Western people make rustic cakes to eat when they have free time, now they are proud of their traditional cakes.

Các loại bánh từ bột ở phiên chợ quê Tân Thuận Đông, TP Cao Lãnh - Ảnh: ĐẶNG TUYẾT — Various types of cakes made from flour at the Tan Thuan Dong rural market, Cao Lanh City - Photo: DANG TUYET

Since March 2022, the Tan Thuan Dong countryside market in Cao Lanh City, Dong Thap Province every Saturday afternoon has attracted over 140,000 visitors to visit and enjoy rustic cakes and Southern-style food and drinks.

Traditional cakes at the country market

Diners visit Tan Thuan Dong rural market at the end of the day tour from neighboring provinces to Dong Thap.

In the morning, visitors go to craft villages, flower villages, historical sites..., in the afternoon, visitors choose the countryside market, immerse themselves in the cool, fresh countryside atmosphere in the middle of the Tien River and cannot help but be overwhelmed by the layers of cakes of all kinds and colors, painstakingly prepared by the ladies.

Bánh ít trần thương hiệu Cô Ba - Ảnh: ĐẶNG TUYẾT — Co Ba brand steamed rice cake - Photo: DANG TUYET

It is difficult for visitors to resist the temptation of attractive local gifts. When stepping through the market gate, an ancient village space appears before their eyes with rows of rustling bamboo, one side casting shade on the river, the other side shading the road.

Stalls made of bamboo and thatched roofs sell a variety of cakes in a variety of types and colors.

Currently, in addition to the Tan Thuan Dong rural market every Saturday afternoon, there are also Go Thap rural market (Thap Muoi district), Long Thuan rural market (Hong Ngu district) which are interesting destinations for those who love rustic cakes with rich flavors of their homeland...

Bánh bột báng ngũ sắc nhân đậu xanh - Ảnh: ĐẶNG TUYẾT — Five-color tapioca cake with green bean filling - Photo: DANG TUYET

From the story of each house, when mothers and grandmothers have free time from farming, they grind rice flour and grate coconut to make cakes for their children and grandchildren to eat.

Making too much cake and having leftovers, I took it to the market to sell, exchanging it for other dishes. Nowadays, cakes are gradually becoming popular, loved by many people, selling cakes has become a good income-generating job.

Bánh bột lọc nhân tôm thịt - Ảnh: ĐẶNG TUYẾT — Tapioca dumplings with shrimp and meat filling - Photo: DANG TUYET

There is no general recipe for rustic cakes with only two main ingredients from flour, sugar and secondary ingredients including coconut, peanuts, sesame, banana, green beans... but to make dozens, hundreds of types of cakes that are endless.

Countryside cakes are also known by the very proud common name of folk cakes, including cakes made from rice flour such as: sponge cake, banana cake, beo cake, lot cake, pancake, pig skin cake, orange cake, cong cake... with very cheap prices.

Bánh đậu xanh trái cây nhiều màu sắc công phu - Ảnh: ĐẶNG TUYẾT — Elaborate colorful green bean and fruit cakes - Photo: DANG TUYET

5,000 VND/small portion is enough for children to eat until they are full, 10,000 VND for a large box of all kinds of cakes so that diners can feel a little different in terms of softness, toughness, elasticity, and sponginess.

Not only at the rural markets, when coming to the West, tourists can easily find and buy them at any market, from the rural markets with a few stalls on the roadside to the large markets such as Chau Doc, Long Xuyen, Tan Chau (An Giang province), Cao Lanh, Sa Dec, Hong Ngu (Dong Thap) markets.