Giant Banh Chung treats 2,000 guests

On the morning of April 6, within the framework of the 12th Southern Traditional Cake Festival in 2025, for the first time, about 2,000 visitors were able to admire and enjoy a giant banh chung measuring 1.9m x 1.9m, 0.8m thick, and weighing up to 1.6 tons.

The giant banh chung was sponsored by Song Hau Farm Eco-tourism Area and Khanh Linh Restaurant (Can Tho) with a budget of about 150 million VND. Photo: Kim Anh.

Ms. Doan Thi Xuan (in Tra An ward, Binh Thuy district, Can Tho city) excitedly shared her feelings when enjoying the giant banh chung: “The artisans did a great job! I am from Ha Tinh, every year I make banh chung to eat during Tet. Today I got to eat the giant banh chung prepared by Southern chefs, it was very delicious and rich”.

According to this customer, traditional banh chung is usually salty, while the giant cake is modified to suit the taste of the South, with a little more sweetness but is very delicious, the sticky rice, the meat and bean filling are richly prepared, the color still retains the characteristic green color of dong leaves.

Diners enjoy giant banh chung at the 12th Southern Traditional Cake Festival in 2025. Photo: Kim Anh.

Ms. Xuan expressed surprise at the cake cooking technique: "The package is so thick and big, I was also worried that the cake would not have enough firewood, but this giant banh chung was cooked evenly, very impressive."

Ms. Huynh Thi Chin, from My Khanh commune, Phong Dien district, enjoyed banh chung for the first time. She said that the flavor was very different from traditional cakes in the South but very delicious, with a rich taste.

Banh chung is a typical, traditional dish of the people in the Central and Northern regions. Over time, especially during holidays and Tet, this type of cake has become increasingly popular in the South, thanks to the cultural exchange when people from the Northern provinces migrated to settle down and brought with them the culinary features of their homeland.

Banh chung is evenly cooked, soft, rich in flavor and delicious. Photo: Kim Anh.

Previously, at Song Hau Farm Eco-tourism Area (Thoi Hung Commune, Co Do District, Can Tho City), more than 30 chefs painstakingly prepared ingredients to wrap a giant banh chung.

The Banh Chung has a strong Southern flavor but still retains traditional ingredients such as: sticky rice, green beans, pork. The ingredients used include about 600kg of sticky rice, 235kg of green beans, and more than 215kg of pork belly. In addition, the cake is wrapped with 1,800 dong leaves and strings imported from the North, plus 1,000 banana leaves to wrap inside the cake.

Most of the steps to make the giant banh chung are carried out at Song Hau Farm Eco-tourism Area (Thoi Hung Commune, Co Do District, Can Tho City). Photo: Kim Anh.

Mr. Tran Minh Cuong - Permanent Vice President of the Can Tho Professional Chefs Association and chef of Song Hau Farm said that to make banh chung suitable for the taste of Southern people, chefs also cleverly mixed coconut milk and sugar into sticky rice, instead of just seasoning with salt as is traditionally done in the North.

The giant banh chung is smoked in a wooden mold to ensure its firmness during cooking, transported, and cooked in a steamer to ensure doneness.

The giant banh chung is made from 600kg of sticky rice grown by residents at Hau River Farm. Photo: Kim Anh.

To prepare for making the giant banh chung, the chefs tested cooking a cake with more than 300kg of ingredients. After the results met the requirements, ensuring the cake crust was soft, supple, fragrant and cooked evenly from the outside in, the chefs were confident to make a cake with a weight twice as large as the test.

Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/banh-chung-khong-lo-chieu-dai-2000-thuc-khach-d746814.html