Rolled rice paper 1 m A restaurant in the alley of Truong Chinh Street, Tan Binh District, serving curious dishes, rice paper rolls 1 m. Different from regular rice paper rolls, this giant version is for 2-3 people to eat, priced at 30,000 VND/piece. The roll is full of traditional toppings such as dried shrimp, mango, laksa leaves, avocado, and eggs. In particular, the accompanying sweet and sour sauce is the highlight of this unique dish. Photo: Ho Nguyen Linh Phuong. Many diners expressed their enjoyment when experiencing this dish. Food blogger Tebefood shared: “You’ll know after you go, it’s even longer than imagined. One part consists of 3 pieces of rice paper put together, can eat about 2 people. The rice paper is a bit dry, those who like to eat sticky can love it. The house sauce is sour and sour, especially the owner gives a lot of butter, so it’s quite fat.” The restaurant has local delivery. In addition to 1 meter long rice paper rolls, you can order shrimp and meat salad rolls, dried papaya salad with black beef, beef… here. Noodle salad with vermicelli A small noodle shop hiding in an alley for 16 years on Nghia Hoa Street, Tan Binh District is the place to serve this attractive salad. The taste of traditional vermicelli noodles is wrapped in compact salad rolls. Different from the hot noodle dish, the vermicelli roll salad is cool and suitable for cooling off in the summer. The layer of rice paper is dipped in the broth to make it soft and flexible, then add the familiar ingredients of the capital noodle dish such as fried tofu, boiled water spinach, spring rolls, crab sauce… Fried onions are sprinkled on top of the spring rolls. , served with tamarind fish sauce. Dipping salad rolls in tamarind sauce, diners will feel the sweet and sour taste, strangely fragrant. In addition to spring rolls costing 5,000 VND, you can buy and take home vermicelli and noodle soup here. Photo: Thuy Van. Black dish from bamboo charcoal The dishes made from bamboo charcoal attract foodies because of its strange black appearance. From desserts to savory dishes, you have a wide selection of black dishes in HCMC. Originated from Quang Ninh mine land, bamboo charcoal bread impress diners with the black crust and filling. From 20,000 to 45,000 VND, you can enjoy “dark bread” with fillings such as squid rolls, broken crab, shrimp shumai, grilled chicken, grilled beef with cheese and roasted pork… Nguyen Thai Binh Street ( District 1) and Pham Ngoc Thach (District 3) are the places to serve this dish. Photo: Ruahaman, lien_lieng. Attractive from appearance to taste, bamboo charcoal sandwich with salted egg sauce is a strange and delicious snack that is loved by young people in Saigon. Crispy sandwiches, strangely filled with bamboo charcoal, combined with fat, fluffy salted egg sauce. The food court in Ho Thi Ky market is the place to sell this dish for 10,000 VND/piece. Combo “dark cuisine” including fish balls, chicken cartilage, pudding attracts diners. The restaurant on Le Van Sy street, Phu Nhuan district, serves this dish for 59,000 VND/meat. With a mysterious black color, bamboo charcoal cake is an upgraded version of Vung Tau street food. Cake flour is mixed with bamboo charcoal to help create color, basic fillings such as crab sticks, eggs, oysters, shrimp. Sweet and sour fish sauce, raw vegetables help diners not get bored. A mixed dish costs 55,000 VND, sold at a restaurant on Tran Dinh Xu Street, District 1. Bamboo Charcoal Pearl Coconut Ice Cream attracts foodies with its impressive fatty taste. Coconut ice cream with bamboo charcoal flavor, greasy taste, served with chewy pearls. The address on Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1, is the place to sell this unique dish. Noodle milk tea Vermicelli, a common ingredient in noodle dishes, is found in the novel milk tea drink. The shop on Ta Quang Buu Street, District 8, is where you can enjoy this type of milk tea. Milk tea is mixed with Taiwanese style, combined with black pearls, thread pearls, vermicelli… Vermicelli is made from coconut jelly. When eating, diners will feel the crunchiness and fat. A special feature of this milk tea is that when enjoying, in addition to a straw, diners have to use chopsticks to pick up the vermicelli topping. Photo: Luu Anh Khoa.

