How Sticky Rice Chronicles the Vietnamese Life Story

In the culinary map of Vietnam, sticky rice is located as an outstanding dish. In Vietnamese, sticky rice is called “xôi” made of “nếp”, which is different from a common grain for cooking rice.  The name of each kind Vietnamese sticky rice is the name of the beans cooked with glutinous rice such as “green” bean sticky rice, “black” bean sticky rice, “peanut” sticky rice, “corn” sticky rice and “gac” sticky rice. These are sweet sticky rice dishes enjoyed as desserts.

Five-color Sticky Rice (Source Internet)

 Besides that, Vietnamese people also created savoury sticky rice such as mixed sticky rice, fried sticky rice, chicken sticky rice, duck sticky rice, etc. That makes the menu of Vietnam sticky rice plentiful. In culinary culture, sticky rice is also considered such a precious dish. In parties, banquets or some important meals, sticky rice is served instead of rice.

Corn Sticky Rice (Source Internet)

Sticky rice is not only a name of a dish with a simple recipe but also brings the stories of some Vietnamese people relating to it. In everyday life, sticky rice is identified as a student's dish because it is cheap and often sold to students for their breakfast. The food that was once eaten quickly when the school drum sounded. Students' memories always have memories of sticky rice packages. The pieces of banana leaves wrapped over sticky rice became a reminder of the image of Vietnamese countryside infiltrating the fast-paced urban life.  The image of sticky rice sellers, especially the female elderly bears the look of poor laborers in urban Vietnam.