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STICKY RICE (XOI)- GIFT OF MANY GENERATIONS

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For a country with a rich rice culture like Vietnam, products made from rice still hold an important position in the cuisine. Rice is present in most everyday dishes, from rice-centered family meals, to pho, vermicelli, banh cuon, banh chung, banh day, and banh... Besides, there is another extremely popular dish, which is Sticky rice.

For Vietnamese people, the image of Sticky rice is extremely familiar. Sticky rice dishes are extremely diverse, rich and processed according to different regions. Each type of sticky rice has its own way of processing and has its own special flavor. This is a dish that most people as well as all parts of the country love. Perhaps that is why sticky rice has been attached to the lives of Saigonese in particular and Vietnamese in general for a long time. Sticky rice represents the lifestyle of Saigonese and brings value to the country's culinary elite. Sticky rice is a must-try dish when you visit Saigon.

Vietnamese Xoi man (Source: thefeedfeed.com)

About Sticky Rice

The main ingredients for making sticky rice are usually glutinous rice, and sometimes sticky rice. Except for white Sticky rice, there is usually only glutinous rice with a little salt to make the finished product. It is ivory white sticky rice. This is the most common type of sticky rice. Other types of sticky rice are combined with other ingredients such as: purple from Camellia leaves, green from pandan leaves, red from Gac, yellow from green beans, etc.

Vietnamese colorful sticky rice (Source: behance.net)

The same cooking ingredients are also used from leaves, tubers, and roots of plants; nuts such as black beans, peanuts, lotus seeds, cashews, corn; plants such as meat, fish; fruits such as mango, durian, coconut, etc. to create variety for sticky rice.

Sticky rice is made from glutinous rice and by soaking it for a few hours before cooking. The rice after soaking will be soft, clean, mixed with a little salt and separate ingredients depending on the type of material depending on the type of Sticky rice. Cook sticky rice by boiling in water over low heat until the sticky rice is soft.

The way to cook sticky rice (Source: oola.com)

Only with white sticky rice with foods such as fried rice, sesame salt, pate, sausages, roast meat, smoked meat, chicken, eggs, sausages, beef rolls, spring rolls, sausages also form sticky rice dishes. Sticky rice is not a strange dish for everyone, but it is a dish that makes many people nostalgic when enjoying it.

Xoi- The companion gift

Packages of sticky rice are like a favorite snack of children. Sticky rice appeared in the lives of Vietnamese children very early, maybe from the time they started to eat, adults would give them some soft sticky rice, or maybe it was from the pack of sticky rice that their mother bought at the alley in the early morning and put them in the school bag is breakfast for children on the way to school.

The most familiar image of sticky rice to most of us is probably the simple banana leaf-wrapped sticky rice packets. Small packages of sticky rice, which fit in the palm of your hand, are warm and fragrant with a subtle aroma of sticky rice and beans. Sticky rice is associated with life as a childhood gift when going to school.

When a little older, sticky rice is considered the main dish. People often choose salty sticky rice combined with side dishes to supplement energy. Sticky rice is full of nutrition, delicious, long-lasting and has many flavors to choose from.

Just an everyday dish, but sticky rice also comes to us in many different shapes: from sticky sticky rice (mixing pounded green beans, sweet and fleshy), Xoi xeo (finely pounded green bean sticky rice is held, served with fried onions), or sticky rice with peanuts, white beans, and black beans. There is also salty sticky rice, served with sausages, spring rolls, pate and quail eggs. The menu of sticky rice is extremely diverse, but surely you will not feel bored, because each dish of sticky rice has its own unique and delicious flavors.

Vietnamese Xoi xeo (Source: delightfulplate.com)

Moreover, sticky rice is a dish in solemn days and memorable milestones of a person's life. Made from glutinous rice, sticky rice has many different versions and variations from flavor, shape to color. Because it is popular and easy to cook, every house usually has a full set of tools to cook sticky rice. On important occasions, the table is never without this dish.

Every day, every hour from the time you go to school until you grow up, go to work, sticky rice is also an indispensable dish on important occasions. Sticky rice has appeared as an indispensable offering item in the cradle party, the worshiping ceremony (the custom of worshiping when children turn 12 years old in the lunar calendar, on the occasion of a full round of 12 zodiac animals). Moreover, sticky rice is also indispensable in both weddings and engagements.

Vietnamese Red sticky rice for important occasions (Source: behance.net)

Spiritual culture

Sticky rice, in any form, in the Vietnamese mind is always associated with the image of a dish with high spiritual and cultural value.

Sticky rice is associated with beautiful childhood, daily life and also in literature. Stories about sticky rice emphasize the precious value of sticky rice in the lives of Vietnamese people. Sticky rice for Vietnamese cuisine is a gift that is deeply attached to the spirit of people. Xoi has accompanied generations of Vietnamese people from childhood to adulthood. And it will continue to accompany the next generations as a reminder of spiritual nourishment. This is a dish that every generation of Vietnamese people loves.

For expats who want to find safe and affordable accommodation in Ho Chi Minh City to settle down Hoozing offers a fast & professional rental process to meet your requirements. Contact Hoozing directly via 0906663265 or the main website to make a request.

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