The rice pounding festival opens the harvest of the first ripe rice flowers in Ngoc Chien field.

As part of the New Rice Festival in Ngoc Chien Commune, Muong La District in 2024, the Com making competition attracted a large number of people and tourists to watch and cheer. The Com pounding festival marked the beginning of the harvest of the first ripe rice flowers in Ngoc Chien field with the wish to pray for favorable weather, good crops and bountiful harvests.

Tan sticky rice is a specialty of Ngoc Chien land with a unique aroma that is not found everywhere, and has been grown by the White Thai people for generations. When the rice fields begin to ripen the first rice flowers, it is also the time when the Thai people in Ngoc Chien go down to the fields to pick the best quality rice flowers to make green rice flakes.

The Com pounding festival is part of the "New Rice Celebration" Festival of Ngoc Chien commune, held in August and September every year.
Photo: Nguyen Vinh

To make delicious green rice, the rice must be selected from the local specialty sticky rice variety, not too old or too young. Then, put the rice in a pan and roast for about 20-30 minutes until the rice is cooked, then let it cool.

With careful preparation, 8 teams from the villages demonstrated their skill and experience in making green rice flakes. Green rice flakes are hand-picked, then roasted over a moderately hot stove. This stage requires skill, the green rice flakes must be roasted continuously and evenly, the young rice grains are slowly cooked; then, they are pounded in a mortar until the rice grains are gradually separated from the shell, revealing the young green rice flakes. To preserve the natural color and flavor, the green rice flakes are wrapped in dong or banana leaves, tied with dry rice stalks.

The green rice is hand-peeled and then roasted over a moderately hot stove. Photo: Nguyen Vinh

Rice pounding festival carries the cultural beauty of the Thai people

According to the leader of Ngoc Chien commune, Ngoc Chien commune currently has over 660 hectares of rice, of which about 50 hectares are sticky rice. The white Thai people's green rice pounding festival is part of the "new rice celebration" festival. This is a ritual of special significance that cannot be missed during the festival, bringing traditional cultural beauty to the daily life of the Thai people. Green rice is also an indispensable food on the new rice celebration tray of every family in Ngoc Chien commune.

Rice used to make Com must be sticky rice, grown in separate fields with good soil, clean water, and only organic fertilizers are used to fertilize the rice plants. Through the festival, it contributes to enriching the spiritual life of the people, attracting tourists to the beautiful land of Ngoc Chien.

To preserve its natural color and flavor, green rice flakes are wrapped in dong or banana leaves. Photo: Nguyen Vinh

Thai ethnic women participate in the rice pounding competition. Photo: Nguyen Vinh

Ngoc Chien commune fields seen from above. Photo: Nguyen Vinh