Thanh Hà

HÀ NỘI -- Just an hour from Hà Nội, Ba Vì Commune offers more than cool mountain air and green horizons. Tucked into its gentle landscape is a simple pleasure that keeps visitors coming back: sữa chua nếp cẩm, a creamy pairing of yoghurt and softly sweet fermented black glutinous rice.

A foreign friend of mine, Chiam Jia Xin from Malaysia, recently joined my family on a visit to Ba Vì National Park, Ao Vua (King Pond) and Thượng Temple.

Ba Vì is a paradise of fresh milk, milk cakes and many kinds of yoghurt, especially black glutinous rice yoghurt, all of which we enjoyed immensely.

Chiam was so taken with sữa chua nếp cẩm that he could easily enjoy several bottles at a time, each weighing around 120 grams.

“The dish brings me a lot of joy because of its characteristic flavour from naturally fermented, mildly sour yoghurt and soft, lightly sweet fermented black glutinous rice. It is creamy without ever becoming boring,” Chiam told me, adding that it would be a perfect treat in the hot summer — or anytime you want something refreshing.

My Ba Vì relative, Nguyễn Thị Lan, guided us to a household producing fresh milk and sữa chua nếp cẩm, run by Tạ Thị Năm.

When we arrived at Năm’s home, she welcomed us to sample her freshly made sữa chua nếp cẩm. Chiam quickly made himself at home, enjoying three bottles and declaring how much he liked it.

Năm, whose family has been raising a herd of 70 dairy cows for more than two decades, said she supplies around 700 kg of fresh milk daily to a milk purchasing station in the hamlet.

“Apart from fresh milk, I also make sữa chua nếp cẩm for sale. My six family members earn a living from this work. Each drop of fresh milk is the result of our efforts tending the herd from early morning to late at night. No one in my village underestimates the dairy farming business. It is a source of great pride for us,” she said.

A taste rooted in memory

Nguyễn Linh Phương, from Hà Nội’s Cầu Giấy Ward, said Ba Vì milk products, including fresh milk and black glutinous rice yoghurt, have been treasured gifts since her childhood and remain so for her entire family.

“I still remember that when I was in primary school, I would often stand at the gate waiting for my father to return from work in Ba Vì with a bottle of sữa chua nếp cẩm for me. I will never forget its buttery richness and fragrant, savoury taste,” she said.

Ba Vì has been a centre for dairy farming since the early 20th century, introduced by the French due to its favourable natural conditions — cool climate, suitable soil and abundant fodder for the herd, Năm said.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Ba Vì became a cradle of livestock farming in Việt Nam. Despite the disruptions caused by the anti-French and American wars, the number of dairy cows in Ba Vì grew to thousands, she added.

Ba Vì milk products are now widely sold in Hà Nội and northern provinces, as well as in HCM City and several provinces and cities in the central region, Năm said. — VNS