Every Tet holiday, Banh Tet village in Hamlet 4, Nhi Binh commune, Hoc Mon provinceHo Chi Minh City was on fire all night to deliver new batches of cakes to customers.
Each pair of banh tet that is picked out in the cold, smoky, fragrant weather is really a special cultural experience when the sky is aflame in Spring.
Banh chung, banh tet are cakes made from glutinous rice, green beans, meat, wrapped with dong leaves or banana leaves, which are indispensable on the altar of grandparents and ancestors during Tet in every Vietnamese family.
If the North has square banh chung, the South often packs banh tet, a cylinder as long as a pole. In addition to the green bean, meat, and banh tet fillings in the South, there are also many other types of fillings such as salted eggs, cashews, bananas, etc., and many spices are added depending on the taste of the user.
In the days leading up to the 2023 Lunar New Year, coming to Nhi Binh’s banh tet hamlet, everywhere can see clusters of smoke rising like dew on the background of red fire flickering from pots of banh tet. Many families making cakes place the cooking pot right on the canal bank, creating a typical scene here.
The family of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ich (82 years old) for banh tet is the oldest in the village. She is cleaning the banana leaves to wrap the cake, her children and grandchildren gather around, one step at a time.
Mrs. Ich shared that she has been making banh tet for 40 years to make a living. She has 8 children, currently 4 are working. “Near Tet, children and grandchildren gather to make cakes and have a lot of fun,” said Mrs. Ich with a smile.
[Hà Nội: Nức tiếng gần xa bánh chưng làng Tranh Khúc]
As the youngest child of Mrs. Ich, Mr. Nguyen Minh Tri (44 years old) followed in his mother’s footsteps and is currently the owner of Mrs. Ich’s banh tet oven. According to Mr. Tri, if you want a delicious cake and keep it for a long time, you must go through stages such as: Choosing to buy delicious sticky rice, large and uniform green beans, and banana leaves wrapped in Siamese banana leaves. When wrapping, the cake must be rolled evenly, if the package is loose, the cake is pasty, if it is tightly wrapped, the cake is raw.
In particular, when cooked, meat and green beans must be warmed, wrapped immediately to ensure the freshness of meat and beans. After wrapping the cake, cook it in a wood-burning oven continuously for regarding 6-7 hours. When the cake is just cooked, it will be taken out, put in a jar of cold water, following 20 minutes will take it out to dry. Thus, the cake will be flexible, fragrant, rich in flavor, preserved for regarding 4-5 days.
The most famous Ba Ich Tet cake oven in the village Banh tet Nhi Binh, burning fire continuously in the days approaching Tet to promptly deliver new batches of cakes to customers. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)Nhi Binh Tet cake has three types of fillings, customers can choose according to their needs. Traditional banh tet filled with green beans and fatty meat; Banh Tet with green bean paste, pork belly; Special banh tet mixed with green beans, bacon, salted eggs, and cashews.
On Tet holiday, the price is regarding 100,000 VND / special cake, the normal type costs regarding 60,000 VND / piece.
Mr. Tri shared that from 6 o’clock, the whole family, her children, grandchildren, in-laws, and in-laws all gathered together to make banh tet. People wash and arrange leaves, pack cakes, wash rice, prepare all kinds of fillings, pack cakes… Mr. Tri has wrapped cakes and looked following three pots of cakes at the same time. When boiling, the stove is constantly on fire, at the right time to pick up the cake right away.
The baking work only stopped at 9pm, everyone still had to take turns on duty to do other stages. On average, during Tet, Ms. Ich’s banh tet oven makes regarding 400 cakes/day to meet the needs of customers.
Nhi Binh Tet cake village provides year-round cakes to the market Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding area. However, on New Year’s Day, from the beginning of December, the banh tet village begins the Tet season. From the full moon (December 15), the whole neighborhood is busier and busier because orders are increasing day by day.
The closer to Tet, the higher the demand for customers, the cake bakeries in the village increase the frequency of making cakes. The bakeries are temporarily closed on the followingnoon of the 30th of the Lunar New Year and continue to redefine from the 1st to the 4th of the Lunar New Year to meet the worshiping needs of many customers.
According to legend, in the Spring of the Rooster in 1789, King Quang Trung marched to the North to fight the Qing army. While resting, celebrating Tet, a soldier brought a cake made from glutinous rice, stuffed with green beans, shaped like today’s Tet cake, offered to King Quang Trung. The king felt delicious, so he asked regarding this type of cake.
The soldier said, the cake was sent to him by his wife at home. Every time he eats cake, he loves and misses his wife more and more. He suffered from stomach ache, but when he ate this cake, he didn’t feel the pain anymore.
Hearing the soldier’s touching story, King Quang Trung ordered everyone to pack this cake to celebrate Tet and named it Tet cake. For a long time, Tet cake was read as Banh Tet, so people called it Banh Tet as it is now.
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Ms. Nguyen Thi Ich (82 years old, hamlet 4, Nhi Binh commune, Hoc Mon district) with 40 years of making banh tet, the oldest in Nhi Binh’s banh tet village. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)
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Glutinous rice to make Nhi Binh Tet cake is soaked with pandan leaf juice, so it has a special aroma. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)
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Ich’s children and grandchildren make banh tet together. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)
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Ms. Ich’s tet cake oven is the most famous in Nhi Binh’s banh tet village, burning continuously in the days leading up to the New Year to promptly deliver new batches of cakes to customers. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)
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Salted eggs are used to make banh tet. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)
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Make pancakes. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)
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Bacon is only marinated with spices used to make banh tet. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)
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Nhi Binh Tet cake is famous for its delicious taste, bearing the typical flavor of the Southern land. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)
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The average banh tet oven makes 400 blows/day during Tet. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)
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After wrapping the cake, it is cooked in a wood-burning oven continuously for regarding 6-7 hours to be cooked. Each pair of banh tet when picked out in the cold, smoky weather is really a special experience when heaven and earth come to spring. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)
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The filling of banh tet is a combination of green beans, bacon, salted eggs, cashews, and dried shrimp. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)
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Nhi Binh Tet cake is famous for its delicious taste, bearing the typical flavor of the Southern land. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)
Hong Dat (VNA/Vietnam+)