Ước Lễ
Ước Lễ is a Vietnamese village, located in Tan Uoc commune, Thanh Oai District, Hanoi. The village is also well known for its traditional giò lụa and the ancient village gate. The people of Uoc Le village have been going to set up their careers throughout the country, and also foreign countries to maintain the traditional career that previous generations descended to next generations. Every year, on January, 15th according to the lunar calendar, everybody, who from many places, come back village to go visit ancestral graves as well as participate in the village festival. The festival is held to honor the tutelary genius of village and ancestors of Gio Cha career. There are two national historical monuments in the village are the ancient village gate and So temple.
The village gate
The gate of Uoc Le village was built in the Mac Dynasty, one of the most ancient and the most beautiful gates, which is remained, in the west of Hanoi up to now. The gate is located at the beginning of the village occupying a large space with a bridge, archways and large brick walls. The shape of gate is similar to a trapezoid with a height of 6 meters and a width of 12 meters, built in red-hot bricks. In front of the gate is a curved bridge with a width of 2 meters and a length of 10 meters, which crosses a wide ditch. In the past, this ditch is a deep trench around the village with green bamboos on the edge of village, which create a strong deep fence for fighting against bandits and dangerous animals. Later, the residents opened more convenient paths for business. On the gate, there is a hanging letter with four letters "My Tuc Kha Phong", which means that "Fine Customs Is Bestowed". According to previous generations, on the northern trip of King Tu Duc (1829–1883) in the 33rd Tu Duc year (1880), King Tu Duc granted the title "My Tuc Kha Phong" to the six villages including Uoc Le village. During war, the French often used canons to destroy village, and the gate was collapsed with broken hanging letter. After that situation, the villagers took the hanging letter into storage. However, in a serious flood, the villagers had to take everything to fend for themselves, and some people did not know the meaning of the hanging letter, and took it to fend off the flood entering the gate. In the result, the fierce water swept away the original hanging letter. After finishing war, the villagers restored the gate, and asked the Han Nom Institute to take a sample of the hanging letter which was retained of another village, then remade a new hanging letter like the origin.
Gio Cha
Gio Cha is traditional foods of Vietnam, and Gio Cha is indispensable foods during the Tet holiday in Vietnam. According to artisan Duc Binh Nguyen, a gio cha maker in a long time, Gio Cha are making in Uoc Le village around 500 years ago. Historic records in village says that a concubine from palace, who was a villager, came back to build gate and teach the villagers how to make Gio Cha in the Mac Dynasty. Under feudalism, the dish was very noble, so the meal had Gio Cha was only for rich people. In the subsidy period, Gio Cha was being prohibited goods because it became more and more expensive. However, people of Uoc Le still remain and maintain this traditional job, which ancestors descend to them until now. The elements that make up the Gio Cha Uoc Le brand is not only the deliciousness, safety, but also the creative tinkering of people to make this dish more and more delicious. In the past, Gio Cha was made by hand, and the makers kept the secret methods of pounding meat so that the meat is plastic and not sticky to the pestle. By the 1990s, people turned into using machines instead of using pestle. Despite of it, the makers also retained the tradition way of ancestors while packaging. Gio Cha was wrapped in large banana leaves unlike the packaging in different places using aluminum tubes. Boiling Gio Cha is required high skills and meticulousness. After the water is boiled, Gio Cha is let into pot and boiled for about one hour. After completing, the makers pick it out, and drop into the cold water immediately. In the end, Gio Cha is made, and the eaters can cut into pieces with different shapes for decorating and enjoying it. Material for making Gio Cha is very simple, but to have a delicious product, procedure requires sophisticated selection about material and high meticulousness of makers: - Pork: fresh meat from the cleaned pigs which weigh about 40-50 kilograms, and the makers feel warm while handling the meat. - Fish sauce: fish sauce with high protein and sweet flavor. - Banana leaves: fresh and large leaves. - Other Spices: sugar, pepper and some sweeteners depending on different makers and regions. Nowadays, Gio Cha is not popular for daily meal in Vietnam, but it is beautiful traditional cuisine of Vietnam, and it is also served with many different foods such as stuffed pancake, round sticky rice cake, Steamed sticky rice.