Sticky rice in bamboo is a common dish consisting of sticky rice roasted inside specially prepared bamboo sections of different diameters and lengths. It is consumed both as a food and as a sweet dessert.
Names
The dish is known by various names throughout Southeast Asia, including
paung din (ပေါင်းတင်း) or
kauk hnyin kyi dauk (ကောက်ညှင်းကျည်တောက်) in
Burmese language,
kralan (ក្រឡាន) in
Khmer language, and
khao lam (ข้าวหลาม, ; ເຂົ້າຫລາມ, ) in
Lao language and
Thai language and
cơm lam in Vietnamese. In Lao and Thai,
khao means rice and
lam means the cooking process, which involves roasting the contents in prepared bamboo sections, while in Vietnamese
cơm lam translates as "bamboo cooked rice".
In Malaysia and Indonesia, it known as lemang, which is typically eaten during Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations, where it can be eaten with rendang. In the Philippines, this is known as binungey.
Variations
Cambodia
In
Cambodia, sticky rice in bamboo is called
kralan (ក្រឡាន). It is made by roasting a mixture of glutinous rice,
or
beans, coconut milk, grated coconut and palm sugar in
bamboo tubes over a fire
for around 90 minutes.
Kralan is often eaten at Chinese and Khmer New Year.
According to archeological evidence, rice has been cooked in bamboo already by the Mon-Khmer tribes and in
Khmer Empire kralan was used as
military rations, which has led historian Dr. Michel Tranet to conclude that the method of roasting sticky rice in bamboo tubes originated in Cambodia.
Thma Krae village in
Kratie Province and Samrong Khnong village in Battambang Province have become well known for their sticky rice in bamboo.
During harvest season, Cambodian Buddhists in the Angkor region celebrate a particular nocturn rite during which local peasants lay down next to each other in what is called a plang kralan (ប្លុងក្រឡាន) as sticky rice bamboo being grilled to form a human bridge on which the Buddhist monks walk in order to obtain merits and hope of an abundant harvest.
Laos
Sticky rice is ingrained in the national culinary heritage and figures in religious traditions of the Lao people.
Since ancient time Lao people used sticky rice to prepare Khao Lam for both feasting and offering to monks.
Today, Lao Khao Lam may be made with white or purple (
khao kum) sticky rice mixed with coconut cream, beans, small pieces of taro or sweet potato. It can be consumed as a sweet or a festival and celebration food that is frequently served with Lao grilled chicken
ping kai. Khao lam and Ping Kai are so popular they are sold on roadsides in Laos.
Myanmar (Burma)
Paung din (ပေါင်းတင်း) or
kaukhnyin kyidauk (ကောက်ညှင်းကျည်တောက်) is another ready-to-eat portable form cooked in a segment of bamboo. When the bamboo is peeled off, a thin skin remains around the rice, and it also gives off a distinctive aroma.
Thailand
Khao lam uses
sticky rice with
Azuki bean, sugar, grated
coconut, and
coconut milk. It can be prepared with white or
Black rice (
khao niao dam) varieties of glutinous rice. Sometimes described as a "cake", thick
khao lam containers may have a filling of
coconut custard in the center that is made from coconut cream, egg, and sugar.
Khao lam can be consumed as savory food or dessert. It is a cultural food and is an OTOP
product. Moreover, Thai people present
khao lam to
monks to make merit. Further, it is gradually becoming a Thai tradition.
In the past, Thailand had innumerable bamboo trees. Thai people thought about the utility of using bamboo for cooking purposes. The ingredients of khao lam are glutinous rice, black beans, coconut milk, sugar and salt.
File:Khao lam87.jpg| Khao lam with coconut custard
File:Khao lam ข้าวหลาม riz gluant cuit avec du lait de noix de coco dans un tube de bambou thailand.jpg|An opened khao lam with purple sticky rice
Vietnam
In Vietnam, it is called
cơm lam and found in the Northwest Mountainous Area. It originated when
mountain people, such as the
Tai peoples, would prepare for long journeys by pressing wet rice (
cơm) with added salt, into bamboo tubes, and cooking.
[ Anthropos Volume 99, Issue 1 Österreichische Leo-Gesellschaft, Görres-Gesellschaft, Anthropos Institute - 2004 "3.1 Cơm lam The Vietnamese still see the Tháy as people who eat cơm lam, muôi ông (in-bamboo-tube cooked glutinous rice and who salt in bamboo tube). They believe, when one is in forest regions, one has to eat this type of com ..."] Cơm lam is also served in Central Highlands food stalls with chicken.
[Vietweek, Thanh Nien News, Vietnam Youth Association Delicacy made in a bamboo stem - Visit the Central Highlands to discover spectacular sceneries and eat and drink like a mountain dweller June 8, 2012 print issue, June 16, 2012 web edition. "Anyone visiting the Central Highlands should try cơm lam (rice cooked in bamboo stems) and grilled chicken. It is a fascinating experience to eat the rice and chicken by dipping it in sesame and salt and drink rượu cần (a beer-like drink sipped through a long bamboo pipe from a jar) like the mountain people do. Cơm lam has its origins in the mountainous lifestyle when tribesmen made long journeys through the forest to work on mountain fields."]
File:Cơm lam Tây Nguyên.jpg| Cơm lam from the Central Highlands
File:Cơm lam 5.jpg| Cơm lam before grilling
See also
External links
