A Khmer woman prepare com dep, a Mekong Delta traditional dish, at the Ok-Om-Bok Festival in Soc Trang Province

Of all the festivals in the Mekong Delta, the Khmer Ok-OmBok Festival is arguably the biggest and most anticipated.

The festival is a jubilant time for worshiping the God of the Moon and also a time to pray for good crops, prosperity, and a happy life.

Participants take part in activities such as releasing paper lanterns and ngo boat racing. On the eve of the festival, people display a tray with offerings to the moon god such as flowers, fruits, lamps, and com dep (a glutinous rice dish made with coconut flesh and sugar).

Com dep is a common but indispensable dish included in a tray of offerings.

The newly-harvested rice grains that still contain milk are roasted in an earthen pot, stirred continuously until crispy, and then put into a mortar to be pounded with a wooden pestle which is about 1.5 meters long.

Traditionally, a young man and woman pound the grains together. The couple stands face to face, holding a pestle in one hand and a stick in the other. They use the pestle to flatten the grains and use the stick to remove them from the pestle.

The tradition, however, has faded over time and nowadays, tourists can see two women pounding the grains or they can try it out themselves.

When the husks of the grains come off, other people sieve the flattened cores of the grains to separate them from the husks and dust.

When visiting the Ok-Om-Bok Festival, tourists will likely be invited to eat com dep. The Khmer people believe the glutinous rice dish is an invaluable gift from the God of the Moon, so they enjoy sharing the delicious dish with others.

Reported by Diem Thu