Hanoi: As the Lunar New Year approaches, many in Vietnam are busy preparing the iconic dish that marks the celebration: the glutinous 'banh chung' (a traditional Vietnamese square rice cake made from glutinous rice, mung beans, pork, and banana leaves) cake. The 12-hour cooking process, filled with tradition and family devotion, is a labour of love, especially for those like Nguyen Thi Thuy Hong, who has been making the cake for nearly four decades.
At 55, Hong still finds joy in making the banh chung, despite the exhausting hours spent over a wood fire. The sticky rice cakes, filled with green beans and pork belly, are one of several dishes cooked in anticipation of Tet, Vietnam's most important holiday, which begins on Wednesday.
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While banh chung can be bought pre-made, Hong believes that making them from scratch is an essential part of the Tet experience. "We can buy ready-made banh chung, but it doesn't create that Tet atmosphere," she explains. “It keeps me busy, and it’s tiring, but I still love making the cake myself.”
A symbolic offering to ancestors
The tradition of banh chung goes back centuries. Legend has it that the recipe was first created by a Vietnamese prince, who made the cake to impress his father and secure the throne. Pleased by the cake’s flavour and the prince’s respect for tradition, the king awarded him the crown.
Today, banh chung continues to be a symbolic food, often placed on family altars as an offering to ancestors. Vietnam, officially atheist, still reveres its ancestors as part of a deeply rooted Confucian culture.
Although the tradition of making banh chung is still upheld by many, some families have opted to buy ready-made versions due to time constraints. For those who continue to prepare the dish from scratch, the responsibility often falls to the elders of the family, like Hong. However, her son Nguyen Dao Anh Khoi, 23, is already uncertain about continuing the tradition.
“Our generation has so many other things to worry about, so I am not sure I can keep this up,” Khoi says, rinsing rice for the cake. Despite his doubts, Khoi enjoys the banh chung his mother prepares, even though he usually prefers healthier Western foods. "It’s a bit fatty and too starchy," he admits, "But it’s also delicious. I can’t imagine a Tet without banh chung."
Agency
Published: 26 Jan 2025, 01:21 pm IST
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