Festival to see selection of national flower

HA NOI – A Spring Flower and Drinks Fair which has opened in Ha Noi will see some last-minute politicking for the selection of Viet Nam's national flower.

The fair will also feature a photo exhibition by HCM City-based photographer Tran Bich dedicated to the lotus, a leading candidate for designation as the national flower.

Bich is dedicated to photographing the lotus, and his images capture many shapes of the lotus, from bud to faded flower.

Orchids, peach and apricot blossoms are also in contention for the title of national flower, however.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will gather votes on the national flower, national costume and national wine during the festival, and the national flower will be announced on Friday at the Viet Nam Lotus Spirit Gala.

At the Lotus Spirit Gala, artisans from Ha Noi, Hue and HCM City will create crafts and artworks celebrating the lotus, including lotus lanterns and sculpture and silk lotus.

"We have used many materials to celebrate the lotus," said Ha Noi-based artist Nguyen Manh Hung. "Since it's not the season of the lotus in the north now, we have received fresh lotus from the southern province of Dong Thap."

The competition to select the national costume hasn't gone as smoothly.

"The ao dai is already the national costume for women, but it's difficult to choose the national costume for men," said Vi Kien Thanh, chief of the ministry's art, photography and exhibitions department.

Meanwhile, the selection of a national wine plan is still in the survey stage, Thanh said. Over the past three years, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Viet Nam Alcohol, Beer and Beverage Association have nominated ruou can (wine drunk from a jar), rice wine, coconut wine and apricot wine for the honour.

The Spring Flowers and Drinks Festival will continue through Sunday at the Culture and Art Centre at 2 Hoa Lu Street.

The fair will exhibit and offer prizes for wines and spirits made by both traditional and modern methods, offer opportunities to sample wines, tea and coffee, and will feature performances, folk games, an ao dai (traditional long dress) fashion show, and calligraphy exhibition, as well as recreate customs such as the Kitchen God Festival. At least 50 enterprises will also display products for Tet, including decorations and ornamental trees.

Ha Giang Province will take the spotlight, recreating a provincial market day with local specialities, cuisine and festivities of the province's ethnic people, including pan-pipe dance and folk duets. – VNS

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Lotus likely to be Vietnam’s national symbol

Lotus could become the “national flower” of Vietnam as the fragrant plant has been so far voted the most favorite flower followed by apricots.

However, the final result will only be announced on January 29th .

According to an ongoing poll carried out since April last year, at the present time, 40.3 pct of respondents show their support for lotus, 33.6 pct pick apricots, 9.5 bamboos, 8.2 pct peach flower and 1.2 pct orchids, among other popular flowers.

The Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism - the poll organizer - will continue to collect public opinions through the Tet’s Flowers and Drinks Festival at the Vietnam Culture and Art Exhibition Center in Hanoi lasting from 25 to 30 January.

At the festival, lotus is expected be nominated as the national flower. Visitors will have a chance to enjoy the flower through different angles: lotus in worship ceremony, in “Mot Cot” pagoda architectures, in paintings, cuisine…

During the festival, 15,000 more ballots will be handed out to visitors.

This poll has been conducted at schools, union foundations and at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

On January 29, the final vote counting will take place at the Van Ho Exhibition Center, Hanoi and be aired live on VTV1.

The flower with the most votes will become the country’s national flower.

Lotus has been a very special cultural image of the Vietnamese for generations. It is very easy to spot with huge, green and colorful ponds of lotus everywhere in rural areas. Lotus has taken deep roots in the Vietnamese minds and hearts and widely considered as the symbol of simplicity, hospitality and purity. Lotus has leaves, bud, flower, seed, stem, and root. Though growing in muddy ponds, lotus is able to purify the water. Especially, lotus is not surrounded by butterflies or bees from the moment when it blossoms till it withers. In Buddhism, lotus is a symbol of mystery, illusion, and depth. Blossomed flower symbolizes for the past, lotus cup for present, and lotus seeds for the future, continuity. In architecture of Vietnam, in Buddhism, the image of lotus is applied in housing architecture with the meaning of salvation and enlightenment. Typical architectures with lotus are the one-pillar pagoda in Ha Noi, "Cửu phẩm Liên Hoa" tower, But Thap pagoda in Bac Ninh…

 

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A wine to tempt Bacchus

Vietnamese, whether rich or poor, like to serve their meals with cups of glutinous-rice wine. It comes in various kinds, depending on location and people’s social status, often mixed with medicinal herbs, roots, or fruits.

But of all rice wines, those scented with flowers are the most treasured because they are the most difficult to make.

Reverently called “poet’s wine,” those scented with chrysanthemums gathered at the end of autumn or lotuses at summer’s end exude fragrances that are immortalized in proverbs and poetry.

Like Asians elsewhere, Vietnamese set great store by lotus flowers which blossom bright and clean in mud. The lotus’ scent, considered nature’s quintessence, is reserved for the most cherished teas and wines.

In Hanoi, residents of Thuy Chuong Ward in West Lake District have long been admired for their superbly fragrant lotus wine which they made to offer to kings, though this once-glorious profession seems to be dying out.

Only connoisseurs know what lotus rice wine really is. Many still mistake it for rice wine made from lotus seeds. Both kinds help prevent aging, tranquilize the mind, and boost memory and health but the latter is easier to make and much less fragrant.

Making West Lake lotus rice wine is a complicated process. The ingredients - glutinous rice and lotus flowers - must be first rate. The lotus flowers must be the large type with layers of big petals hugging hundreds of smaller ones.

