From the corn capital
Hoi An has entered the days of March. Gentle breezes chase each other across the streets. From early morning, the corn fields on the other side of the Hoai River have been bustling with greetings. Many years later, the “Cam Nam sticky corn festival” is no longer reserved for the people of Hoi An, but for each plant on the riverside beach.
Now, on street corners, vendors selling sticky rice with corn and beans have appeared inviting customers. Through many months and years, many seasons, from January to February, Hoi An enters the season of... sticky rice with corn and beans.
In the past, this was a snack that mothers and grandmothers saved for their children when they came back from the market. Now, it is not only a breakfast dish for school-going children or people rushing to get to work, but also a specialty that has a sweet and fatty taste in the hearts of tourists from far away.
Cam Nam is the land of corn. From afar, Cam Nam looks like a small island next to the old town, surrounded by branches of the Thu Bon river downstream. Alluvium creates fertile, rich land. The downstream branches feed the people here with products bestowed by nature such as mussels, fish, brackish water shrimp, cassava, potatoes, alluvial corn... Cam Nam farmers take advantage of favorable conditions to specialize in growing corn every year, seasonally, like rice.
Cam Nam corn delicacies have long become a part of Hoi An's heritage. Without a warm greeting or an enthusiastic invitation, people who come and go still want to enjoy and keep forever the flavor of a boiled corn, a bowl of corn sweet soup, grilled corn or a package of corn sticky rice. Especially, in the early spring weather, the warm sunshine and the cool breezes make visitors feel more fully the deliciousness of the small, pretty corn sticky rice package.
Sticky rice with corn and beans on the street
Cooking corn sticky rice until it is cooked and retains its characteristic stickiness and aroma also requires a special secret. If the corn is small and the kernels are light yellow, it can be used for stir-frying or frying. To have delicious grilled or boiled corn, you must choose corn that is not too old and not too young, so that the corn will be sticky.
As for the sticky rice with corn and bean, you must choose plump, white, fragrant, sticky corn. The corn is at the stage of milk production and plump. When the outer silk layer is peeled off, the corn kernels are opaque white. If you want delicious sticky rice with a pure sweet taste, you should pick the corn near dawn, when the fog is still thick, which is the time when the corn absorbs the most nutrients and water.
Freshly harvested corn, peel off all the kernels, rinse, clean and remove the kernels that float to the surface. Then put the corn in lime water and boil for about half an hour. Quickly pour into a tight-fitting bamboo basket and wait for the corn to cool, rub until the husks come off. Remove the husks and rinse several times to clean the corn thoroughly and remove the lime smell.
Next, add the steamed black beans over high heat and mix with the corn. Place the pot of sticky rice and corn next to the red ash, continue roasting and pounding the peanuts until the salt and beans are mixed together and as small as rice bran.
Reach for the pair of chopsticks stuck in the bamboo tube in the corner of the kitchen, stir the corn evenly, then gently cover the bottom of the basket with a layer of banana leaves or lotus leaves before serving the sticky rice.
To keep warm, fill the basket with sticky rice, combine with a layer of leaves on top, and place a towel to help the corn sticky rice retain heat but not smell.
Every time a customer buys, the seller just needs to scoop out the right amount of sticky rice, carefully sprinkle bean salt on top to suit each customer's taste.
Tourists can hold the whole hot sticky rice package while walking around the old town and enjoying it. Although it is just a small, rustic snack made from available ingredients in the fields and gardens, with a little bit of skill, this popular dish from Quang people is enough to attract many diners...
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