Rice · Rice · Short entry
Tam Xoan Hai Hau
Gạo tám xoan Hải Hậu
A traditional fragrant rice of Hai Hau district in Nam Dinh province, in the Red River Delta. Its name received a geographical indication certificate from Viet Nam's Intellectual Property Office in May 2007. The grain is long and very clear and cooks soft and sweet.
Soil, sea and tribute
Tam xoan is grown mainly in the Hai Toan and Hai Duong communes of Hai Hau, with some households in Hai Long and Hai Trung. The fields lie on sandy-silt alluvium beside the Ninh Co river, which neither waterlogs in the rainy season nor dries out in the dry season. The plant is tall with long panicles. Local accounts credit the coastal sun and sea breeze for its flavour.
The rice is called gạo tiến vua, "rice offered to the king", from the tradition that it was sent as tribute to the royal court. The French agronomist René Dumont studied the variety in Hai Hau in 1935. A Hai Hau Tam Xoan Rice Association was founded in October 2004, and the geographical indication followed in May 2007.