Vong Village is in Cau Giay District, 7km from centre of
Hanoi. This village is famous for com making.
Com is made from young glutinous rice, when the rice begins to ripen and still contains milk and fragrance. The village's traditional renowned craft of making com is still well preserved and developed, even with the advance of technology. The local farming industry does not supply enough rice for com; thus during the season, many villagers have to go to other framing areas near the capital to buy young rice. First, the rice is selected, thrashed, sieved and washed in large washers to eliminate the thin grains that float on the surface. At this stage, it turns to yellow from the original
Green colour.
Com is often eaten by hand, directly from the lotus leaves, a pinch at a time and chewed slowly to fully appreciate the flavour. It can also be eaten with persimmons or bananas or used as the ingredient for banh com (com cake), che com (sugary soup with com), cha com (pie made of pork and com) among which , banh com is the most well-known as it is used at almost every engagement ceremony. These kind of cakes are wrapped squarely with bananas leaves, tied with a red string and stamped on the out side with a Chinese character meaning "double happiness". With these characteristics, banh com is believed to be a symbol of a steadfast and eternal love. To those who have ever been engaged in farming, eating com often reminds them of a field of young fragrant paddy.
During its season, com can be seen on almost every street. The peddlers cry out loudly: "com, com...", but often it is unnecessary, as they are easily recognized by their paraphernalia: they shoulder two light bamboo baskets (com is not so heavy as other products) with lotus leaves on the top and a small bundle of paddy stems tied to the basket carriers, which are used to wrap and tie com.