Bored of rice but born a job It was known as a purely agricultural village, but in 1347, during the reign of King Tran Du Tong, Chou village was very poor at that time, but all year round, every month, having to hang around with rice and vegetables, it became boring. Rice morning. At noon, the cake is also made from rice. At night, open the pot, and the rice is in the eye. But the habit of life, what is boring to the neck is difficult to swallow. There is a man with a gentle and pure nature who shares that feeling with the villagers of Afternoon. That is Mr. Tran Dinh Han. Just because he wanted to create a dish from the same grain of rice in the lowland countryside where he was buried and cut his navel to make it more attractive than rice, cakes and thin porridge, the man with only the grain of flour was restless and worried. endless days. Then suddenly, at one point, Mr. Tran Dinh Han’s mind suddenly came up with an idea: take the rice to soak, then drain the water and put it in a stone mortar. Packing of rice paper products. Next, the old man used a clean cloth to cover the pounded rice and filtered it into powdered water. Finally, the paste was coated on a cloth and placed on the mouth of the copper pot. The flour was steamed, then Mr. Han brought it out to dry in the sun. When that thin powder was dried, Mr. Han ordered his family to cut it into small pieces, then ordered his family to cook it. And when I eat it, it is very strange and delicious. So Mr. Han and his relatives overcame boredom. Seeing that, the people of Chieu village learned to follow suit. In addition to slicing into thin strips, Mr. Han came up with the idea of ​​​​bringing toasted dried cakes. The cake is crispy, delicious, and fatty in the mouth. People call it traditional rice paper. Mr. Han is worshiped by Chuong villagers as the ancestor of the rice paper craft. When Mr. Khan left the temporary realm and returned to the Motherland, the villagers honored him as the village’s tutelary god. The village name becomes a culinary “brand” Mr. Tran Minh Khoa, one of the “masters” of making rice spring rolls from Chuong village, confided to guests like this: “The first cake that Mr. Tran Dinh Han created, there is only one round size. , 20 centimeters in diameter, as thick as today’s pho. Then, over time, the ancestors of Afternoon village “converted” it into rice paper rolls with different sizes, shapes, and thicknesses, depending on the purpose of use such as fried spring rolls, Rolled rice paper rolls!”. The most interesting thing, from the day it appeared on the Vietnamese culinary map until now, although it is made by traditional manual methods and has not been mixed with any preservative chemicals, but rice paper rolls Afternoon village is famous for being durable with time; long-term degradation, even when stored at different temperatures and humidity. After drying a few cakes of freshly-coated and still hot cakes, Mr. Khoa suddenly could not hide his secret pride when he confessed, with his own recipe that is only passed down in the village, Banh Nem Chuong once eaten is remembered for a lifetime. , Can not forget; cannot be mixed with any other place. According to Mr. Khoa, in the past, the people of Chuong village started their work of making rice paper rolls around 5 am. Back in the day, it was “in the old days…” the dough for making rice paper rolls was hand-milled with a mortar. Until the cake is coated on the surface of the copper pot, it is still in the traditional manual way. In addition, the copper pot is heated with firewood, then with coal. So a rice paper roll was born, bringing with it the hardships and hardships of the person who made it. But now, the age of technology and machines has helped the people of Chuong village to be a bit more leisurely in the process of producing rice paper rolls with a greater number of products and better quality than the “once upon… that’s it! Each house has a secret Mr. Khoa happily shared, the process of making rice paper rolls requires careful, meticulous, thoughtful, clean and very professional to produce products that reach the “brand” of Chuong village. The first is the choice of rice. It must be the “brother” of Khang Dan rice that the people in the area cultivate to “catch the eyes” of the workers who produce rice paper rolls in Chuong village. After having the rice that “couldn’t be more satisfying”, people wash it thoroughly, drooling out the by-products. Next, soak the rice for about two hours. Mrs. Bui Thi Bich, a pure-hearted woman who is over 80 years old this year, was taught by her parents how to make rice spring rolls from the age of 6, confided: Particularly for the type of rice paper rolls for export, the soaking time takes place. less than the default “three rem”. It is thanks to the shorter soaking time than usual that the rice paper rolls made are less sour. As a result, its “output” price is always higher than the domestic market. Having fun, Bich confided: The people of Chuong village make rice paper rolls in their own way. Choosing the right type of “input” rice is already important, but the secret to preparing the ingredients after the rice has been milled into water powder plays a special role for the rice paper rolls. For hundreds of years, the people of Chuong village have never had the same recipe for the above. Because, each house, each clan has its own secret. Mr. Tran Van Loi, Bich’s son, gently added his mother’s story: One of the equally important things is the process of coating the cake, although this stage is now done very professionally by machine. modern cakes. By his special experience, one will know at what temperature boiling water will help the product to ripen. And get the bright white color, while still “preserving” the fragrance of the “brother” of Khang Dan rice. As a professional worker, Mr. Tran Van Loi is as sure as a nail that: After all, the drying process is the most difficult and strenuous because it depends on the weather. In order to have a “field in and out” thanks to the rice paper rolls, all year round the people of the afternoon village must: “Look at the sky, look at the earth, look at the clouds / Look at the rain, look at the wind, …”, otherwise they will “spoiled” only in an instant. Mrs. Bich slowly turned her teary eyes full of crow’s feet, looking into the unknown and recalling: Over the past few hundred years, the profession of making rice paper rolls of the Chu village people has experienced many ups and downs. The most difficult thing is the transition from the subsidized bureaucracy to the market mechanism. At that time, imported rice paper rolls flooded in like flood water. The goods they produced were not competitive enough, and countless households in Chuong village became depressed and thought of disbanding. But that’s what I thought would happen when someone in the village started to quit their job, causing the whole village to panic and panic. But then the market whirlwind gradually stabilized, the people of Afternoon village gradually got used to it. People clung to each other and stood up when they had recovered from a strange storm. And craft villages continue to exist, develop methodically and fundamentally until now. Tails After a few hundred years, the rice paper rolls still carry the “brand” of Chuong village. But the place name of Afternoon village is only an oral name in folklore. As for the old Chuong village of Mr. Tran Dinh Han, a rice cake maker, now part of it is in Mot village, the rest is in Nam village of Mao Cau village, Nguyen Ly commune, Ly Nhan district, Ha Nam province. Afternoon village in the 4.0 era currently has 190 households and 850 people. Of which, there are up to 150 households and about 400 people specializing in making rice paper rolls. With more than 70 tons of rice paper rolls “out of the oven” every day, the products of Chuong villagers not only have a stable market share in the domestic market but are also exported to a number of countries, such as Russia, France, and Brazil. Lan etc… His eyes suddenly became teary and with an emotional voice, Mr. Tran Van Loi confided: “In the past, every year, whether it’s highs or lows, every year on the 10th day of the second lunar month, the We, the descendants of the Chieu village people, hold the communal house festival. That is the day the descendants of the village of Afternoon expressed their gratitude to the Holy Citadel of the village Tran Dinh Han, who “birthed” the first rice paper – the “father” of rice paper rolls in the afternoon village – now – a long time ago. almost 700 years. February 10 is also the day when brothers, descendants of generations have the opportunity to meet together to discuss how to preserve, preserve and develop in a sustainable way, the basis of rice paper rolls – a cultural heritage. priceless object of the village – in the future and forever, brother!”.

Not in the purpose of use but in the material that makes it. The entire body of this toilet paper is made of gold, the shape is not much different from ordinary toilet paper, rolled into a tube, but making such a precious metal as gold is inherently laborious. strength. This toilet paper roll is divided into three layers in total, lined up side by side, all made of very tight and molten gold. In the eyes of the average person, gold is a very expensive metal, often used to create fine jewelry, but creating and using toilet paper costs the same as a mansion or a sports car. Luxury sports are truly ‘cool’, and of course this is a unique, most expensive toilet paper roll in the world that is unmatched. The use of gold as a raw material is inherently incredible, but it pales in comparison to the wealthiest Middle Eastern Arab monarchs in the world. Because they often use gold to create various items from gold cars, gold toilets and now gold toilet paper for daily use, making the whole world go crazy with “jealousy”. However, with the price of a toilet paper roll of nearly 30 billion VND, it is definitely not suitable for daily use, but it can be used, it is also very difficult, so it will only become a collector’s item. Middle Eastern ‘kings’.

