Vermicelli village in Binh Dinh busy ahead of Tet holiday
The An Thai vermicelli making village in Binh Dinh is busy at this time of year as local people work hard to complete orders for the upcoming Lunar New Year, known locally as Tet.
Approaching Tet, the whole village is busy producing glass noodles which can be found in dishes from soups, stir-fries, to hot pots across the nation during the annual spring festival.
According to Nguyen Anh Chung, owner of a local noodle workshop, the village was a traditional craft handed down from generation to generation.
Chung noted that the vermicelli looks simple, although it’s not easy to make it both delicious and tasty.
The making process includes powder making, thread forming, and drying.
The main ingredient in making the vermicelli is bean powder, not rice or wheat flour like in other kinds of vermicelli.
Local makers mince the beans and then put them into smooth flour. After that, they dry the flour once more before then soaking it in water.
They then take the mixture and put it in a large copper bowl which has many small holes in the bottom whilst letting the flour flow into a boiling saucepan.
The vermicelli will then change from dark to clear.
The makers take the strings out and let it cool off before forming them into small squares on a big wooden sheet.
The next step is for the makers to dry them in the sun.
The vermicelli is then ready to be packed for selling.