“Bánh cốm” – Speciality of Autumn!

Fresh Green Sticky Rice is often wrapped in lotus   leaves

Coming Hanoi in Autumn, you can dive yourself in the fragrance of hoa sữa (milky flower) dimming in the wind, feel the lightly cool air that is found at no where else in Vietnam. That is why Hanoi is famous for special cuisine and for the Hanoi-featured autumn.

A special natural gift reminding me about autumn in Hanoi may be “Bánh Cốm” only or “Green sticky rice cakes” with the green color and sweet taste mixed into the fragrance of grapefruit flowers. I remember one of my Hanoianfriend said that for her, nothing evokes autumn like the taste of young rice from Vong village, the grain so sweetly scented that they left a lasting impression.

Sweetened Green Sticky Rice Soup

Every autumn, paddy planters havest the sticky rice at the certain moment when the paddy begins to ripen and still contains milk. The best glutinous grains are reaped only at early dawn to make the best “cốm”. At night, the grains are dried in a large pan over a soft fire and then pounded in stone mortars. This is then repeated exactly seven times so that all the husk is removed from the young sticky grains. This careful, detailed process results in the most beautiful green colour of the grains as we often see on the bamboo tray of some old vendor.

The most famous destination where you can buy Bánh Cốm now is located at Hang Than. An over 1 km street is impressed by the green of banh com every autumn coming. Taking a dozen of Bánh Cốm and present to yourfriends, why not?

Green Sticky Rice Cakes

To make a simple green sticky rice cake is not too difficult for any housewives especially Hanoian. Now the packaged green sticky rice is available in the supermarket so that you can make this sweet treat at any time. However, the best recipe is succeeded with fresh green sticky rice flakes. Then you need sugar, some water, 1 teaspoon oil. The most wonderful thing is some grapefruit flowers to make the green rice flake cake has its own flavor.