Remember when I was a kid, remember the first time my mother taught me and my sisters how to make a fire to cook rice. In the countryside that day, starting a fire was very simple, just a little dry straw, a piece of rubber band or a little bagasse is enough. Firewood is collected around the house, stacked and interwoven, leaving a space for the fire to enter; There are times when lighting the fire first and then arranging the firewood around. The fire burned, my sisters and I happily clapped their hands in excitement. Small round eyes looked curiously at the burning sticks. The gray-white smoke followed the slits of the tree trunks flying in all directions, piercing the eyes and noses of the children who were staring at them, stinging. Yet we were still laughing and joking, using our hands to “slash” the smoke like real warriors. I remember the most days when it was raining, when the firewood was wet, my sisters and I blew the stove and coughed because of the smoke. Or on summer days, when the southwest wind blows strongly, the fire is blown to one side by the wind, the rice cooker on the stove has a ripe day. For a long time we were attached to the wood stove, with the smell of kitchen smoke. When I remember those days when I was a child, my heart feels happy again… The strong aroma of the kitchen smoke lingers here and there. From the small kitchen, that smoke followed the wind up to the dark thatched roof, crept through each wall of earth, ran to the back of the house, and flew straight to the sky with many unique shapes. In our imagination, it is sometimes a flying dragon, sometimes a leaf in the wind, or a rope stretching up to the blue clouds… There are afternoons we are busy chasing in the fields, the smell of smoke The kitchen mixed with the aroma of food made us children stop, inhale, and then hug our hungry stomachs and run straight home. In the minds of the children, the smoke from the kitchen was rising and it was time for lunch. Grilled dishes in charcoal are always attractive to any child, are the favorite dishes of children in the countryside, and arouse curiosity for children in the city today. Sometimes it’s just a hastily dug sweet potato in the garden or a cashew nut that has just been picked from the tree, immediately put in the embers on the stove, buried in the gray ash and wait. The faint aroma follows the smoke into each cell, evoking each sense, making people irresistible. Hold the potato and just poke it out from the coal stove, blow it and eat it, hot and fragrant. Memories of a small day suddenly came back so clearly and warmly. For those who grew up in the countryside, the fire is also a place of peace and a place to return to. My mother often said: “On the first day of the year, what can be forgotten, but must not forget to light a fire to warm the house, it will bring good things to us”. And that was also the first thing my father did on New Year’s Day, no matter how many years passed. My sister and I sat around the fire with our hands warmed. The strong scent of kitchen smoke wrapped us again, interspersed with children’s stories. That lovely image keeps reminding me… In modern life, the wood stove, coal stove has gradually been replaced by gas stove, electric stove. The corner of the kitchen is also clean now, no longer black on the walls, and no soot flying around. I was also reeling in society, seeming to have forgotten the smell of smoke rising from the branches of the trees. Suddenly I realized how long I had rushed through the best memories. I am grateful and grateful for the habit of cooking water every morning with my parents’ dear wood stove so that today, I can smell the smoke from the kitchen. Even though my eyes sting because of the smoke, I still feel as happy as celebrating. Apparently, it’s been a long time since I’ve had time for myself, with my mother, back to the peaceful countryside that raised me up. And to return to my childhood days with the light, fragrant smoke in the morning… MAKEUP

The wood stove in the corner of the 5th floor of Ms. Mai Vuong’s family. In the photo, Ms. Vuong’s mother is wrapping banh chung for Tet. At first, the idea of ​​building a wood stove on the 5th floor of Ms. Vuong was opposed by her husband for fear of fire and explosion, causing heat to pour downstairs … But after hearing her persuasion, Ms. Vuong’s husband – an architect, Find out reasonable solutions for the wood stove on the 5th floor of the house. The kitchen was built with refractory bricks by the family, built away from the wall, creating an open slot to reduce the heat of the oven. Kitchen smoke is led up to the roof through a chimney 1m away from the roof. The stove is in a fixed area, the firewood is kept in a separate area to avoid the ashes scattered on flammable items. At the same time, the whole house is equipped with a smoke alarm system, each floor is equipped with a fire extinguisher. The 5th floor area of ​​Ms. Vuong’s family is also a space with an open side, instead of being enclosed in 4 walls. Here, in addition to the wood stove, she also sets a dining table, grows flowers for family and friends to eat, drink tea, and chat with. On the Facebook group, the AHN account said: “My family is okay, but it’s too dangerous for the surrounding houses if anything happens. My house cooks from itself, the electric system switches itself off and cooks at night. After that, you have to unplug all the wires from the socket “. “The front of the house is empty space, there is no house behind the house with 5 floors”, Ms. Vuong explained before the ideas that the kitchen could endanger the surrounding community. The wood stove is located on the 5th floor with open space. After building a kitchen, she returned to her hometown to buy galangal, rice husks, peanut shells, and collect longan firewood from her garden for fuel. The old cast iron pots in the past were also “spared” to Hanoi to cook rice. “I really like the kitchen up here, so every time I have time I go to the 5th floor to cook for family and friends to come and play. I make all the dishes every day from the kitchen, from cooking rice to fish storage, boiling meat, baking dishes … There are rustic dishes that only wood cookers can do, also my friends come to play at home. For example, burnt rice from a cast iron pot, ”shared Ms. Vuong. Thanks to the wood stove, last Tet, her family was able to cook 4 pots of banh chung. From fried beef … … until fried beans are cooked on a wood stove. The kitchen is built of flame retardant material. The wood stove of Ms. Vuong after sharing on Facebook received many compliments and expressed her excitement. There are also many opinions that the wood stove only satisfies the taste of the country for a moment, but it entails many other inconveniences in cleaning the pots, smoke in the eyes, hot when cooking in the summer, especially. especially the risk of fire and explosion. However, for someone who likes country feeling like Vuong, those shortcomings can be completely overcome. “To me, cooking with wood stove is very relaxing and enjoyable” – Ms. Vuong said.

