Sapa is an indispensable destination in Vietnam tours. Visiting Sapa, you will have a chance to enjoy a lot of delicious specialties such as grilled fish, grilled egg, five-color sticky rice, fish hot pot and so on. Among these famous dishes, Lam rice is one of the most unique ones which you should not miss in your Sapa tours.
1/ The basic characteristics of Lam rice
Unlike other dishes, Lam rice is not cooked in the normal pots but in the bamboo tube. The rice for cooking is necessarily the upland rice which is grown on the terraced fields in Sapa. If not, Lam rice will be crushed after being cooked. The selected bamboo has to be the fresh and young one in order to create a distinctive flavor for Lam rice. Actually, this unique dish is especially served in some important ceremonies of the village or to welcome the tourists in Sapa tours. Also, due to frequently going to the fields, the local people have come up with this way for convenience. Therefore, it has become a regional culture in Sapa over the time.
2/ The cooking process
To make Lam rice, people have to clear the rice firstly. Then, they put it into the bamboo tube, pour an amount of water corresponding to the quantity of rice and use banana leaves to seal the tube. After that, they put all the bamboo tubes on a bundle and roast it on fire for about an hour until it is completely ripe. However, the way to get a fire is quite complicated. It requires the cook to not only rotate the rice bamboo pipe in a skillful way but also keep the coal temperature at a suitable rate. Thus, Lam rice will be much more tasty and savory.
Today, the way to cook Lam rice is slightly renovated to make it more attractive to tourists. To be specific, besides the rice, the cook also adds a little coconut oil and a few sticky leaves to make it fattier and more eye-catching.
3/ The flavor of Lam rice
Each tube of Lam rice is just enough for one person. When eating, you can cut the bamboo tube in two and take the rice in the bowl for convenience. More sophisticatedly, you can cut the burned black layer outside until it is only a thin bamboo layer. Then, you continue cutting it into several small pieces. When enjoying Lam rice, you can scent a characteristic fragrance of the upland rice in a very clear way. Usually, Lam rice is served with sesame or grilled meat including chicken, pork, beef or fish. Depending on your appetite, you can choose one of them to mix with Lam rice to have an unforgettable meal in your Vietnam tours.
See more
