A former tour guide in Ho Chi Minh City left the career she had dreamed of since childhood to return home and preserve her family's traditional rice paper craft, now passed down through three generations.
Giving up a dream
In a courtyard bathed in early morning sunlight, a steady crackling sound fills the air. Seeing her visitors' surprise, Ho Que Chau, born in 1981 and living in Phu Hoa Dong Commune, Ho Chi Minh City, quickly explains that it is the sound of dried rice paper peeling away from bamboo racks.
As she speaks, Chau hurriedly carries the bamboo racks into the shade. Neatly arranged across them are thin, round sheets of rice paper, white as grains of rice.
Chau's family is among those preserving the long-established rice paper craft in Phu Hoa Dong, a community in Ho Chi Minh City known for the tradition. Even so, she does not know exactly when handmade rice paper production first began in the area.
Chau said the craft has been preserved by her family and handed down from one generation to the next. Her own family has been making rice paper since her grandparents' generation, making her the third generation to carry on the tradition.
The thatched-roof house where Chau preserves her family's traditional rice paper craft. Photo: Ha Nguyen
Chau does not know exactly when the local rice paper craft first emerged. Photo: Ha Nguyen
From childhood, Chau was accustomed to seeing her family and neighbors lighting fires and making rice paper every morning. As she grew older, she began helping her mother and had mastered the craft by the age of 17 or 18.
But as a young woman, Chau was passionate about tourism and dreamed of becoming a tour guide. She gained admission to Saigon Tourism College and, after graduating, fulfilled that ambition by working as a tour guide.
"I worked in tourism until I got married and my mother began getting older," Chau said. "One day, she asked whether I wanted to continue our family's traditional craft. If I didn't, a craft handed down by my grandparents through generations might come to an end.
"I thought this was my family's traditional livelihood, something our grandparents had left us, so I wanted to preserve it even though it wasn't a way to get rich. It also gives me more time to be close to and take care of my family. So I decided to give up the dream I had when I was young and return home to continue making rice paper," she added.
After taking over the family craft, Chau retained the recipe passed down from her grandparents. Every stage, from mixing and settling the batter to steaming and drying the rice paper, is still carried out by hand.
Keeping the craft alive
Chau makes rice paper each day from 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. Photo: Ha Nguyen
Chau begins the process by mixing flour with water and salt in the appropriate proportions in the afternoon, then leaving the mixture to settle overnight. At around 2-3 a.m. the following morning, she and her mother wake up, pour off the water that has risen above the settled batter and light the stove.
Once the fire is glowing and the pot of water above it begins to boil, sending up clouds of steam, Chau starts making the rice paper.
Using a ladle, she pours batter onto a piece of cloth stretched tightly across the top of the boiling pot. She then deftly spreads the batter into a thin, circular layer.
Once cooked, the rice paper is lifted from the cloth with a cylindrical roller and laid across woven bamboo racks. By the time the racks are covered, the early morning sun is beginning to bathe the courtyard in golden light.
Most stages of the rice paper-making process are carried out by hand using traditional methods. Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Chau then takes the racks outside to dry. After about two hours in the sun, the rice paper dries and begins peeling naturally from the bamboo, producing the distinctive crackling sound.
Chau and her mother, Thai Huong Lan, born in 1960, stack the finished sheets and store them in hygienic plastic bags. Chau generally makes rice paper from 3 a.m. until around 9 a.m., producing between 1,000 and 1,200 sheets a day.
To meet growing market demand, Chau has also expanded into other products, including grilled rice paper with egg, ginger rice paper, chili rice paper and shrimp rice paper.
Diversifying the range allows her business to cater to different customer preferences and makes it easier to find buyers. However, because the rice paper is handmade and production capacity remains limited, Chau's products are sold only on the domestic market.
After steaming, the rice paper is dried in the sun for about two hours before being moved into the shade to cool and develop the desired flexibility. Photo: Ha Nguyen
Chau stacks the finished rice paper and stores it in plastic bags. Photo: Ha Nguyen
"I never thought before that I would end up making rice paper," Chau said. "But the longer I have stayed with the craft, the more I have realized that this is a traditional value that needs to be preserved and introduced to more people.
So in 2000, I opened the workshop to visitors so they could see and experience traditional handmade rice paper production. I'm also willing to teach the craft free of charge to anyone who wants to learn.
"Within my family, I am also trying to pass the craft on to my children. My daughter can now make rice paper, although what she produces cannot yet compare with the work of an experienced craftsperson," she said.
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