But lotus has not come yet Outside the door frame A heavenly sky with March. *** Single pomegranate blooms hastily in front of the porch A red dot like just ripe love Who knit Lady Bang’s shirt For winter to be paused Just a little Sweet enough to be cold. *** My mother sat and prayed for the pond How familiar it sounded so loud I love past March days ago Thin tuber potato slices of cassava instead of rice. *** My sister now dressed better Sparkling eyes, radiant smile You are not like the old buffalo cutting grass The first is a muddy foot in the afternoon sun. *** Mother happy excess white rice in March Girls’ rice is fragrant Mom made the cake float Mom makes a cake Respectfully dedicate to the ancestors. *** The older the name can not be called Raised sails young boys Even if you go in all directions I still want to be like a childhood Back home with mom Sweeping into the kitchen smoke in March. Comment by Dr. Nguyen Thanh Tam Nguyen Thi Dao Tinh’s poem is entwined and close as a familiar memory from May in her mother’s house. March reminds me of the grief. Love is just ripe, a little cold sweet, the child’s eyes sparkle, the scent of rice, the more girls and the old ones raise their children … a moment of coming back to play with in the last season outside the door frame. The young man sails will go away, but perhaps in the tension of the new wind, the old loves still ceaselessly comforting, nurturing, the Four poems formed in the moment we realize a nostalgia in the spring and summer sky. tenderness. March song beckoning me back.

Illustrations: LE ANH. The road from the Tay village to Khuoi My, the village of the Ao Dai Dao is not very far, nor is it entangled with a steep and steep pass. The charming curves tighten the waist, slowly slack like an indigo lap. At times, the ears also buzzed, the neck was cold, but the clouds were able to calm them. The clouds here are warm like kitchen smoke in my friend’s house, wrapped around the body, hugging the mountain. Thanks to the altitude and humidity, which is different from other localities in the region, the roofs on stilts in Khuoi My are mostly green and mossy. The moss from year to year is good, and when you go inside, it feels warm like a blanket of heaven and earth, the mountains and forests are already warmed, covering the roofs of the four seasons hidden in the smoke, wind and clouds. Khuoi My is small, dreamy as the name itself, like the embodiment of the mountain girl. There are a few dozen households in the whole village, taking a short walk is the end of the day, everyone whose voice is strong, speaking at the beginning of the village, the end of the village is clear. Many people still say that the green on the roofs here often evokes feelings of sadness and regret. Those who come, go and return to this place will see a different moss color in each season. The moss green was darker, deeper, the blanket felt on the roofs heavier by the pain and attachment. I personally do not have that feeling. I find love, tolerance and protection very close, warm, peaceful, and peaceful. In the green color of young moss, the yellow color of the old moss is wilting and peeling, there is the warmth of mountains, clouds and the air radiating from each roof. The house where the whole village has joined hands to support each other since childhood. Nobody rented, bought or sold anything. Every house built a house, carved the whole village to make the roof. The tighter the roof, the more durable the sentiment. People cut palm leaves to dry, someone sharpens something, someone knocked on that, for a while they should have a home. The visitors arrived, the man of Dao Ao Dai ethnic group still kept his hands on a big cast iron pan. He looked back excitedly pointing to the seat for the guests, mourning: “Try to wait for this batch, we will invite tea!”. His family has made tea for many generations, harvested from the old Shan Tuyet tea tree, the body is as big as two embracing adult arms. People who want to pick tea have to wear the baskets on their backs, and take half a day to climb the mountain. The drinking table made from a forest log has dozens of different pots in size, style, and material. It seems that enjoying tea in mountainous regions is also very meticulous, no less next to other regions. This white tea is as white as snow, still with curved leaves, plump buds. This tea bar is thinner, the background is radiating in the warm terracotta. In addition to the “tea tools” made of wood, bamboo, and all kinds of terracotta pots, porcelain, and china, there are also pots of cymbidium, mountain ginseng covered with purple and turquoise cotton buds. I do not know if it is thanks to “rewarding” the delicate, pure tea flavor every day, but coming to Cymbidium, mountain ginseng, the plants that only like to stick deeply rooted in the source are still healthy, green but flowering, buds. Only at the tea table, we saw the harmony of yin and yang, the people who enjoyed the tea were more serene and more relieved. Tea infused, the host slowly raised a small cup with both hands to invite guests, the guests called to the kitchen to invite his wife to enjoy tea. The woman rubbed her wet eyes from the smoke of the kitchen. Women in this region have very beautiful skin, are always tense, red, with slightly freckled cheeks, sting marks, but also adorn their beauty to become salty, deep. On the head of the Ao Dai woman, her hair is neatly buned at the nape of her neck, above her forehead is skillfully wrapped around like a brim of a crimson hat, blue fringes are hanging above. The beauty is like a small portrait, with wild banana petals holding green stamens waiting for the day to come, gently covering her silky black hair, and above that, green moss-like roofs like the echoes of mountains and forests.

