Today’s A Journey through Aesthetic Realms will be presented in Aulacese (Vietnamese), with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Who is going to Huế? Who is returning to Ngự Mountain? Who is coming back to the Perfume River? The water on Perfume River hasn’t dried of affection Ngự Mountain’s bird is flying back for his companion O my love, why are we pining so deeply? Who is going to Huế? Who is returning to Vỹ Dạ Village? Who is coming back to Nam Giao? Nam Giao slope is still steep in longing Vỹ Dạ moon kindles a promise of yore O my love, if you miss me, please come back.

Trường Tiền Bridge has six arches and twelve spans If you’re fond of me, do hasten home As sunset passes by the bridge later, where can we send our sorrow if we still love each other? Who is going to Huế? Who is returning to Ngự Pier? Who is coming back to Văn Lâu? Văn Lâu Pier is still deep in yearning, A boat by the Ngự Pier still awaits the returning guest O my love, if you miss me, please come back. O my love, if you miss me, please come back. O my love, if you miss me, please come back to me!

You’ve just enjoyed the song “For the One Going to Huế” by composer Duy Khánh, with vocals by Phong Thủy. “For the One Going to Huế” is an affectionate reminder to the far-away travelers to soon return to their ancient hometown of scenic beauty and gentle human love.

Âu Lạc, a beautiful country situated in Southeast Asia, with sub-tropical climate, is graced by Mother Nature with green plants and sweet fruits, all redolent and delectable throughout the four seasons. Depending on the weather conditions and culinary preferences of each region, the local people have skillfully created many savory dishes. In our program about Aulacese traditional cuisine, we are pleased to introduce the specialty foods of a land known for its freshness and abundance. Indeed, at a public lecture in the United States in March 1991, Supreme Master Ching Hai especially praised the rich natural resources of Âu Lạc.

“Âu Lạc is among the most enriched nations in this world: there are mines of gold, silver, uranium, lead, zinc, and tin. Âu Lạc has everything. There are morals, piety, harmony, and four thousands years of civilization. It is one of the most ancient countries in the world. Our land has always had abundant foods and fruits. I remember when I was a student there, there was a great variety of fruits when I went to Bình Dương and Long Thành. And rice! Aulacese indigenous rice, called Tám Thơm, is the most famous in Southeast Asia and in the world. There are also other products, dried or fresh, that are most popular in the world.”

We are deeply grateful to Supreme Master Ching Hai for her treasured words and boundless grace for the nation and people of peace-loving Âu Lạc.

“Whoever visits Huế for sightseeing would buy sesame candy as a souvenir of love. Savoring sesame candy with fragrant tea, one feels light-hearted amid wafting scents.” Speaking of sesame candy, the Aulacese would think of elegant Huế people of olden time, who drank tea and relished sesame candy as they read books and pondered about life.

Nevertheless, whether in past or present, it is the same: the blended fragrant scent of sesame candy and tea creates a graceful pastime which has long become a deep-seated part of the life and culture of the people in the ancient capital city. We now invite you to find out about sesame candy in today’s food specialty program.

O Hiền!

Brother Hiếu is home! I thought you won’t come back until tomorrow.

Where’s Mom, though?

Mom is inside.

O Mom! Brother Hiếu is home.

Hi Mom! I just got home.

Are you very tired from the long trip, son?

I’m fine, Mom.

Have a seat, brother.

Mom, I’m bringing back some sesame candies from Huế.

Really? All right, leave them there and wash up. I’ll head for the kitchen now.

This is for you, Hiền.

Ah! Sesame candy!

People who return to Huế to visit home or tourists who stop by Huế are keen to remember to buy sesame candy as a gift for loved ones and friends. Nowadays, in Huế, there are nearly 20 sesame-candy making facilities of all sizes. Among them, many have been famous for almost 100 years, such as Thiên Hưng, Nam Thuận, Hồng Thuận, Đại Thành, and Hương Vinh. We now invite you to visit one of these companies and listen as an expert shares with us the process of making sesame candy.

Sesame candy is made from the following ingredients: sesame seeds, peanuts, rice flour, purified water without alum, sugar, malt and lemon juice. We should choose good ingredients; otherwise, the sesame candy will be black and without aroma. To make sesame candy, we need to prepare a bronze pan, 2 wooden handles, flat bamboo baskets, a square-shaped mold which is 30 centimeter-long on each side, and a flattening tube.

Now, we’ll begin making sesame candy. With this amount of sesame, we need 12 kilograms of sugar, 5 kilograms of malt, and 3 kilograms of rice flour. First, we put 3 kilograms of rice flour and 5 liters of water into a basin, then stir evenly. Next, place the bronze pan on the stove, pour in 10 kilograms of sugar, then pour in the flour paste from the basin. Stir to thaw the sugar. Now, add 5 teaspoons of lemon juice. We should stir continuously so that the paste doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.

Continue to stir for about 10 minutes. At this time, the flour paste is solid and clear. Put in 2 kilograms of the remaining sugar and continue to stir. About 10 minutes later, reduce the flame, then add in 5 kilograms of malt. To check if the candy is properly cooked, dip a chopstick in the product and pull out a long thin layer. Wave this layer back and forth for it to cool down to the outside temperature. Use your hand to press it. If it’s soft and pliable, unsticky, then the sesame candy is ready.

