The specialty of Ha Mo porridge attracted countless diners to come and enjoy it during the 2023 Hanoi Culinary Cultural Festival in early December.
“The porridge is here, please come in and eat,” a simple shout rang out in the food stall of Dan Phuong district. Many people curiously asked: ” Lotus porridge ?”.
The sales ladies smiled charmingly: “The porridge will be fine, sir.” The “se” sound lasted for a long time and was very loud, causing a few diners to pull over immediately to see what was strange.
Ms. Dinh Thi Thanh (50 years old, Ha Mo commune, Dan Phuong district) is the main cook at the porridge stall. While she was stirring the porridge, people surrounded the stall asking about this special porridge.
According to Ms. Thanh, astringent porridge is made from two ingredients: plain rice and pork bones. The ingredients are simple, somewhat similar to other porridge dishes, but to produce a finished pot of porridge, the processing process is very elaborate.
To make “con se”, the cook must choose delicious plain rice grains (when cooked, the rice will be slightly dry), wash them thoroughly and then soak them in cold water for about 12 hours. After soaking, the rice is soft and will be ground into liquid powder.
“After that, the girls will filter the ground water powder through a towel or put it in a thick cloth bag and hang it high. When the water drains out, only the white, flexible, soft powder layer remains, which is the dough to make rice noodles,” said Ms. Hai – the assistant cook of porridge.
The pot of stew boiled and steamed with a delicious aroma. Mrs. Thanh took a large handful of dough, kneaded it a few times in her hand, and then began to knead it. This is also when diners understand why this dish has such a special name. His hands tightened the dough over and over so that it flowed into the pot of boiling stew .
“Sewing the dough with enough force in your hands, too light and the dough will be difficult to flow, and the dough will be uneven.” Mrs. Thanh said while kneading the dough, while Ms. Hai sat next to her and used her chopsticks to gently stir the pot of porridge to break the long sesame into bite-sized pieces. Porridge must be boiled on a wood stove with moderate heat so that the porridge does not burn the pot.
In addition to “con se”, the water used to cook porridge is also a factor that creates the delicious flavor of this dish. You can use any bone to stew pork bones, but the tail bone is best. The bones are simmered thoroughly for about two to three hours, giving a sweet taste. The meat put into the porridge pot is filtered from the bones to simmer, chopped very small and then stir-fried with dried onions and a little seasoning.
Not letting customers wait too long, Mrs. Thanh quickly used a little flour to make “con se” and put it in a bowl, mixed it with water and then poured it into the porridge pot. Just a few minutes later, the porridge had thickened. The sesame porridge was suitable for customers here. In some places, it’s delicious to eat hot, but when cooled, the porridge becomes softer and thicker, which is also very enjoyable to eat.
Many people consider the burnt layer of porridge at the bottom of the pot to be the “ultimate product”. The burned part is light yellow, very flexible and fragrant. Diners who eat the burned layer of porridge must praise its deliciousness and look forward to the pot of porridge running out quickly so they can taste more.
Ms. Thanh happily added that Ha Mo is a land with many long-standing traditions. Se porridge, O Dien ancient citadel, boat racing to catch ducks and cook rice, the unique cultural features in the green bamboo village next to the Nhue river have made countless people miss them.
Ms. Dinh Thi Ngan – Vice Chairwoman of Ha Mo Commune People’s Committee, also shared more about the origin of astringent porridge. Accordingly, in the sixth century, after winning battles, Lang Cong – the son of King Ly Phat Tu – created sesame porridge from available ingredients of pig bones and plain rice to feed the army.
“In Ha Mo commune for many generations, at weddings, parties or village festivals, porridge has been an indispensable dish,” Ms. Ngan said .
Many diners bought a cup of porridge. They were as happy as finding gold, partly because of the strange food, partly because of the cold weather. Holding a cup of hot porridge in his hand, Mr. Hoang Quyen (Dong Da district, Hanoi) complimented while eating: “This dish has a strange name but is very delicious. The taste is rich, fragrant with bones, the snakehead is flexible and soft, very strange.”
Many people were surprised when, from the familiar rice plants and rice grains that have been associated with them for generations, farmers in Ha Mo – the land bearing the vestiges of the state capital of Van Xuan, were able to cook a unique and complete porridge dish. Such quintessence of heaven and earth.
($1~24,000 VND)
Photo,Video: Internet (Vinlove.net)