Lang Lieu sticky rice cake - OCOP product of the Ancestral Land

Every year on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month, the offering tray to the Hung Kings' death anniversary must include Banh Giay. This simple offering not only expresses respect for ancestors and filial piety to parents, but also contains love for the homeland and country.

Delicious rice cakes served to tourists at Hung Temple Historical Site

As Vietnamese people, whenever mentioning banh chung and banh giay, everyone knows the legend of "Banh Chung, Banh Giay" associated with Lang Lieu offering King Hung a fragrant cake with filial piety and gratitude for being given the throne by the 6th Hung King. Legend has it that banh giay originated from the reign of the 6th Hung King, after defeating the An invaders, the king intended to pass the throne to his son. "...Whoever can find the most delicious food to make the most meaningful feast, I will pass the throne to...".

The 18th son of Hung Vuong, Lang Lieu, was kind and filial to his parents. He dreamed that a god came and told him to use sticky rice to make round and square cakes to symbolize the round sky and square earth. Because in heaven and earth, there is nothing more precious than rice grains... ". From then on, Banh Giay became a part of the Vietnamese people, not only as a dish but also as a history. To this day, Banh Giay is still offered by people on every occasion of Hung Vuong's death anniversary to show gratitude to their ancestors.

Sticky rice is steamed on a wood stove.

Sticky rice is pounded by machine, the sticky rice flour is mixed together.

Coming to the Hung Temple historical relic site, visitors will enjoy Lang Lieu sticky rice cakes made by the people of the Land of Ancestors. Mr. Dao Van Long, owner of the Lang Lieu sticky rice cake production facility at Hung Temple in Hy Cuong commune, Viet Tri city, has a shop selling sticky rice cakes in the Gieng Temple area, saying: "This is a delicious, chewy, smooth white cake full of meaning. To this day, sticky rice cakes are still offered by people to King Hung on every occasion of the Hung King's death anniversary to pay tribute to King Hung - the one who built the country of our nation."

The process of making the cake is quite elaborate, requiring the skill of the maker. The cake crust is smooth, not sticky, soft, fragrant with the smell of sticky rice, and faintly smells of dong leaves, creating a gift imbued with the countryside. Lang Lieu sticky rice cake has 3 flavors: salty bean filling, sweet bean filling, and no filling. In 2024, Lang Lieu sticky rice cake will be recognized as a 3-star OCOP product.

This is the highlight that creates the brand for Lang Lieu sticky rice cake. To do this, the Lang Lieu Den Hung sticky rice cake production facility pays great attention to the rice selection process. The rice used to make the cake is usually yellow sticky rice. The rice is cleaned, soaked and then cooked into sticky rice on a wood stove to make the sticky rice grains soft and sticky. The cake filling is made from carefully selected yellow green beans.

The cake has three flavors for visitors to choose from.

Lang Lieu's shoes are recognized as 3-star OCOP

Mr. Long shared that in the past, his family pounded the cakes by hand, but now it has been replaced by machines, but the flavor of the cakes has not been lost. On normal days, the facility produces about 10kg of rice. At the beginning of the year, especially on the occasion of the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day - Hung Temple Festival, the facility produces 300kg - 500kg of sticky rice per day.

The delicious banh giay sold to tourists all have labels of the production facility with full information about the address, ingredients, contact phone number, production date and expiry date. Ms. Hoang Thi Lan in Viet Tri city shared: Every time I celebrate the death anniversary of my ancestors, I often come here to buy a few pairs of banh giay to offer to my ancestors. The cakes are freshly pounded so they are still hot and chewy, delicious and have a unique flavor. I chose to buy banh giay products to bring back as gifts for relatives and friends.

Coming to the Hung Temple historical relic site, visitors are not only attracted by the beautiful scenery here but also enjoy the rustic specialties of the people of the Ancestral Land. Lang Lieu sticky rice cakes are not simply a fragrant cake but also the crystallization of solidarity, gratitude and respect of all Vietnamese people for our ancestors who have spent thousands of years building and defending the country.

Phuong Uyen

Source: https://baophutho.vn/banh-giay-lang-lieu-san-pham-ocop-vung-dat-to-230288.htm