Bustling Tien Vua vermicelli village

BUN SONG T HEN TIEN VU

About 34 km northwest of Quy Nhon City, along the banks of the Kon River, An Thai is not only famous as the cradle of traditional martial arts in Binh Dinh but also the oldest traditional craft village in Binh Dinh. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, An Thai craft village was known as a bustling urban area with highly developed crafts such as: forging, metal casting, carpentry, paper, vermicelli, cakes, silk weaving, dyeing... but now only vermicelli and cake crafts still exist and develop into brands.

In An Thai, there are many specialties associated with the traditional craft village such as: An Thai rice paper, vermicelli number 8, round rice vermicelli, dong vermicelli (banana root vermicelli), fake rice vermicelli, Vietnamese flour vermicelli, pho noodles, and especially Song Than green bean vermicelli. Among them, the most famous is Song Than vermicelli, also known as Tien Vua vermicelli.

Song Than vermicelli is the most famous vermicelli of An Thai craft village.

According to Mr. Vo Van Tam (71 years old, in An Thai craft village), Song Than vermicelli is famous for its special delicious flavor and high nutritional value. This is a premium type of vermicelli, very nutritious. During feudal times, local officials brought Song Than vermicelli to the king, so it is also called Tien Vua vermicelli.

The name "song than" (or "song than") comes from "song thang" (meaning two parallel strings). Originally, the vermicelli was called "song thang" because when making the vermicelli, people pulled two parallel vermicelli strands at the same time; later, it was mispronounced as "song than".

Currently, An Thai vermicelli is divided into 3 types: noodle vermicelli, rice vermicelli and Song Than vermicelli. Each type has a different price.

WHITE NIGHT TO MAKE NOODLES

At the end of the year, people's demand for vermicelli increases, this is also the time when An Thai craft village is more bustling than ever. Coming to An Thai craft village, it is not difficult to see pure white vermicelli rolls, long rice paper like silk strips drying on bamboo trays under the sun and wind on the golden sand of Kon River, creating a very peaceful scene and attracting many tourists to visit.

However, to have beautiful, quality vermicelli and cake trays, people have to stay up all night to make them. Taking advantage of the days without rain, around 11pm, An Thai craft village starts working, people are busy with the stages of preparing vermicelli and making products. It is not until dawn, when the cake trays are brought out to dry on the banks of the Kon River, that people can rest in peace.

An Thai village's vermicelli trays dry along the banks of the Kon River.

With over 40 years of experience making vermicelli, Ms. Phung Thi Sen (62 years old, in An Thai craft village) said that vermicelli making is not too difficult, the steps to make vermicelli are not too complicated, but each establishment and each household has its own secret. "To make delicious vermicelli, the most important thing is still the quality of the sticky, fragrant rice. The rice flour must be soaked, ground thoroughly, soaked and filtered properly and for the right amount of time," Ms. Sen said.

To make 1 kg of Song Than noodles, it takes 5 kg of green beans. 5 kg of green beans are ground and filtered many times to produce 1.2 kg of pure white green bean powder, then kneaded to make 1 kg of dried Song Than noodles. The weather at the end of the year is often unpredictable, but if it is sunny, on average each family can produce more than 100 kg of noodles per day. To have enough noodles to sell during Tet, many families have to hire extra help.

Ms. Tuong Thi Huyen Anh (in An Thai craft village) said: "During Tet, the facility processes over 1 ton of rice per day, producing 800 kg of dried vermicelli. All the products produced are sold. The facility has 16 workers, earning 150,000 - 200,000 VND/person/day".

Thanks to the meticulousness from preparation to execution, An Thai vermicelli is famous not only in the province but also exported to neighboring provinces such as Gia Lai, Kon Tum, and even exported to Laos and Cambodia.

Currently, the people of An Thai village, Nhon Phuc commune, An Nhon town are also focusing on expanding the production of dried vermicelli and rice paper to supply the market in many places, thereby developing the family economy and creating jobs for many people. Thanks to that, it helps this traditional craft village to develop more and more, not to be lost like other traditional craft villages. (continued)

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/lang-nghe-truyen-thong-vao-vu-tet-nhon-nhip-lang-bun-tien-vua-185240123225358609.htm