But they are rare and can only be seen in West Lake now. Wine makers gather the flowers before dawn, remove the petals, and gently pluck off the white anthers at the top of the pistil. One hundred flowers normally yield just one tael (38 grams) of anthers.

The anthers are dried under the sun and soaked along with lotus seeds in white-rice wine. After three to four months, the scents of the wine and lotus intertwine to create an exquisite drink that Vietnamese only share with their closest friends.

Temptation of rice wine

After a few months of fermentation, the wine acquires the light yellow color of morning sunshine. The lotus anthers and seeds are at the bottom, leaving room for the wine that rises up clear and beautiful.

The fine, mild scent of lotus has blended with the strong odor of rice wine.

Served in tiny cups on a breezy moonlit night with intimate friends around, lotus rice wine is an unequalled treat.

Hanoians make many dishes from lotus flowers, like sweet porridge with green beans and lotus seeds and lotus-scented tea, but lotus rice wine remains their most treasured. Yet, few have the chance to taste it now.

If you desire a sip or two, your only chance is perhaps to drop by West Lake, buy some lotus flowers, and ask the sellers if they happen to make lotus wine and are willing to share it with you.

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Hue’s sensational sweet soups

Che hat sen (lotus seed sweet soup)

The imperial city of Hue is not just famous for its citadels and pagodas. As a popular saying goes, “Hanoi has 36 streets, Hue has 36 kinds of sweet soup.”

The central city’s iconic che, as it is broadly known, is usually made from various kinds of beans and sometimes sticky rice, and can be served hot or cold as a dessert.

A particular feature of Hue dishes, including che, that sets them apart from other regional cuisines in Vietnam, is their relatively small serving size and refined presentation, a vestige of their royal origin.

There are two types of Hue sweet soup, che cung dinh (royal sweet soup sold in restaurants) and che hem (hem means an “alley” in Vietnamese). The first is famous for its sophisticated cooking process and presentation while the second is a bit simpler.

But both reflect Hue people’s patience and devotion to work, which usually make their dishes sensational and unique.

It is very common for people drop into sidewalk shops run by street vendors in Hue to enjoy a bowl of sweet soup costing just VND5,000 (25 US cents).

Xich lo drivers drive tourists into narrow alleys where small shops serve even more delicious stuff for the same price.

The most popular che cung dinh dishes are che hat sen (lotus seed sweet soup; see photo), che hat sen long nhan (lotus seeds wrapped in longan pulp), and che dau ngu (kidney beans sweet soup).

The alleys sell a wide range of sweet soups, including che bap (corn sweet soup), chebot loc thit quay (sweet soup made from cassava flour and roasted pork), che khoai mon (taro), che chuoi (banana), and che buoi (sweet soup made from pomelo peel, green beans and cassava flour).

Hueans are proud of two ingredients that are unique to their sweet soup: lotus seeds and corn.

The best lotus seeds come from plants growing in Tinh Tam Lake, which records say King Minh Mang of the Nguyen Dynasty ordered built for entertainment. His servants used to make him fragrant tea from the seeds and petals taken from its lotuses.

The best corn comes from a field in Con Hen (Clam Isle), a poor area where residents make their living mostly from fishing and farming.

The islet is now a popular tourist spot which has many food shops selling com hen (clam rice) and che bap.

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Treatments With Lotus Leaves

Lotus leaves have long been used to refresh the body, relieve flu and lose extra weight

Many are aware that lotus leaves have been used to wrap some food sold at traditional markets to keep them fresh, or to cover rice or fried rice dishes at many restaurants. They have also learned about medicinal properties of many parts of the lotus, particularly its seeds, bitter germs, seedpods and roots. Still, few know about the benefits of lotus leaves.

In traditional Vietnamese medicine, lotus leaves are considered to be bitter and mild, and good for the heart, liver and stomach. Lotus leaves are therefore used to cure sunstroke, diarrhea and rheumatism, relieve dizziness and stop bleeding.

Contemporary studies show that, aside from the aforementioned remedies, lotus leaves can also be used to reduce unexpected weight and prevent arteriosclerosis because the leaves have exclusive alkaloids and flavonoids. They can help detoxify the body against the toxic properties of certain mushrooms.

Remedies

Prepare porridge with a little rice; when the porridge is boiling, add a fresh lotus leaf onto it; simmer the porridge until it has a greenish color. Eat the porridge during the day, with or without a little white sugar, to refresh the body in summer days, facilitate digestion and relieve fatigue.

Or, prepare porridge with a little rice, two lotus leaves and a little rock sugar. Eat the porridge regularly to accelerate urination, eliminate fats, improve blood circulation, and prevent high blood pressure and strokes. The porridge is highly recommended for the elderly.

Simmer lotus leaves, kim ngân hoa (Flos Lonicerae japonicae), watermelon rind, gourd (Luffa cylindrica) rind and bamboo shoots. Drink the solution twice a day to refresh the body, boost the function of the lungs, and relieve headache, coughing and blurred vision.

Prepare a drink with sliced, fresh lotus leaves and five jujubes. Drink it during the day like drinking tea. This drink can help relieve fever for both children and old people.

Squeeze seven lotus leaves and seven lotus roots; add a little warm water and honey. Drink the solution when it is still warm, twice or thrice a day, to boost the blood and refresh the body.

Soak dried lotus leaves in boiled water and drink it during the day instead of drinking tea for two to three months. This drink can help lower the cholesterol level in the blood and lose extra weight.

Boil a drink with a little dried (or fresh) lotus leaves and dried sn tra (Crataegus monogyna). Drink it during the day to boost appetite and digestion, lower the cholesterol level in the blood and protect the liver. The drink can help prevent cardiovascular diseases and reduce unexpected weight.

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