October is the end of Autumn, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, we come to the mountainous commune of Hop Thanh, Lao Cai city. In a peaceful village, the fields are fragrant with the scent of ripe rice, the Tay women are excitedly going to the fields to pick the plump sticky rice flowers to make fragrant sticky rice grains. With skillful and hard-working hands, the Tay women have made "green pearls" full of the flavor of heaven and earth, making Hop Thanh green rice grains a 3-star OCOP product of Lao Cai city.

Tay women in Hop Thanh commune harvest sticky rice to make green rice flakes.

Sticky and fragrant Hop Thanh green rice grains

We visited Hop Thanh commune in mid-October, when the late autumn winds brought the chill of winter and covered Hop Thanh valley with a misty mist. This season, Hop Thanh rice fields - where Nam Bat stream flows through - are as beautiful as a painting with vibrant colors. It is the bright yellow of ripe rice, mixed with fields that have been harvested with only stubble left, and the lush green of glutinous rice fields that are in their milky stage. Along with the joy of the harvest season, the Tay people in Hop Thanh commune are bustling with the new green rice season.

Early in the morning, when the sun had just risen and the dew had not yet cleared, Ms. Pham Thi Ben, a Tay ethnic, Head of the Women's Association of Cang 1 village, went with the other women in the village to "tan khau" (pick rice) to make the first batch of green rice of the season. Quickly cutting each flower of sticky rice, Ms. Ben said that since ancient times, the Tay people in Hop Thanh commune have been able to grow the golden flower sticky rice variety (Khau cai), which is the best type of rice to make fragrant, sticky green rice grains. Now, in addition to Khau cai, people also grow many varieties such as white sticky rice, red sticky rice, yellow sticky rice, etc. In mid-October, when the young sticky rice grains are at their most plump, each grain is plump and round like a bee pupa, that is the best time to make green rice grains.

Plump sticky rice flowers are the raw material to make delicious green rice flakes.

To make sticky and fragrant green rice, it must go through many stages. After threshing, the glutinous rice will be poured into a basin of water, removing the broken grains that float to the surface, keeping only the plumpest grains to roast. Stirring the rice evenly on the fire pan, Ms. Ben said that roasting green rice is the most difficult and laborious task, because you have to keep the fire burning evenly, and you have to stir continuously so that each grain of green rice is cooked evenly to be delicious. When roasting, add a little water to make the green rice soft, cooked without burning, depending on whether the glutinous rice is old or young, adjust the water accordingly. For those who are not used to it, if the fire is too high, the green rice will cook quickly but will pop like popcorn, but if the fire is too low, the green rice will take a long time to cook, stirring a lot will be very tiring.

When the sticky rice in the pan is cooked and dry, take it to the mill to remove the husk, then sift it thoroughly, so that you will have a batch of delicious green rice. From a young age, the Tay girls here are taught by their grandmothers and mothers how to sift it very skillfully, which is both fast and less laborious, while still preserving the most delicious green rice grains.

Perhaps, because it is made from the best glutinous rice grains in Hop Thanh fields, and processed by the skillful hands and hard work of the Tay women here, Hop Thanh green rice grains are always green, fragrant, and flavorful, and once enjoyed, you will never forget them.

Roasting green rice is the most difficult step, determining the softness and aroma of the green rice grains.

Recalling the old clanging sound

Arriving at Cang 1 and Cang 2 villages, Hop Thanh commune in the middle of the green rice season, we felt the bustling atmosphere. Mrs. La Thi Len, Cang 2 village, 54 years old this year, is a person who understands the national identity, and is always passionate about the profession of making green rice to create a precious gift of her homeland.

Mrs. Len said she doesn't know when the profession of making green rice flakes began, but since she was little, her grandmother and mother taught her how to identify sticky rice flowers to make good green rice flakes, and how to dry, roast, and pound green rice flakes, which has been learned from many generations ago. Whether a Tay girl is skillful or good at making green rice flakes or not is determined by just looking at the green rice grains that person makes.

In the past, Tay women in Hop Thanh commune often pounded green rice with mortar and pestle.

In the past, instead of roasting green rice, the Tay people in Hop Thanh commune still put the whole bunch of sticky rice on the floor and lit a fire underneath to dry it. When the rice husks were dry and the rice grains were ripe enough, they were put into a mortar and pounded.

At that time, there were no rice mills like today, every family had a stone mortar or a long wooden mortar called loong to pound green rice. Sticky rice had to be pounded three times, then winnowed many times to get good green rice. On bright moonlit nights in October, Tay men and women would pound green rice together happily like going to a festival, pounding and singing love songs until midnight. That is why the green rice season has helped many couples become husband and wife.

After being pounded or milled, the green rice will be sifted to remove the husk.

