It is impossible to mention autumn without mentioning cốm (green rice flakes) of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam.
When September arrives with its warm and breezy weather, the aroma hiding somewhere in the yellow sunshine is the captivating fragrant of cốm wafting through the gentle air of the early morning. The month is not only a signal of the start of another school year, the end of endless summer trips, but it is also an indication that cốm season is just around the corner. It has been a long-standing tradition of Hanoi people to consume this delicious treat annually during the fallen leaves season.
What is Cốm?
Cốm
Cốm is basically freshly harvested glutinous rice that is toasted to bring out its delicate flavour. Cốm is chewy and its taste is sweet, fragrant, and nutty, which makes it very addicting to munch on. This flavourful treat is usually eaten as a snack on its own, wrapped in lotus leaves, so it is not something to fill one's stomach but rather something to have a conversation over. However, it is said that cốm is best consumed with yellow ripe bananas or red ripe persimmons. When not being devoured on its own, cốm can be used as an ingredients for other dishes, such as cốm sticky rice (xôi cốm), cốm rice cakes (bánh cốm), and as breadcrumbs to fried food.
How is it made?
Making cốm is actually a very long and physical demanding process. The first step is to harvest the glutinous rice grains from the plant, which is often nếp hoa vàng, a variety of sticky rice. Before harvesting, grains are checked to determine if the quality is right yet, grains cannot be too old nor too young. If the taste is milky sweet, then the grain is ready.
After being harvested, the rice grains are then cleaned and put into a roasting pan over a wood fire. The roasting pan is usually cast iron. During this step, it is important that the grains are stirred thoroughly and the process usually takes around 30 minutes.
Roasting "Cốm"
After roasting, the grains are let to cool down. Afterward, they are transferred into a big mortar, where the pounding process takes place. Grains are pounded evenly in rhythmic in order to remove the rice husks. On average, the pounding is done 7 times to completely remove the husks.
Pounding process
Finally, cốm is ready to be wrapped in 2 layers of leaves. The inner layer is aroid leaf (lá ráy), which is used to retain the moisture of cốm and keep it fresh and soft. The outer layer is lotus leaf and its purpose is to create a beautiful wrapping and bring a lovely scent to the treat.
The Best Place to Buy Cốm?
It is said that the best place that produces cốm is Vong Village (Làng Vòng) from Hanoi. To Hanoi people, cốm from Vong Village is near and dear to their hearts, as the cốm grown, harvested, and made specifically by the people of the village brings delightful flavour and fragrant that other places cannot compete against. Vong Village's cốm making tradition is approximately 700 year old and it is said to be one of Vietnam's quintessence in general and of Hanoi in particular.
There is a famous folk poetry that indicates the well-known food and ingredient of each destination:
“Cốm Vòng, gạo tám Mễ Trì
Tương bần, húng Láng còn gì ngon hơn!”
which can be translated into:
"Cốm from Vong, rice from Me Tri
Soy sauce from Ban, and mint from Lang, nothing can be more delicious!"
From the saying, it is suggested that Cốm from Vong Village is top quality that no where else can surpass.
Vinamilk and Its New Cốm Yogurt
To welcome autumn, Vinamilk (the largest dairy company in Vietnam) introduced cốm flavoured yogurt to the public. The flavour is said to be similar to cốm flavoured ice cream with a very distinct cốm taste. Although there are contrasting opinions on the product, it is undoubtedly a very bold and innovative move of Vinamilk, which is highly praised by Vietnamese consumers since cốm is a cultural quintessential ingredient of the nation.
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