One late autumn morning, the small kitchen of Ms. Bui Ngoc Mai's family (Chieng An ward, Son La) faintly smelled of new sticky rice.
Next to the steaming sticky rice bowl is a bowl of black olives that have been seededed, the flesh of the fruit is soft, shining dark purple.
Ms. Mai, while stirring sticky rice, recounted that every year when the filling season comes, she often finds and buys a few kilograms of ripe fruit, divides it into portions and puts them in the freezer for gradual use.
One part is braised with meat, the rest is used by her to make sticky rice for the whole family on weekends.
When I was little, every time I saw my mother bring olives to soak, my sisters and I knew we were about to eat sticky rice. At that time, the food was not as abundant as it is now, a bowl of hot olive sticky rice was enough to make the children eagerly sit and wait by the kitchen," Ms. Mai recalled.
According to her, making xôi trám is not too elaborate, but cooks must be patient, especially in the preliminary processing stage.
Tram fruit is chosen from fruits with dark purple peels, firm to hold, and not bruised. Young fruits often have little flesh and astringent taste, while too old Tram fruit is easily dried.
After washing, the pitted fruit is put in a pot of hot water to "boil". The water should not boil because the temperature is too high, which can make the fruit stiff and difficult to separate the seeds.
After about 20-30 minutes, when the filling is soft, Ms. Mai takes it out, lets it cool, then uses a knife to split it in half, remove the seeds and keep the meat.
The sticky rice is washed and soaked by her from the previous night. Before steaming, she mixes a little salt into the rice and puts it on the steamer. When the sticky rice is almost cooked, the filling meat is squeezed, mixed well and continued to steame for a while to let the purple color and fatty taste penetrate into each sticky rice grain.
Opening the lid, the heat brings a fragrant smell spreading throughout the kitchen. The shiny sticky rice grains turn pale purple, interspersed with the soft and smooth filling. The sticky rice is sticky but not mushy, when eaten it has a buttery, fatty and slightly astringent taste on the tip of the tongue.
Ms. Mai's family often eats sticky rice with sesame salt or minced meat roasted with onions. Her husband likes the rustic taste of sticky rice dipped in salt and peanuts, while her children like to mix in minced meat to make the dish more flavorful.
“Initially, the children found the sticky rice color strange, so they were hesitant. After trying a few pieces, they liked it again because the olives had a fatty but not greasy taste. Now, when it's the season, the children often remind their mother to make sticky rice,” Ms. Mai shared.
Busy life makes her family not often have time to prepare dishes that require many stages. Therefore, the spring roll sticky rice pot on weekends becomes an opportunity for everyone to gather together. Some pick spring rolls, some separate seeds, some prepare rice; the story in the house also extends with the kitchen smoke.
For Ms. Mai, the most delicious "xoi tram" is not necessarily because of rare ingredients but because the dish preserves memories of her mother and the kitchen of childhood. The "om" "tram" method, rice soaking or fire soup are all learned by her mother and adjusted according to her family's taste.
Amidst the increasingly bustling streets, the plate of light purple sticky rice still retains the authenticity of mountain cuisine.
From the mother's kitchen years ago to the family's breakfast today, that flavor is passed down through simple things.
For Ms. Mai, making xôi trám is also a way to preserve family tradition. Because after the chewy aroma of rice, the buttery and fatty taste of trám is the family memory cherished through each ripe fruit season.
