Five-color sticky rice is an important dish of most ethnic minorities in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam. The name of the dish comes from the fact that it comes in 5 colors.
However, different regions may call this dish differently. For example, the Muong people call it multicolored sticky rice; Tay ethnic people call it sticky rice with five colors, some other people call it sticky rice from Dam Den… On festivals or other special occasions, women look for different kinds of leaves with different colors to enjoy. make this unique and interesting dish.
Photo: poliva.vn
In short, what makes rice’s color is not chemicals but natural leaves. The five colors of the dish represent the five elements in the Vietnamese concept: yellow is earth, green is tree, red is fire, white is metal, and black is water. It is believed that the existence of these five elements creates the prosperity of heaven and earth of man. So, to create the desired color, they must find and collect the correct leaves. These leaves are then boiled before being put in a large bowl along with the rice to create different colors.
Photo: luhanhvietnam.com.vn
In the past, every time a woman needed to make sticky rice with five colors, she had to go to the forest to find sticky rice. Fortunately, today five-color sticky rice has not only become a traditional culinary feature but also a delicious specialty that is loved by tourists from all over the world. Therefore, people decide to grow the tree right in their garden and then sell the leaves at the market. These naturally colored leaves are then used to make a wonderful sticky rice dish that everyone will fall in love with.
Source: https://traveland.com.vn
