Hanoi (VNA/VNS) - If rice isa staple of Vietnamese daily meals, then Gio (Vietnamese sausage) is consideredthe staple of special occasions, such as Tet (the Lunar New Year), weddingparties and ancestors’ death anniversary. Traditionally, Gio is made from minced leanpork tightly encased in fresh banana leaves rolled into a cylindrical shape andboiled. A roll of Gio is then cut into slices about 2 centimetres thick and then cut into smallerparts before being served.

["Banh Chung" - The soul of Vietnamese New Year]

On the week-long Tet holiday,the most important celebration on the Vietnamese calendar, almost every familywill stock at least a roll of Gio, along with Banh chung (square sticky rice cakes)and boiled chicken. Decades ago, meat was scarce and onlyserved on special occasions. On ancestor death anniversaries, for instance, thewomen of the family would prepare an elaborate set of dishes, among which Xoi (steamedsticky rice), boiled chicken and a plate of neatly-placed Gio sliceswere a must. The best quality Gio can betraced to Uoc Le, a tranquil village about 30 kilometres from Hanoi’s centre. There are no official documents about thegenesis of Gio in the village, yet according to 65-year-old native Nguyen Van Mui, head of thevillage senior citizens association, Uoc Le people have been making Gio for atleast 100 years. Currently, more than 90 percent of villagehouseholds still make Gio. “As people in our neighbourhood alone can’t consumesuch large amounts of Gio, villagers have to migrate to other regions to selltheir products,” said Nguyen Viet Tuong, head of Uoc Le village. “Uoc Le peopleare now present all over the country. They return on special occasions only.” “Doing this job requires hard work. Peoplehave to wake up as early as 3am. The high quality of our Gio isattributed to several factors. One of them is the meat,” said Le Tien Manh, a45-year-old Gio maker. “The type used in making Gio must be lean meat, fresh and a bit sticky on its surface.” Fish sauce and seasoning are added to theminced meat before the mixture is encased tightly in layers of banana leaves,which give the Gio a unique taste. The fresh minced meat is wellblended with the tartness and slight bitterness of the fresh banana leaves whenthey are boiled.

“It takes about an hour to get the mixturefinely cooked. One can tell if Gio is well-cooked by throwing itonto a hard surface. If it bounces, the Gio is good,” said Manh.

Other variants of Gio include Cha (a mixture of minced porkdeep fried with pepper or ciไnnamon ) and Gio bo (beef sausage). They are alleaten generally with rice, Xoi (steamed sticky rice), Banh cuon (steamed ricepancakes) or Banh mi (Vietnamese baguette). –VNA/VNS