Nuggets season in Na Lo
Autumn comes, when the fruit tree turns red or orange, that's when the kitchens in Na Lo, Ta Chai commune (Bac Ha) can be attracted by the young rice smell. This place is famous for its sticky young rice and the craft of making it is done meticulously by the Tay people. |
| Na Lo young rice must be made from quality ingredients. |
Na Lo village has 100% of Tay ethnic households living. Tay women are skillful in their own hands, they contribute to preserving cultural identity through their ethnic dishes. The profession of making young rice here is mainly done by women.
Na Lo village is located around a winding rice field. The Tay houses in the village are built spaciously and cleanly. This is a cultural village, imbued with the Tay ethnic identity of Bac Ha district, and has developed a strong homestay service in recent years. Currently, Na Lo village has 30 households making young rice and this product in Bac Ha is mainly made by Na Lo people.
From the end of August, the season of making young rice of Na Lo begins. Families in Na Lo often make nuggets at 2 times a day, it is noon to sell them in the afternoon market and at night to keep up with the early market.
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| Grind the young rice. |
A batch of young rice wants to be delicious, first of all the ingredients must be good. Na Lo women have to go to the field to pick the sticky rice flowers that have been milled, and use their nails to press the seeds to see that the rice is no longer suckling. After cutting the sticky rice flowers home, they took the rice to beat the seeds and soaked in water to remove the flat seeds. The stove was heated, a large pan was put on the stove, after soaking the sticky rice into the pan to stir evenly. This is the stage to decide the flexibility and color of the batch of cereal. Workers must stir their hands evenly, adjust the fire not too loud, not too small, stir continuously for 15 minutes, when the aroma is released is satisfactory. The grains are poured into a large bowl, waiting to cool, then pounded into a mortar. The result is a batch of young rice green, fragrant sticky rice. The workers wrap the nuggets with fresh leaves, tie them with dried straw and sell them to the market. They do not use chemicals or any colorings, so Na Lo Nuggets have a natural green color, soft and flexible.
Nuggets are the enthusiastic products of women who work year round in the fields of Na Lo. Previously, Na Lo people mainly made young rice for use, but today, this dish has been sold to the market and is always favored by customers. Na Lo young rice are processed wherever they are sold, and contribute to bringing income to families.
