Vietnam is famous as one of the world’s largest rice exporters.
Vietnamese cuisine is closely tied to rice, which has played an important role in the culture and traditions of the Vietnamese people.
Soi made with glutinous rice is Vietnamese-style okowa. This dish is made from short, round-shaped white glutinous rice grown in many Asian countries, including Japan. When cooked, glutinous rice has a sticky, soft aroma and rich flavor. 
Photo: 3-color soi – Shutter stock
According to research by cultural scholars, thousands of years ago, Vietnamese people used glutinous rice as their daily food instead of white rice. In soi, glutinous rice is steamed and then spread in a traditional bamboo basket called a nong to remove heat. In fact, glutinous rice is considered the first grain produced by the ancient Thái, Tày and Môn or Khmer tribes, the ancestors of today’s Vietnamese. Glutinous rice was the staple food of the ancient Vietnamese.
Today, xôi is no longer the main dish of everyday Vietnamese life, but it is still one of the world’s favorite dishes, enjoyed by children and the elderly alike. It is available everywhere from upscale restaurants to street stalls.
It is also a symbolic Vietnamese dish that appears in special Vietnamese events and ceremonies such as longevity ceremonies, weddings, death anniversaries, full moon days, and the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.
Combined with a variety of ingredients, soi attracts people with its enticing aroma and unmistakable taste. And when combined with vegetables and protein, it is a dish that offers both flavor and nutritional balance. Vivid colors and aromas can also be created by adding extracts from vegetables, tubers, and fruits, such as pandan or galangal leaves (green), camphor leaves (purple), gaku (red), and turmeric (yellow), to steamed sticky rice.
Photo: Shutter stock
Glutinous rice also works well with many other ingredients, such as corn, green beans, red beans, taros, and lotus seeds. The combination of these various ingredients not only brings out the bright colors, but also the unique flavors of each type of glutinous rice. The cooked glutinous rice can be sweetened or salted with seasonings and topped with a variety of toppings to suit your taste. 
Photo by Shutter stock.
In northern Hanoi, soi is often colored bright yellow from turmeric and served with green beans and topped with aromatic fried onions, watashi, and spring rolls. In southern Ho Chi Minh City, sweet, sugar- and coconut-based soi is often served. Over time, soi has evolved to meet people’s needs, tastes, and regional characteristics, becoming even more popular.
Photo: Xôi xéo – Shutter stock
Soi is a simple yet sophisticated Vietnamese dish that is associated with Vietnam’s rich rice culture tradition. The image of soi wrapped in banana leaves has been passed down in the hearts of generations of Vietnamese people and has become an iconic dish of Vietnam for foreign visitors.