Ms. Mai Vuong said that at first, she only decided to build a stainless steel grill and then decided to build a wood stove. Talking with us, Ms. Mai Vuong (living in Hanoi) said that making firewood in the house is an idea derived from her hobby of baking and cooking dishes with home flavors. On the occasion of fixing the house, she and her husband decided to make the kitchen that they both cherished for a long time. “My childhood is associated with a simple wood stove. But I never thought of building a kitchen in the city like this”, Ms. Mai Vuong said. According to Ms. Mai Vuong, who was born in the countryside, the memories of dishes from the wood stove are always in mind … Wherever you go, you can remember the smell of kitchen smoke in your hands, hair, and food. how to eat so dear In Ms. Mai’s feeling, the food cooked with the wood stove is more delicious than the other kitchen. Building a wood stove in the middle of the city is not easy because the house area is not as large as in the countryside. Initially, Mai Vuong and her husband only intended to make stainless steel portable BBQ stoves. However, after the couple discussed, it was decided to build a stove to cook firewood. “The bricks that we use to build the kitchen are all refractory, the price is 70,000 VND / piece, the mortar is also refractory. The material that makes this stove is different from ordinary building materials” Ms. Mai Vuong expressed. The kitchen is placed at the corner of the wall, built about 3cm from the wall of the house, the oven has a brick outer shell, the inner layer in direct contact with cooking is used with fireproof bricks, above there is a chimney about 1m high with the roof . Before embarking on construction, Ms. Mai Vuong and her husband consulted many samples of fireplaces abroad. Fortunately, my husband is an architect, so it does not take too long to design. After building the kitchen, Ms. Mai Vuong bought galangal, rice husks, peanut shells and picked up firewood from the countryside garden and brought it up. She even brought a set of cast-iron and aluminum cookware from the countryside so that the kitchen in the middle of the street had a picture of the old wood stove. Since the kitchen, Ms. Mai Vuong often cooks dishes for both family and friends. Everyone who enjoys this dish cooked from the wood stove also compliments the delicious kumquat, especially the scorched rice dish cooked in a cast iron pot is loved by friends of Ms. Mai Vuong’s family. Although she has a new kitchen, Mai Vuong’s family still uses two parallel kitchens, the rooftop stove is used when practicing friends on weekends because it is suitable for baking dishes.

Ms. Vuong Mai shared on the culinary forum, the idea of ​​building a wood stove on the 5th floor of a house in the street was initially opposed by her husband due to fear of explosion, heat downstairs … but then she was convinced. husband.

And then, the wood kitchen right in the high-rise house of Hanoi was formed. The kitchen was built with refractory bricks by Mai and her husband, built away from the wall, creating openings to reduce the heat of the oven …

When the construction was completed, Mai returned to her hometown to buy galangal, pineapple, peanut shell and pick up longan firewood from her garden and find some cast-iron pots to cook rice as well.

Ms. Mai shared her idea of ​​the wood stove: “I am a rural girl, so memories of dishes from the wood stove. I miss very much … the smell of kitchen smoke enters her hands, in, hair, into food. The food is so dear, the food is also amazingly delicious. ”

“I do all the daily dishes of fish stock, cook rice with cast iron to burn, boil meat, grill fish, grill meat …”, Ms. Mai said. And now her kitchen is a place to regularly welcome friends and relatives to enjoy dishes cooked from firewood.

Mai’s words made the forum members extremely admired and touched.

“When I was a child, every time I went back to my hometown, the first thing I did was rush to the kitchen, to see if my grandmother was there, to sit with her by the aromatic fire, to enjoy the happy and simple moments of hometown … “, many people recalled their childhood through sharing of Ms. Mai.

The firewood kitchen was built by Ms. Mai’s house on the 5th floor of the house

Stir-fried beef with green onion is made on a wood stove

The old pots of parents in the countryside should be reused (in the countryside, nowadays, it is rare to cook firewood, let alone in the city)

Roasted peanuts

Fry the meat

Boiled rice cooked in a cast iron pot, which friends often order Ms. Mai

Cast iron pot to cook rice, fish grilled on wood stove

Braised fish with soil

Fried tofu

Boiled potatoes

Last Tet, Ms. Mai’s family boiled 4 pots of banh chung. Everything is carefully and meticulously made by her family and boiled by wood stove.

The lovely wood stove, making all the dishes of Ms. Mai’s house