The special thing is that after pounding the green rice, boys and girls compete to "kèng loông". This is a fun game, each loông is divided equally into one side for men and one side for women, each side has 3-4 people competing to hit the pestle on the loông to the rhythm, the side that hits the rhythm wrong or can't hit anymore will lose. The nights of pounding green rice are as fun as a festival, men and women are excited to date each other. Therefore, from ancient times there has been a funny poem that "Pounding rice makes you sick, pounding green rice makes you healthy".

With skillful hands, Tay women in Hop Thanh commune have made "green pearls".

"The green rice season is a season of joy, a season of festivals, a season of dating. Every new green rice season, the Tay village here is filled with the sound of "kèng loăng", which is also the sound of prosperity, of a peaceful life, no matter how far away you go, you will never forget. Nowadays, few families still keep the loăng, the mortar for pounding green rice, for many people, the sound of "kèng loăng" is only in their memories" - Mrs. Len looked out at the distant fields, remembering the green rice seasons long gone.

Tay women spread the scent of green rice far and wide

Visiting Hop Thanh commune in the middle of the new green rice season, we were immersed in the bustling atmosphere of the highland market here, especially the Hop Thanh Green Rice Festival.

In the concept of the Tay and Giay people in Hop Thanh commune, fragrant sticky rice is not only a dish, a gift from the countryside, but first of all, it is a product made by people to offer to their ancestors and the gods for a warm and prosperous golden season. In the offering tray to celebrate the new rice in the middle of the 9th lunar month of the people here (also known as the New Rice Festival, the Khau Mau Festival), a plate of fragrant sticky rice with the flavor of heaven and earth is indispensable. Originating from that, the Hop Thanh Com Huong festival was first held on October 14, 2018 and has been maintained until now.

Lao Cai City People's Committee awarded recognition for Hop Thanh green rice product meeting 3-star OCOP standards.

Amidst the bustling atmosphere of the festival, the sound of "kèng loằng" that seemed to have disappeared now resounded again, the villages of Hop Thanh commune organized a competition to display products made from green rice and typical agricultural products in the commune, especially the competition of the best dishes of their village.

Green rice is available in a variety of forms, including fresh flakes, cakes, sticky rice, and popcorn. With delicious tastes. There are grilled fish, local chicken, dried pork, and five-color sticky rice, all appealing and delicious. Visitors to the festival can also try producing green rice flakes and play thrilling traditional games.

Tourists buy green rice at Hop Thanh - Ta Phoi market as gifts.

In particular, during the Hop Thanh Com Huong festival in 2024, Lao Cai City People's Committee awarded the certificate of Hop Thanh Com product meeting 3-star OCOP standards to the people in the commune.

Mr. Lai Thai Kien, Secretary of the Party Committee of Hop Thanh Commune, smiled as he said, "In the past, people in the village and commune only made green rice to celebrate the New Rice Festival, to eat, and to give to relatives as a gift from the countryside." However, Hop Thanh green rice has now become a popular local dish, enjoyed and ordered by diners from all across the country.

Hop Thanh commune currently has over 200 hectares of rice fields, of which about 30 hectares are dedicated to growing specialty sticky rice to make green rice flakes. The commune's Women's Union has also established a green rice flake production group led by women members, helping each other develop the green rice flake making profession to make life more prosperous.

Hop Thanh rice products are packaged, labeled and sold in many places.

Ms. Pham Thi Ben, Head of the Women's Association of Cang 1 village, Head of the Hop Thanh Com Huong Production Team, excitedly shared: The production team has 12 members, who are the best Tay women making Com in Cang 1 and Cang 2 villages. The women openly teach each other the secret to making delicious Com batches.

This year's green rice season, the families of Ms. Ben, Ms. Sam Thi Lien, Nong Thi Viet, La Thi Binh, La Thi Len, Hoang Thi Duyen... all made 1-2 quintals of green rice, selling at an average price of 100,000 VND/kg. According to Ms. Ben, Tay women in the commune are increasingly progressive, knowing how to sell online, promoting green rice products on social networks so that everyone knows.

Ms. Pham Thi Ben proudly introduces her hometown's specialties.

During the Khau Mau festival in Hop Thanh, I had my first taste of the fragrant sticky rice cake made from green rice, peanuts, minced duck meat, and traditional spices, which was really sweet and flavorful. When I left Tay village, the residents gave me a tiny bag of green rice, nicely packed and labeled "Huong Com Hop Thanh". I am overjoyed that the Tay women here have kept the traditional craft of manufacturing green rice, fostering cultural values, and transforming the fragrant sticky rice from a neighborhood gift into a specialty product with the rich fragrance of autumn in the city's suburbs to far-flung areas.

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