The banh tet cakes of the people of Chuon village are wrapped according to the requests of diners from far away.
As the Lunar New Year of Quy Mao 2023 approaches, the house of Mr. Ho Duc Anh (Hamlet 17, An Truyen village, also known as Chuon village, Phu An commune, Phu Vang district) is busy making cakes to meet orders from Ho Chi Minh City.
For hundreds of years, Chuon Village has been famous in Hue for its tradition of making banh tet. But bringing banh tet to the South and making diners there fall in love is not a simple matter.
“People know the reputation of Chuon village’s banh tet, but to satisfy that taste for customers from all over is not a simple matter,” Duc Anh shared, adding that his family has been making banh tet and banh chung for over 20 years to serve customers during Tet and spring.
In previous years, his family and relatives were given plane tickets by the owner of the Chuon village living in Ho Chi Minh City for nearly a dozen people to fly in to wrap the cakes, and then boarded the plane back home on the afternoon of the 30th of Tet.
Last year, due to the impact of the epidemic, we could not travel, so the whole family decided to pack in Hue according to the customer's contract and then transport to Ho Chi Minh City. And this year is the same.
"All the ingredients to make cashew cakes in Hue, but the flavor itself, we have to make according to the request of the people there to suit the taste of the diners," said Mr. Duc Anh.
According to Duc Anh, people outside of Vietnam often eat banh chung with pickled vegetables, but people in the South do not. Therefore, the seasoning step for sticky rice and pistil must be done in such a way that it is more flavorful and absorbed. The pistil must also be just enough, weighed in the right amount to harmonize with the sticky rice. "The pork is pork belly, raised by the family for 6 months before slaughtering to make banh chung," Duc Anh said.
The cakes must be wrapped in a traditional way. Banh tet is wrapped in banana leaves, banh chung is wrapped in dong leaves, all tied with giang strings. After a night of cooking, the cakes are taken out by the owner and soaked in cold water, dried and the final step is vacuum-sealed.
Before that, more than a dozen relatives of Duc Anh had to prepare many related steps from cleaning and arranging leaves, whipping sticky rice, making pistils, staying up all night to watch the fire...
While tying up the banh tet sticks, Mr. Ho Van Sy (Duc Anh’s uncle) – a man over 60 years old but with over 40 years of experience in wrapping banh tet – couldn’t help but feel proud. He said that for over ten years, every Tet holiday, people would buy tickets to fly to Ho Chi Minh City to wrap the cakes, and on the 30th of Tet, he would “take a bunch of money” and get on the plane back to Hue.
“There are thousands of types of cakes inside, but people still love Chuon village cakes. How strange! Whether wrapping them inside or outside, we have to do it carefully. We have to make sure that the cakes are not only delicious but also beautiful. That is our brand,” Mr. Si confided.
According to individual standards, a loaf of banh tet after being baked and vacuum-packed weighs from 1.6 to 1.8 kg, and banh chung weighs from 1.3 to 1.5 kg. The price ranges from 150,000 to 170,000 VND/loaf of banh tet or banh chung.
For this year’s Tet, Duc Anh said he received a package of 1,000 banh tet and banh chung. Everything started on the 16th of December. “The last order was put on the bus on the 27th of December,” Duc Anh said.
Images recorded by Thua Thien Hue Online :
According to customers' requests, Chuon village's banh tet still retains its traditional appearance but the spices have changed somewhat to meet the needs of diners.
Making a banh tet requires many steps, including choosing, cleaning and arranging the leaves, which requires meticulousness.
The pistil for the banh tet cake must also be balanced and in harmony with the amount of sticky rice.
To wrap 1,000 banh tet and banh chung, Mr. Duc Anh mobilized more than a dozen relatives, working continuously from the 16th to the 27th of December.
The pistils are made to order, so that when the product is finished, the diner will enjoy the delicious taste in their own way.
Each cake is tied with 8 bamboo strings, creating balance and beauty.
Banh tet is wrapped in banana leaves, while banh chung is wrapped in dong leaves and has a pre-made mold.
The cake is cooked from noon the day before to the next morning, cleaned before being scooped out.
Both banh chung and banh tet after being taken out of the oven will be soaked in cold water.
The cake is vacuum pressed. With cakes like this, the shelf life is more than 1 month.
Finished banh tet and banh chung are packed and transported to Ho Chi Minh City to deliver orders to customers.
PHAN THANH (performed)
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