Rice is not only the staple of Vietnamese diets, but also the major ingredient in many signature dishes.
Blended flavors: Before being grilled, the chicken is soaked in salt, herbs as well as ground mắc khén grain (a type of pepper), chili and lemongrass. — Photo Hương Viên
Besides
the better known ubiquitous stir fried rice, the chicken rice of Hội An town
and the rice cooked with coconut typical of the South, cơm lam is a feature of traditional festivals of several ethnic
groups. These include the Tày, Dao, Mường, Nùng, Thái in some Northern mountain
provinces like Cao Bằng, Sơn La, Yên Bái, Lào Cai and Hòa Bình, as well as in
the Central Highlands provinces.
There
is no official document indicating the origin of this dish. But based on its
name, it is said to have originated in the Thái ethnic community of Việt Nam.
In the Thái language, lam means
"grill", indicating the cooking method. while lam in the Việt language means "green blue", a reference
to the colour of the bamboo tube covering the dish.
It
is said the ethnic people who lived in remote mountainous areas often went to
the forest to gather wood for cooking or building houses. These long-distance
trips could take several days, and the men would bring along rice, salt and a
knife as basic necessities. As they also had to find a way of cooking without a
pot people eventually discovered how to grill rice in a bamboo tube.
Nature’s pride: A cơm lam cooking contest held in Sơn Dương District in the northern province of Tuyên Quang. — Photo Anh Tuấn
Locals
would use young bamboo tubes, cutting out one side in which to place the sticky
rice and add salt and water. The tubes are then rolled evenly in the fire.
Before eating, people would peel off the green cover, which turned black after
being grilled. By the smell from the rice tube or the color of the bamboo, the "cooks"
would know whether the rice was ready to be served.
The
bamboo tubes must be new and fresh so that when rice is cooked, the aroma of
bamboo is well absorbed into rice grains. Rice bamboo can be cut into smaller
tubes. The texture of rice is smooth, adequately sticky. Taking a bite of rice,
diners also feel the taste of fresh bamboo engrained in rice.
This
cooking method preserved the nutrients and aroma of sticky rice as the two
sides of the tube were closed during the cooking process. Nowadays, ethnic
people have developed dozens of variations of cơm lam, in which peanuts or bamboo shoots are added to the sticky
rice.
Preserving nutrients: A local of Hòa Bình province puts sticky rice into a bamboo tube. — Photo Trương Vị
Cơm
lam is considered a healthy dish especially for pregnant and breastfeeding
women. It is believed healthier for the mother’s milk than rice cooked in metal
cookers.
Cơm lam can be served with grilled chicken
or pork, yet some prefer it with muối vừng
(minced roasted peanuts with ground sesame and salt) only.
Though
the dish does not include meat, it provides a sufficient amount of glucid,
lipid and protid with high nutritional value. Cơm lam can be used within seven days of preparation without
spoiling. In wartime, ethnic people would offer this useful dish to soldiers.
Good for pregnant women: Locals in Hòa Bình Province prepare bamboo tubes for cơm lam cooking. — Photo Trương Vị
Grilled chicken
Besides
cơm lam, ethnic people in some
northern areas of Việt Nam also make other lam (grilled) dishes, including
grilled fish, birds and vegetables.
Chicken
raised in mountain areas are often known as "hill chicken"
(free-range chicken) and they taste better than chicken grown in cages. One
should not miss the chicken dishes when visiting these areas.
Before
being grilled, the whole chicken is soaked in salt, herbs as well as ground mắc khén grain (a type of pepper), chili
and lemongrass. The seasonings and herbs placed inside the chicken are nicely
blended with the flesh and boost its flavour. The aroma given off by the
chicken cooked on the fire is mouthwatering.
Chicken
is served with chẳm chéo, a typical
dipping seasoning of the ethnic people, made of salt or fish sauce with ground
lemongrass, lemon leaves, mắc khén,
garlic, chili and herbs.
What
makes chẳm chéo so special is the mắc khén, a fruit of the khén tree found
in the forest. Khén fruit, with their strong pepper-like flavor, are dried,
roasted and added to ethnic dishes.
By Hồng Vân/ VNS