(VOVWORLD) - A rice steamer is a familiar item of kitchenware among the Thai ethnic minority people in Vietnam’s northwestern region. They use it to steam rice and other dishes, as well. Although the life of the Thai has changed a lot, every household still uses a wooden or bamboo steamer every day.
 A Thai woman is steaming glutinous rice. (photo: VOV) |
The Thai people of Vietnam’s northwest live in stilt houses and have a diet that consists largely of steamed glutinous rice, vegetables, roots, and fruits.
For boiling water, every household has a bronze pot similar in shape to an hourglass. A bamboo rack with a narrow bottom and a flared top is placed on the pot to steam glutinous rice and other food. Thai parents often give a steamer to their son when he gets married and starts his own family.
Tong Van Hịa of Son La city has a profound knowledge of Thai customs. “Every Thai family has a bronze pot and a steamer. When a son gets married, his parents give him a steamer as a dowry. The young couple use the steamer to cook the first glutinous rice meal in their new house, with a wish that their wood stove will burn continuously as a symbol of happiness and prosperity. They steam not only glutinous rice but many other foods to eat with rice,” Hia said.
 A wooden steamer of the Thai (VOV) |
In the past the steamer was carved from a durable wood which resists cracking. Now people weave bamboo or rattan steamer, which are cheaper and more environment-friendly.
Tòng Văn Hịa says they choose long, straight, mature bamboo tubes. The bamboo is split into strips and finely polished to remove splinters. To weave a two-layer steamer, they use thin strips for the outer layer and wider strips for the inner layer. The outer layer should be woven neatly. Between the two layers they insert fiber to hold the heat.
Tong Van Hịa said it takes 3 to 4 days to make a rack. “Making a wooden steamer is very difficult. Only men can do it. Now we make bamboo and rattan steamers to steam rice and other food. If we left a wooden steamer unused for a long time, it would crack. It’s easier to find material for and weave bamboo steamers. We don’t have to cut trees in the forest.”
 bamboo rice steamer of the Thai (photo: VOV) |
When steaming rice or another food, they put a round bamboo griddle inside the steamer, which fits the narrow bottom.
“The steamer is a kitchen essential. All our guests want to eat glutinous rice. They order hot sticky rice, grilled sticky rice, or fried sticky rice,” said Tong Thi Bien, who owns a Thai restaurant.
Thai people sell bamboo steamers at mountain fairs or shops of tribal products. It costs about 6 to 7 USD for a bamboo steamer and 13 to 20 USD for a wooden steamer, depending on the size.