Put 5 kilograms of peanuts in a pan and roast them until golden brown. Pour the roasted peanuts into the pan. Stir until the roasted peanuts and the flour paste mix well. Now, prepare 6 flat baskets. Spread a layer of roasted sesame seeds on it. Scoop the finished product onto the flat baskets. Wait 5 minutes for it to cool down a little, then begin to flatten it. Cover it with sesame. Use the tube to flatten the sesame candy evenly, then place it on the shelf. 30 minutes later, when the sesame candy cools down, we begin to cut it.

Once the sesame candy is cool, we can cut it using a knife or scissors. Roll all sides of the sesame candies in sesame seeds, and wrap them with cellophane. Then place the sesame candies in bags and pack them. We’ve just finished making the sesame candy. Although the formula for making it is simple, yet to have a sesame candy which is soft, chewy, unburnt, resilient, and offers a cool and fragrant taste is a real art.

Let me, Mom.

Look, the moon is so beautiful today!

It’s lovely!

Have some tea, Dad! Tea, Mom! How is the sesame candy, Mom?

This sesame candy is good, son!

O Mom, do you know why is it called “sesame candy”? And who first made this candy?

As I know, sesame candy has a rather charming origin.

Please tell us, Mom!

Now, even I like to hear fairy tales.

Once upon a time, there was a couple, poor but very kind-hearted. One night, in a dream, the wife saw fairies coming down. You know what? The fairies were beautiful!

O Mom! What are the fairies cooking?

I know now.

At that time, the wife woke up, but she saw no one there.

O husband! Come out here. There’s something that tastes so good!

What a strange food! But it tastes very good!

It’s so good, honey!

Tomorrow, you can share with our neighbors. (Yes.)

The wife made the candy the way the fairies did in her dream. She poured the product onto a bamboo molder, then brought it out to share with her neighbors. They all praised how delicious it was.

Please try this food here!

What kind of food is it?

I don’t know what it is, but it’s made from sesame.

It’s good, isn’t it?

Very good!

Try this food, brothers and sisters!

So good! Chewy but not hard, with a delicate sweet taste. Thank you, sister. You’re so kind. This is really good!

Later, the villagers kept bringing vegetables and fruits to her to exchange for the sesame candy in her bamboo molder. The name “molder sesame candy” began since then.

O Sáu! Here are some fruits for you and your husband.

Nowadays, do people still use the bamboo molder to hold this candy, Mom?

In the past, people used the bamboo molder to hold it. After cutting the candy, they wrapped it with a banana leaf. Nowadays, after making the candy, we place it on a bamboo basket to let it cool down. After cutting it into small pieces, we wrap each piece in cellophane. So we don’t need the molder, son.

Ah, Hiếu! How do you know how to buy good sesame candies?

Good sesame candies have a clear yellow, Dad. When pressed or bent, it feels soft but doesn’t crumble. When we let it go, it goes back to its original shape.

Then why didn’t you buy one big box so that we can eat little by little?

Even good sesame candy must be used within 3 months; otherwise it won’t taste good.

Hiếu, we want you to get acquainted with a family in the upper village. Their daughter is both beautiful and well-mannered.

I... haven’t thought about this yet...

Well, go rest early, son. Tomorrow, you have to go present yourself to Miss Hương’s family.

Yes.

In the past, people often used primitive tools such as wooden handles and firewood to make sesame candy. Nowadays, many places operate with motor and gas stoves.

Previously, everything was done by hand. Hand kneading the dough, manual cooking, then hand flattening. Nowadays, there is an advantage; that is, the kneading, cooking, cutting and packaging are all motor-driven. But there is a process which can’t be done by machine; that is, you can’t flatten the sesame candy by machine.

Because it’s glutinous, so when you flatten by machine, it’ll be sticky. Therefore, we flatten much of the candy by hand. After that, we let it cool down, then we may cut by machine. This sesame candy, if you don’t do by hand, it’ll never be good. 80% of the process can be done by machine, but 20% of it must be done by hand.

At present, aside from the traditional sesame candy, people have invented many kinds of sesame candies such as crispy sesame, black sesame, and transparent sesame. Crispy sesame candy contains no peanuts, has less sugar, and is wrapped in roasted thin rice paper. Crispy sesame candy has a delicate sweet taste and the crispiness of rice paper. Transparent sesame candy is thin and its sugar is cooked until it becomes glass-like transparent. Black sesame candy is similar but made with black sesame and is also very popular.

O Hương, prepare tea for our guests, dear!

In the tranquility of an early morning or a peaceful evening, with the fragrant tea cup and sesame candies, a poetic pastime for the elegant and literary people can be found. Indeed, sesame candy isn’t just an outstanding dessert, a harmonious combination of the dedicate sweetness of malt, the fragrant scent of lemon, the nutty flavor of sesame seeds and peanuts, but it is also a true reflection of the graceful lifestyle of the people in the ancient capital city.

Thank you for watching our program featuring sesame candy, a specialty food of Âu Lạc (Vietnam). Please tune in to Supreme Master Television for more on Aulacese traditional cuisine in future broadcasts.

Coming up next is Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living, after Noteworthy News. Farewell for now.