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Location: Vong Village is in Cau Giay
District, 7km from centre of Hanoi.
Characteristic: This village is famous for com making
A legend tells that in the autumn of a thousand years ago, there was a
torrential rain accompanied by severe winds in Vong Village, on the outskirts of
present-day Hanoi . At that time, the paddy was just about to ripen and the
storm threatened a big loss. The villagers had to collect and dry the young rice
as alternative food to avoid starvation. Unexpectedly, the product had a such a
distinct flavor and fragrance that the villagers repeated the process in later
years. As a result of the fame of the young rice, this kind of food was brought
to other places in the area. Then, it was much sought after by connoisseurs and
was one of the village's tributes to the King of the Ly Dynasty (11th -13th
century). In Vietnamese, it is called com. Com is made from young glutinous
rice, when the rice begins to ripen and still contains milk and fragrance. The
village's traditional renowned craft of making com is still well preserved and
developed, even with the advance of technology. The local farming industry does
not supply enough rice for com; thus during the season, many villagers have to
go to other framing areas near the capital to buy young rice. First, the rice is
selected, thrashed, sieved and washed in large washers to eliminate the thin
grains that float on the surface. At this stage, it turns to yellow from the
original green colors. To produce a kind of soft com, the rice must be pounded
before the most important stage of drying in a large iron pan over a wood fire.
The pounding and drying techniques are the know-how that is often kept within
the household, never to be transferred to daughters. Artisans of this trade know
how long the pounding and drying should last, the frequency of each pounding,
how the heat of the fire should be adjusted, and the techniques of choosing good
rice and good firewood. Though the village is not as busy with this activity as
in the past, you still hear the sound of the pounding and smell the distinctive
fragrance of com during the daytime. Pounding is not practiced during the night,
so as not to interrupt people's sleep. The finished product which must be soft,
sweet and fragrant, then finds its way to customers in bamboo woven baskets
covered with lotus leaves to keep its moisture and to lend the com the fragrance
of the flower. The fragrance of com and lotus, when merged, is too attractive to
resist. Com is often eaten by hand, directly from the lotus leaves, a pinch at a
time and chewed slowly to fully appreciate the flavor. It can also be eaten with
persimmons or bananas or used as the ingredient for banh com (com cake), che com
(sugary soup with com), cha com (pie made of pork and com) among which , banh
com is the most well-known as it is used at almost every engagement ceremony.
These kind of cakes are wrapped squarely with bananas leaves, tied with a red
string and stamped on the out side with a Chinese character meaning "double
happiness". With these characteristics, banh com is believed to be a symbol of a
steadfast and eternal love. To those who have ever been engaged in farming,
eating com often reminds them of a field of young fragrant paddy. During its
season, com can be seen on almost every street. The peddlers cry out loudly:
"com, com...", but often it is unnecessary, as they are easily recognized by
their paraphernalia: they shoulder two light bamboo baskets (com is not so heavy
as other products) with lotus leaves on the top and a small bundle of paddy
stems tied to the basket carriers, which are used to wrap and tie com.
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