet sap den.
    Every time the Lunar New Year is approaching, the bustling atmosphere in traditional craft villages makes people excited. In Kim Long ward, Phu Xuan district, near Hue Citadel (Hue city), establishments and households making traditional ginger jam are busy preparing for the upcoming Tet season. These workshops are originally from Kim Long village, famous for many types of traditional Hue cakes and jams.
    Lang nghe lam mut gung Kim Long da co be day hang tram nam. Day la noi lam ra nhung me gung chuan vi, nuc tieng khap vung. Den Kim Long nhung ngay can Tet, co the nhan thay nhung cot khoi cao nghi ngut, do la bep khoi cua nguoi dan dang thuc hien cong doan luoc gung va rim gung.
    Kim Long ginger jam village has a history of hundreds of years. This is where batches of ginger with the right flavor are made, famous throughout the region. Coming to Kim Long on the days before Tet, you can see the tall columns of smoke rising from the households making ginger jam.
    Ong Nguyen Van Dan (66 tuoi) cung vo va nhung nguoi tho dang luan phien thuc hien cac cong doan lam mut gung; rieng ong Dan, voi tay nghe gan 40 nam cua minh ong la nguoi phu trach cong viec dung bep.
    Mr. Nguyen Van Dan (66 years old) and his wife and workers are taking turns making ginger jam. Mr. Dan, with his nearly 40 years of experience, is in charge of the kitchen.
    Ong Dan cho biet, nguoi dan lam mut lau nam o Kim Long thuong dat mua gung tuoi tu huyen Cam Lo (Quang Tri) va mot so noi o Hue, duoc biet gung o 2 vung dat nay khong qua cay, khong qua gia, nguyen lieu chuan vi de lam mut.
    Mr. Dan said that long-time jam makers in Kim Long often order fresh ginger from Cam Lo district (Quang Tri) and some places in Hue. It is known that ginger from these two regions is not too spicy, not too old, and is the right ingredient to make jam.
    Sau khi nguoi ban mang gung tuoi den cac cac co so tai Kim Long, se co mot nhom nguoi phu trach cao gung, rua sach va dem gung di bao thanh nhung lat mong.
    After the seller brings the fresh ginger to the facilities in Kim Long, there will be a group of people in charge of scraping the ginger, washing it and cutting it into thin slices.
    Tiep den, xa gung voi nuoc cho ra chat mu ben trong, sau do dem gung di luoc. Luoc den khi gung bat dau dam mau, tro nen deo va dai roi mang di rua voi nuoc sach lan cuoi.
    Next, rinse the ginger with water to release the sap inside, then boil the ginger. Boil until the ginger starts to darken in color, becomes supple and tough, then rinse with clean water one last time.
    Sau khi gung da rao nuoc se tron gung voi duong roi cho len rim. Cong thuc 1kg gung cong voi 1,2kg duong se cho ra ra 1kg mut. Sau khi rim xong, nguoi tho se phai xao kho mut, sang duong, xong se dong thung de kho, nua ngay moi dong bi.
    The drained ginger will be mixed with sugar and then stewed. The formula of 1kg of ginger plus 1.2kg of sugar will produce 1kg of jam. After stewing, the worker will have to dry the jam, sift the sugar, then put it in a box to dry, and it will take half a day to package it.
    Khau quan trong va kho khan nhat cua viec lam mut gung la rim gung voi duong. Nguoi tho phai chiu duoc suc nong cua lo lua, tay phai lien tuc nhom lua, lien tuc dao gung, dam bao gung va duong khong bi chay nhung phai tranh me gung bi nat.
    The most important and difficult step in making ginger jam is simmering the ginger with sugar. The worker must be able to withstand the heat of the furnace, constantly light the fire, constantly stir the ginger, making sure the ginger and sugar do not burn but also avoid crushing the batch of ginger.
    Ba Nguyen Thi Be (66 tuoi, vo ong Dan) cho biet, co so cua gia dinh ba se bat dau lam mut gung tu cuoi thang 12.2024 va den do 22-24.1.2025 la nghi. “Mut gung nay bao quan duoc 3 thang, 10 ngay. It hom nua se co nguoi den cho di bo ban o khap noi”, ba Be cho hay.
    Ms. Nguyen Thi Be (66 years old, Mr. Dan's wife) said that her family's facility will start making ginger jam from the end of December 2024 and will stop production from January 22-24, 2025. "This ginger jam can be preserved for 3 months and 10 days. In a few days, someone will come to sell it everywhere," Ms. Be said.
    Nghe mut gung Kim Long la nghe dac trung, noi tieng cua Hue, da xuat hien, ton tai hang tram nam gan lien voi cuoc song cua nguoi dan Hue tu thoi nha Nguyen den nay. Mut gung la mon mut banh dang cung to tien va la mon mut banh khong the thieu trong ngay Tet, van hoa Hue. Hien nay, nghe lam mut gung tai Kim Long van dang phat trien va duoc cong nhan la lang nghe truyen thong cua Co do.
    Kim Long ginger jam is a typical and famous craft of Hue, which has existed for hundreds of years, closely associated with the lives of Hue people since the Nguyen Dynasty until now. Ginger jam is a jam offering to ancestors and is an indispensable jam during Tet and Hue culture. Currently, the ginger jam making craft in Kim Long is still developing and is recognized as a traditional craft village of the ancient capital.
    PHÚC ĐẠT - NGUYỄN LUÂN
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