Bac Me bamboo-tube rice is a specialty dish of Ha Giang that any visitor here wants to experience. The flexible rice is baked in a bamboo tube, so it smells slightly burnt. Today, let’s explore more about this delicious dish of Ha Giang with Karst Plateau! It definitely won’t disappoint you!
1. Introduction to Bac Lam bamboo-tube rice
Simple but extremely delicious dish
Ha Giang is not only famous with tourists for its natural landscapes but also attracts people with its delicious and nutritious specialties such as Au au porridge, dried buffalo meat, steamed rice rolls, buckwheat cakes, etc. In particular, Bac Me Ha Giang bamboo-tube rice is perhaps the specialty that makes the deepest impression in the hearts of diners.
It can be said that Bac Me bamboo-tube rice is one of the quintessential specialties of Ha Giang. It is made from the rice of heaven and earth, where the terraced fields turn golden every September. Bamboo-tube rice is now not only a dish but has become a typical cultural feature of the Northeast ethnic group.
Bamboo-tube rice is sticky rice cooked in bamboo tubes creating a completely different flavor
The dish has a harmonious and delicate combination of glutinous rice and bamboo aroma, blending together when grilled on a charcoal stove. Unlike in modern cities, most of the rice is cooked with electric pots, but the lam rice here is used by people using bamboo pipes and bamboo sticks to store rice. And also thanks to the rustic cooking method, it has brought an attractive flavor that makes Bac Me bamboo-tube rice hold many tourists when coming to the Northeast highlands of Ha Giang.
2. Ingredients to make Bac Me bamboo-tube rice
Bac Me bamboo-tube rice, Ha Giang has a characteristic flavor that cannot be confused with any other rice dish. The ingredients for this dish are also not sophisticated and expensive.
The most important thing to create Bac Me bamboo-tube rice is to find the best quality ingredients. The first ingredient is glutinous rice. People choose rice very carefully because rice is the decisive factor for the deliciousness of the dish. It is a type of glutinous rice grown and cared for by the locals themselves. Rice must be planted on a farm, fragrant, and the grain is round evenly and firmly.
Choose upland sticky rice, mildly fragrant, sticky, delicious, and firm in grain
Besides, we need to have bamboo pipes. People always prioritize choosing fresh bamboo trees. The stem is not too young, not too old, not too thin, not too thick. Because if the plant is too young, it will easily crack when cooking. When it is too old, there will be no longer a thin silk film, which will not create a characteristic taste. Besides, the bamboo pipes should be evenly sized. Because when storing rice in a tube, the rice will cook evenly on all sides and cook faster.
People always prioritize choosing fresh bamboo that grows naturally in the forest
And yet, the water used to cook rice is also an ingredient of interest. The water will be taken from ravines, the headwaters of streams. Ensure the highest clarity, coolness, and hygiene of the water. In addition, locals also need to prepare Dong leaves or banana leaves. This ingredient makes the dish much more fragrant.
3. Steps to process Bac Me bamboo-tube rice
Bac Me bamboo-tube rice, Ha Giang is considered a specialty that is very popular with locals and tourists. The way to prepare this dish is not complicated, but it is quite strenuous and takes a long time.
First, rinse the rice and soak it in water overnight. This stage helps the rice grains to bloom, white, fragrant, and more flexible when cooking. Next, add a little salt to the rice and mix well.
Soak glutinous rice overnight to make the rice bigger, fragrant, flexible and whiter
Regarding bamboo pipes, after being taken from the mountains, people will cut down the tree into many small sections. Each section will leave a burner as a closed bottom and one end will be cut off to open up. Next, put the rice almost in the mouth of the tube. When pouring, the rod is strongly ballasted the pipe into the ground so that the rice is all the way to the bottom. This stage also helps the rice grains to be firmer, more even, and not clumpy.
During the baking process, bamboo-tube rice will be continuously adjusted and rotated slowly so that the rice can cook evenly and be as flexible as possible.
Next, pour the prepared spring water into the bamboo pipe. Then, use fresh banana leaves or dong leaves to seal the mouth of the tube. Soak the tube in water for about 30 minutes before cooking. After soaking for a sufficient time, take the bamboo tubes and arrange them on the charcoal stove. Heat over medium heat, not too high or too low. Avoid burning rice and losing the natural scent of the blue tubes.
4. Enjoy Bac Me bamboo-tube rice to the right taste
Bamboo-tube rice when combined with grilled chicken is also extremely rolling and delicious
When eating you will clearly feel the aroma of rice mixed with the smell of bamboo and banana leaves. However, when combined with other dishes such as galangal salt or sesame salt, this dish is taken to another level. Sesame salt has the typical aroma of sesame, and galangal salt is spicy when combined with the sweet taste of blue rice. In addition, you can also eat it with grilled chicken, which is also very delicious.
5. Where to enjoy Bac Me bamboo-tube rice?
Visitors can easily find stalls selling Bac Me bamboo-tube rice cooked by locals and brought to the market to sell
In the past, Bac Me bamboo-tube rice, Ha Giang was considered a companion of ethnic minorities. They often take them to work as farmers and go to the forest. Because rice is stored for a long time, it does not spoil for a long time. Nowadays, bamboo-tube rice has become more popular. You can find this dish in many places.
Specifically, Bac Me bamboo-tube rice is currently sold a lot in Ha Giang markets. You can enjoy them at Dong Van Fair Market, Quyet Tien Market Ha Giang, Meo Vac Night Market, etc. Here, you can easily see the stalls selling this attractive dish. Besides, Ha Giang restaurants also serve tourists with bamboo-tube rice. Visitors can easily find stalls selling Bac Me bamboo-tube rice cooked by people themselves and brought to local markets.
Bac Me bamboo-tube rice, Ha Giang is a highland specialty although familiar but has its own taste. This specialty promises to bring you unforgettable flavors. Hope the article of Karst Plateau will be useful to you. Wish you a happy trip to Ha Giang, and have many meaningful memories.