Excursion early a.m: The story of tofu (Xuân Canh village, Đông Anh)
May 23 @ 7:00 AM - 11:00 AM
300,000VND
Exactly a year ago the FVH committee got introduced to Ngọc who lives in xuân Canh village, Đông Anh who promotes sustainable products and who knows an adorable elderly couple in her village who maintain the traditional way to make tofu. Since then we include her tofu tours in our mailings for people to contact her direct. And every now and then we include a tour as part of the FVH programme. Given its a year since we met her we are shcheduling one of her tofu tours for May for max 5 pax.
Some scholars believe tofu arrived in Vietnam during the 10th and 11th centuries. It spread to other parts of Southeast Asia as well. This probably coincided with the spread of Buddhism as it is an important source of protein in the vegetarian diet of East Asian Buddhism. Today, many Vietnamese families continue to make tofu and maintain their professions. Typically, we hear about well-known tofu villages like Làng Mơ and Làng Chài Võng La, but it is one of the most versatile ingredients in Vietnamese cuisine, and many families in other villages now still keep their traditional job.
Our local guide and friend, Ngọc, lives in Xuân Canh village (Đông Anh, Hà Nội on the other side of the Đuống River), which is also home to a charming couple and the only place in her hometown where the traditional method of making tofu is still strictly followed step by step.
Around 4:00 a.m, this husband and wife team begins working long hours, producing tofu for the morning market at 6:00 a.m. We are delighted to pay them a visit, observe their day-to-day tofu making process, and participate in their second tofu round at 8:00 a.m, when they make tofu for the afternoon market. A chance to chat with them about their lives and about tofu in more detail and a chance to make a few tofu blocks ourselves.
We need to start early to catch the little ferry that chugs a short distance over the Đuống River between Long Bien and Đông Anh.
We travel together to the village, meeting at the ferry point in Hanoi (full details will be in the welcome email for those confirmed on the morning); everyone is free to make one’s own way back to Hanoi as the location is not far and there is a variety of ways to return, or you may want to stay longer in Đông Anh).
Timing: arrive 7 a.m at the ferry point in Ngoc Thuy. The activity ends about 10.30am/11am with an early tofu lunch; make own way back to Hanoi or stay exploring around Đông Anh.
Language: ENG with VN interpretation
Numbers: max 5 pax Attendance is restricted to a small group size to ensure enough time for quality experience and making process, plus there is not enough space for more
RSVP: to stella@fvheritage.org
Price. 300,000 VND pp (same price for everyone) includes one generous piece of tofu to bring home, ferry fee (1 way) and a light (vegetarian) lunch with tofu and bún at Ngọc’s house. Excludes: return transport to Hanoi depending on preference, additional tofu and/or soya milk you may want to buy from the tofu-making couple (this is so delicious you may be very tempted – 5,000 VND per chunk of tofu), hire of bikes (VND 50,000 bike hire) or xe om fee
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING RE TRANSPORT
(1) The aim is for everyone coming to travel together on the local ferry which is taken the local people and we share a taxi to the village (we split the cost of th taxi between us)
(2) You are welcome to bring your own motorbikes or cycles on board the ferry (NB however if you want to skip the ferry then please make your way stright to the village to arrive by 8 a.m – details will be in the welcome email)
(3) Return back to Hanoi – by own motorbike or cycle by road, or by grab, taxi, xe om, public bus if you came on foot. There may be a chance to take the ferry crossing back to Hanoi but this is an additonal cost (to be paid for at the time VND 50,000)
