Hanoi (VNA) - As Tet approaches, a group of gourmetsfrom Hanoi have visited the northern province of Cao Bang to seek thebest mien dong (canna vermicelli) to make cellophane noodles. Therhizomes of the plant are full of starch.

“Every year we travel to Nguyen Binh’s Phia Den village to buy the Cao Bangspecialty," said housewife Nguyen Thi Huan from Hanoi’s Dong Da District.“I’ve tried many sorts of mien from the country’s three regions, butthe organic product from Phia Den is the most tasty. It has a sweet flavour andis soft but crispy and firm when cooked.”

Phia Den villager Nong Thi Mung, 68, said:  “God has given us a cool andtemperate climate year round and fertile land suitable for planting maize,cassava and particularly cu dong rieng do (red edible canna) whichhas the most aromatic flavour.”

First, the noodle makers have to choose big and mature dong rieng roots,then clean them and grind them until they produce a flour as white as ivory.The flour is then mixed with cold then hot water until it becomes thick andsticky. It is then poured into a simple gadget with a row of holes that squirtthe liquid out onto a moving bamboo frame. They are then dried in the sun forseveral days.  

Mung said mien dong can be used for many dishes, such as mien ga (chickenvermicelli), mien cua (crab vermicelli), mien ngan (goosevermicelli), mien luon (eel vermicelli) and many others, noting thatthe Tsy ethnic group to which she belonged often fried mien withwood-ear fungus and mixed it with boiled chicken pieces, onion, lemon and mint.It can also be used to make nem ran (fried spring rolls).

Chicken vermicelli

The dish is always popular at birthday parties, anniversaries of all kinds andparticularly Tet. Every Tay family prepares the dish for Tet parties,said Mung.


"To make it, I choose a capon between 2.5 to 3kg raised by myself,boil it until it well done and has a fragrant smell. The capon is removed, letcool and then cut into pieces. The sweet chicken broth should be kept simmeringon the fire and then being scooped into a big bowl filled with chicken piecesand the cellophane noodles,” she said, adding that the dish should be eaten hotwith coriander and pepper.

“Thanks to our high quality Phia Den mien dong, the food is tastyeven when cool,” said Mung. In Tay households, any visitors arriving at newyear are welcomed with a bowl of mien. This promotes friendship betweenneighbours and people as long and durable as mien noodles, said Mung,noting that they were considered a valuable gift for relatives and friends.

Mixed fried vermicelli

Mung said all her family liked the dish, although in the past it was only eatenat dinners to remember the departed or during Tet, adding that she neverforgets the taste of the dish cooked by her grandfather. The ingredients heused were very simple and contained no shrimps, beef, eels or seafood, butonly mien dong (0.2kg), chicken egg (1), pork (0.2kg), carrots,garlic, celery, cooking oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, salt and pepper.

To make a tasty dish, she advised cooks to choose Phia Den vermicelli."Before cooking, you should soak the miến in water, but only for10 minutes. After that you should dip the noodles in boiling water and thenquickly soak them in cold water to keep them firm so that they doe not sticktogether when frying.".


The last stage is to fry the pork and other ingredients until well done andthen put the mien into a pan and fry for five minutes until they arefirm and even crunchy. “You should put cilantro-flavored herbs or laksa leavesand pepper over the dish to make it more tasty,” said Mung.

“For Cao Bang people, a bowl of Phia Den vermicelli cooked with chicken, woodears or fragrant mushroom at Tet is not simply a dish. Eaters experience theflavour of their native land, bringing families closely together,” she said.

Truong Manh Hao, a herbalist from Nguyen Binh district’s Centre for TraditionalMedicine, said mien dong helped reduce weight, triglycerides andcholesterol. It was also good for diabetics.
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“The root of the dong rieng is a good medicine for tooth pain, hepatitisand ear infections,” Hao said.-VNA