However, have you ever wondered where this huge treasure of knowledge, from drawings, historical books or records of artistic quintessence, is kept? The answer is papyrus. Traces of majestic history, primitive knowledge from one of the first human civilizations recorded on papyrus, passed from generation to generation. Therefore, the papyrus has become a symbol of culture, spirituality and history of ancient Egyptian society, as well as the precious heritage of modern Egypt. Paper roll of papyrus. (Source: UK McClung Museum) Ancient, versatile The papyrus papyrus is one of the oldest known plant species known to mankind and Egypt is considered the origin of this plant. The papyrus grows in the swamps on both sides of the Nile River, relying on the sediments of the Nile to nurture and grow. The oldest recorded record of the appearance of the papyrus tree is that of the Greek historian Herodotus, in 450 BC: “The papyrus grew from the swamps, the body was fine. cut and processed into different products, the lower rhizome is eaten or sold ”. The ancient Egyptians discovered the value of papyrus in everyday life. Not only was the main material in papyrus paper production, papyrus also had many other uses in the daily life of ancient Egyptians. The lower stems and roots can be eaten raw or grilled. One can chew on the papyrus stalk, swallow the water and then spit the pulp like gum. Papyrus is also braided as a rope, fishing net, even a boat or decorative details on a boat. In households, papyrus can be used as firewood for cooking, knitting into everyday items such as bags, corks, bed sheets, carpets, curtains, slippers … In the medical field, dry papyrus ash is used to treat skin diseases (caustic, calluses …) or prevent cold sores from developing. The Papyrus habitat is wetlands along the banks of the Nile. (Source: African Plants – A Photo Guide) Witness of history In ancient Egyptian cosmology, the world was created when the first god stood on a mound emerging from the infinite darkness, indistinguishable between darkness and water. Every year, this mound will emerge from the water with the papyrus. Therefore, the papyrus is the symbol of fertility, rebirth, the germ of creation. In that sacred sense, the ancient Egyptians used papyrus as amulets, funerals, mummies or paintings in temples. Amulets made from the papyrus tree are worn around the neck, sewn on a mummy’s scarf, or placed under the mummy’s head to help the deceased feel as warm as they were alive despite having stepped foot into the afterlife. The paintings on the walls of many tombs show that papyrus was used in ceremonies or funerals. The attendees at the ceremony often carry papyrus stalks as an offering to the gods. There is an opinion that when thinking of Egypt, people immediately think of papyrus. The ancient Egyptians invented papyrus paper for so long, so long that it is impossible to determine the exact time. Much of the history of Egypt and the ancient world came to the modern world through information written on papyrus. The use of papyrus paper from the I Dynasty, 3100 BC is recorded on frescoes in the shape of a scroll, and is also considered an image of a book. So how was papyrus produced by the ancient Egyptians? First, they pulled the papyrus stalk out of the swamp, tied it in bundles and brought it to the processing plant. Then, the stalk is cut into thin slices, soaked in water for several days to soften. Finally, the slices are layered, squeezed out of water and strengthened adhesion. The papyrus is dried, which can be glued to increase length depending on the intended use. The image of the papyrus tree is used as a decorative detail on the boat. (Source: UK McClung Museum). Ancient papyrus is found in many places, but mainly in tombs. During the 1903-1920 excavation at the village of Deir al Medina (the residence of those working for tombs in the Valley of the Kings), in the city of Thebes (now Luxor) by the Italian Egyptologist. Leading Ernesto Schiaparelli, historians found 16 meters of papyrus, known as the “Book of the Dead” on the tomb of the main craftsman Kha and his wife Merit (built around 1386-1349 BC ). This is an ancient Egyptian religious document, another name is “The Book of Light” or “The Letter”, a collection of spells and spells recorded to help the soul of the dead to the next world. the other through “Underworld Gate”. The book was written by many priests over a period of 1,000 years. Originally, this book was inscribed in hieroglyphs in pyramid mausoleums and served only to the Pharaohs. However, by the New Kingdom period (1550-1352 BC), this book was copied on papyrus by priests and used for princes, officials, and the upper class. The letter will be read during the mummification process and left in the tomb of the dead. Kha and his wife Merit in front of Death Osiris sitting under a papyrus tree in the Underworld. (Source: UK McClung Museum). Wait for the day “reborn” Today, under the influence of topography, environment and the development of modern settlements on the banks of the Nile, the papyrus tree is almost extinct in Egypt, and as a result, papyrus paper making has gradually faded. one. A small village in Egypt, one of the last to retain the papyrus tradition, is called Al Qaramous (Al Sharqia province). Artist Atef Mohamed Shehata is one of the few artisans in the village who also harvests papyrus and produces papyrus paper. Papyrus seeds are planted and it will take about a year to reach harvestable maturity. After harvest, the tree will regrow in about 1-2 months. Once upon a time, the whole village was covered with papyrus tree, but up to now, the area of ​​this tree is only about 4 hectares. At the end of the finishing process, the papyrus will be sold to other artists in the village, one of which is painter Saied Tarakhan. Finally, paintings on Papyrus paper will be sold at souvenir shops. However, the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, causing a significant decrease in the number of tourists, directly affecting the livelihoods of the villagers, who mostly depend on the harvest and sale of papyrus paintings. Tarakhan artist had to leave all of the studio’s painting staff and partially shut down the workshop. However, with the craftsmen Shehata and Tarakhan, papyrus has become a sacred part of life. They will continue to preserve the tradition of papyrus and papyrus painting for many generations to come, with the same hope that this tradition will continue to be restored, more brilliant and true to the meaning of the “rebirth” of the papyrus species. .

