Put glutinous rice in a bamboo tube and then bake it, this unique way of cooking rice of the Thai ethnic group has created a specialty with the “breath” of the mountains – Lam rice dish.
Unique dishes bring the “breath” of the mountains.
Not only a daily dish, but the rice lam of the Thai ethnic group is also one of the unique culinary cultures with the “breath” of the mountains. In the highland districts of Thanh Hoa today, the beauty of this traditional culinary culture is still preserved.
During festivals, Tet or days when there are precious guests visiting, Thai ethnic people often cook Lam rice to entertain guests and introduce this unique dish.
The main ingredients to make Lam rice include bamboo tubes and upland sticky rice. The bamboo tube used in processing bamboo rice must be fresh, not too young or too old. The bamboo tube after being cut from the forest will be divided equally into a bamboo tube, then washed.
To create a fragrant aroma for rice, people often use banana leaves or dong leaves to stuff them inside the bamboo tube.
Next is the stage of choosing glutinous rice, usually Thai people often use new upland sticky rice, large grain and texture to make rice. The sticky rice will be soaked in water for about 30 minutes – 2 hours, then washed, drained and put in a bamboo tube.
Normally, when pouring rice into the bamboo tube, the chefs will not fill the tube with rice, but must leave a moderate gap from the mouth of the bamboo tube so that when the glutinous rice is cooked, it will expand to cover the mouth of the tube.
After putting sticky rice into the bamboo tube, a small amount of clean spring water is added to make the rice. The amount of water is also given just right, otherwise the lam rice will be mushy and not flexible.
Lam rice tubes are prepared to be grilled on a wood stove.
Normally, sticky rice tubes will be baked on charcoal fire for about 1 hour.
When baking, you must rotate the bamboo tube continuously, do not let the bamboo tube burn too much and let the rice grains cook evenly. To check the doneness of the rice, people use their hands to smooth the bamboo tubes, when the bamboo tubes are soft and fragrant, then the rice is cooked.
The cooked bamboo rice tubes will be peeled off the outer cork layer to get the cooked rice inside. Depending on how it is made, there are places where people will use a knife to separate the thin bamboo tube inside into long bamboo tubes.
A finished tube of lam rice is fragrant with the smell of glutinous rice, mixed with the aroma of bamboo tube and banana leaves to create a unique and attractive taste.
Lam rice is cut into pieces to prepare for a meal. Normally, the indigenous people of the Thai ethnic group often use sesame salt or fish sauce to dip the rice lam.
On holidays, Tet or when there are precious guests coming to the house to play, on the tray of Thai people, it is often indispensable to eat this famous traditional delicious lam rice. Currently, if you have the opportunity to visit community tourism villages in Thanh Hoa, visitors will not find it difficult to see images of Thai women making traditional lam rice. Follow Dan Tri