Hundred-year-old green rice village nestles in the middle of the city
Entering the house of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Khiem - a famous family making green rice flakes in Me Tri Ha, the writer clearly felt the scent of rice, mixed with a bit of wood smoke and the aroma of fresh green rice flakes. These days, the sound of the grinder creates the main sound, because autumn is the time when green rice flakes are consumed the most.
Busy making green rice, Mr. Khiem said: "This is the time of year when there is a lot of rice, so my family produces about 1 ton of rice per day. Green rice is a traditional craft of the locality as well as the family, I have been doing it since I was young and have maintained it until now. Before, when we were young, our parents and grandparents asked us to help with the production. From then on, we got acquainted and learned how to make green rice. That is also the way our ancestors passed on the craft to the next generations."
Mr. Khiem's family started work at dawn, not later but not too early so that the neighbors could rest. Mr. Khiem and his wife hired 4 more workers to keep up with the progress. Com is a snack of Hanoians and this hobby requires a lot of effort.
First, you need to choose good rice, usually yellow sticky rice. In the past, Me Tri villagers still grew their own rice. In Mr. Khiem's memory, each cart of rice soaked in night dew was brought home. The women in the village threshed the rice, selected the plumpest grains, then used a pan to roast them, pound them, and sift them. The leftover straw would be used to make brooms, and the last broken rice would be used to make yellow sticky rice wine that drinkers loved.
"The requirements for raw materials depend on each type of green rice product. Here, we specialize in producing young green rice, so we choose rice more carefully. Rice that has just started to produce milk will be used. Each time the rice blooms, we will harvest the rice for about a week. The time to make green rice depends on the season. The crop season in the North is the Chiem crop from the beginning of the third lunar month to the end of the fifth lunar month; the summer crop is from the middle of the seventh lunar month to the tenth lunar month," Mr. Khiem explained.
According to the people of Me Tri village, they produce raw green rice for other traders to buy and make products from green rice such as sticky rice, cakes, sausages, etc. Nowadays, many high-rise buildings replace rice fields. Not all young people follow the family profession, so Me Tri village has also changed many steps of green rice production to suit the reality.
Mr. Khiem said: "The process is to buy yellow sticky rice in Bac Ninh. There is only one crop a year in the 9th lunar month. They thresh it, clean it, and we bring it home when there are only empty grains left. Then we pour it into a firewood fire, stir it evenly with a machine to heat the rice grains, dry them, and make the shell crispy. The next step is to put the rice in a mill to separate the shell. If the rice grains are too dry, we will put them in a humidifier, spray water, and heat them. After the rice is moist enough, we take it out and pound it to smooth the grains and soften the rice. Next, put it in a sieve to get the best rice. Finally, we pack and vacuum it."
Just like that, Me Tri green rice spread throughout the streets of Hanoi. People even joked that the children in the village went to coffee shops to "check-in" with the product that they "wouldn't sit down to eat even if forced to at home".
Maintain tradition
Me Tri green rice village was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2019. Three years earlier, former US President Barack Obama visited Me Tri village and enjoyed the specialty dish with a green coat. However, the craft village in the middle of the capital did not choose to promote such events.
Instead of naming it "Obama green rice" or "heritage green rice", Me Tri villagers focus on maintaining product quality, avoiding price increases, and ensuring food hygiene and safety. "Me Tri green rice must be delicious," one villager excitedly said.
But according to Mr. Khiem, things are not that simple. There was a time when Me Tri village faced difficulties when many people were no longer passionate about green rice, young diners had many new dishes to enjoy. The number of people following the profession in the village also decreased significantly. However, in recent years, thanks to the efforts of local authorities and the development of the media, green rice has gradually regained its position.
The man in his 50s said: "In recent years, the local government has increased the dissemination and propaganda of the importance of maintaining and promoting the tradition of Me Tri green rice village. Along with the development of social networks, enjoying green rice in Hanoi has become a "trend" among young people, so the demand for green rice consumption is higher. Therefore, villagers have returned to making green rice more. In 2024, the locality will have 9 more households producing green rice at home. That is a good thing.
The number of households making green rice flakes has increased because people want to maintain, preserve and promote the tradition of local craft villages, have jobs, and at the same time, the local government has promoted it. Here, we have established a craft village cooperative, managed by the ward."
The People's Committee of Me Tri Ward and Nam Tu Liem District pays special attention to maintaining and developing traditional cultural features. Local authorities pay attention to, manage, promote and help people who follow the green rice profession. Every year, many meetings are held to promote traditional craft villages, promote food safety issues, strictly manage food safety and hygiene issues as well as the health of workers.
When there is a fair or exhibition introducing green rice, the ward and cooperative will be responsible for appointing and sending representatives to participate. Usually, households with a large workforce are sent to exchange and display products with other craft villages.
Compared to the previous period, currently, most households in traditional craft villages have invested in machinery and equipment to reduce human labor while ensuring food safety factors. For example, roasting rice in a cast iron pan over firewood (roasting by machine), spraying moisture, heating and sieving young rice by machine. The packaging stage is also supported by modern technology, vacuuming to keep young rice fresh longer.
When asked about the competitiveness of craft villages, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Khiem said: "Of course, there will be competition between brands and craft villages. Some other famous green rice villages were established earlier, but in reality, they no longer make green rice much, there are only a few households. Currently, it is difficult for anyone to compete with Me Tri green rice because the market is large, and quality is the top priority. Only with quality can we compete."
The people of Me Tri village are still trying to pass on their skills to their children. Young people are even actively contributing to the village by developing online sales channels (Facebook, website), coming up with new products about green rice as well as promoting communication, building the image, and increasing the awareness of Me Tri green rice.
Recently, the Me Tri green rice cooperative has organized a number of tours and welcomed groups of visitors to the green rice village, witnessing artisans making green rice. From here, it aims to expand the “tourism product” and the green rice consumption market. This is also a way to preserve traditional culture, while bringing the image of Me Tri green rice closer to domestic and foreign tourists.
"...Com is a special gift of the country, an offering from the vast green rice fields, carrying in its flavor all the rusticity, simplicity and purity of the Vietnamese countryside...", excerpt from "A gift from young rice: Com" (Thach Lam, Hanoi thirty-six streets).
Entering large European and Asian style restaurants, it is not difficult to find high-class, eye-catching dishes with ingredients from green rice. Some Japanese restaurants consider green rice as a highlight to attract customers to enjoy creative sushi dishes, or some chefs specializing in European cuisine find ways to incorporate green rice into standard "fine dining" meals (unique dishes, high-class ingredients...).
Nowadays, young people consider "eating green rice in the fall" as a habit. Travelers leaving the capital cannot miss bags of green rice cakes and green rice sausages. However, for Mr. Khiem and many households in Me Tri, they still have a big dream from the small green rice grains: Green rice from Me Tri village is about to reach out to the world!