A manuscript of the “Dead Sea Scroll” is displayed in Hong Kong. The analysis showed that the two scribes wrote in such a way that the difference between the two could not be seen with the naked eye, a detail that the note takers may have had the same training, yes can be at a school or in a social setting. “This is just the first step,” said lead investigator Mladen Popović, professor of the Hebrew Bible and ancient Judaism at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, said. new ability to study all of the scribes behind the “Dead Sea Scroll” and put us in a new position and better able to understand the manuscript collection. ” The “Dead Sea Scroll” was first discovered in the late 1940s, when a young shepherd searching for a stray goat found several manuscripts in a cave in Qumran, on the West Bank. Over the next decade, researchers and local Bedouins found more than 900 manuscripts in 11 caves. These manuscripts are the oldest surviving surviving texts of the Hebrew Bible, dating from the fourth century BC to the second century AD, but who is unknown or even how much. many wrote them, because the scribes did not sign them. That doesn’t stop Bible scholars from guessing how many people participated in writing the various drafts of the Dead Sea Scroll. Researchers will try to find clues in handwriting, such as a very specific feature in a letter that will identify the scribe. Popović, director of the Qumran Institute at the University of Groningen and his colleagues used a different approach: AI and statistics to investigate the Great Isaiah Scroll, one of seven original scroll manuscripts found. by the shepherd Bedouin. The well-preserved scroll, dating to about 125 BC, is 7.3 m long and 26 cm high and contains 54 columns of Hebrew text. In particular, a point caught Popović’s eye; Between columns 27 and 28, there is a small gap in the text and a new “page” where the two sheets have been stitched together. Other researchers have debated whether the scroll was written by one or two scribes, and Popović’s team wants to see if they can solve the mystery. In fact, the team wanted to determine whether slight differences in writing should be considered normal variations in one scribe’s handwriting or similar scripts written by two other scribes. each other or not. The researchers’ methods have uncovered subtle and nuanced differences in handwriting that we cannot discern with the naked eye, Popović said. The discovery of two collaborative notes in the Great Isaiah Scroll, he said, suggests that ancient scribes were working in groups. The ancients knew how to work in groups When designing the algorithm, researchers must train artificial intelligence to distinguish text, or ink, from the background – animal skin or papyrus. This difference, called binarization, was designed by co-researcher Maruf Dhali, a PhD student in the department of artificial intelligence at the University of Groningen, who created an artificial neural network. This neural network recorded early ink traces on the manuscript, even as these ancient letters were transformed into digital images. Senior researcher Lambert Schomaker, professor of computer science and artificial intelligence at the University of Groningen, said: “This is very important because ancient ink traces are directly related to the motor movement of one person and characterize each person ”. Neural network analysis revealed that 54 columns of text in the “Great Book of Isaiah” split into two separate groups, with a half-way transition in the manuscript. In this second analysis, Schomaker looked at small pieces, or sections of letters that would be more precise, distinctive, and informative to find a significant difference in shape compared to the symbols. full order. Next, the team performed a visual analysis by creating a “heat map”. These maps incorporate all variations of a given letter, such as the Hebrew letter aleph (א), found in the scroll. They then create an average version of the letter from the first 27 columns and another from the last 27 columns. They then compared these averaged letters and found that they could easily spot the difference between the two letters. Furthermore, the difference was statistically significant. Popović and his colleagues have other investigative plans, possibly revealing different backgrounds or training different scribes. These analyzes may also shed light on the communities that wrote the “Dead Sea Book”. This helps to better understand the so-called cultural evolution of the Hebrew Bible. The new research was published online April 21 in the journal PLOS One.