Kenh village in Tay Do commune (Hung Ha district, Thai Binh province) is a small village in the rice fields with vast, barren fields. Those who make tofu in Kenh village said that no one knows exactly when super thin tofu has come about, only that the profession has been passed down from father to son for a long time.
"Bean making is very hard work, to be able to sell tofu in the morning, my wife and I have to wake up at 2am, and have to wake up earlier on weekends or holidays. In our Kenh village, around that time, every house with lights is a working house. To produce finished bean sprouts, at least 2 people must work together," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Hat ( Kenh village, Tay Do commune).
Unlike other conventional bean sprouts, Kenh village beans are impressive from their appearance. The beans are super thin, rectangular, white, less than 0.5cm thick; flexible and can be bent.
The bean making profession is so hard that there are now only a few households in Kenh village that still keep the profession. After nearly 40 years of being attached to the profession passed down from her father, Ms. Nguyen Thi Xoa (in Kenh village, Tay Do commune) said that delicious beans depend on many factors. In particular, soybean ingredients are very important, you must choose large, plump, round and firm beans.
"Making beans is not difficult but many stages should take time. The first step is to soak the soybeans until they bloom and put them in a blender, pureeing them into a fine powder. To make the beans smooth, we will filter the pulp and use a cooked air mixer.
When cooked to the right level, sour water will be mixed to create walnuts, which help create young beans. We put the walnuts in available molds, depending on the thickness, we will have a reasonable amount of walnuts. To make the beans firm, we make them by hand, using weights weighing 8 - 10kg to squeeze them into the water. After about 7 minutes of pressing, the finished beans are ready to beans," said Ms. Xoa.
Having enjoyed Kenh village beans many times, Ms. Ngo Thi Thanh Tuyen (Dong Hung district, Thai Binh province) said: " Kenh village beans are loved by my family because the pieces of Kenh village beans are thin and sticky, very suitable for processing, combined with the variety of dishes. In particular, the fried thin beans are golden yellow, thin but still soft, plump, fatty and fatty inside".
