During the days leading up to Lunar New Year, in all the villages making banh chung and banh giay in Phu Tho province, the fire is constantly burning, bringing thousands of cakes to the market every day, creating jobs for many local workers.
Craft villages such as Cat Tru (Hung Viet commune, Cam Khe district); Xom village (Hung Lo commune), Mo Chu Ha village (Bach Hac ward, Viet Tri city); Truc Phe village (Hung Hoa town, Tam Nong district) have long built their own brands, creating reputation for the village's banh chung and banh giay products.
With family secrets and passion for keeping the fire burning in the profession, the banh chung and banh giay making villages in Cam Khe district, Viet Tri city, and Tam Nong district have been honored to be recognized by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism as being included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
In particular, the Banh Chung Dat To product, Hung Viet commune, excelled over thousands of special dishes and was honored to be certified by the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association as one of the Top 121 typical Vietnamese culinary dishes in 2023.
Artisan Nguyen Thi Anh, owner of the Cat Tru village banh chung wrapping facility (Hung Viet commune, Cam Khe district) said that during the Tet season, her family had to mobilize all members to wrap the cakes, on average wrapping 5,000-6,000 pieces per day. Cat Tru village banh chung products are now available in all markets inside and outside the province, and many large supermarkets in the country have also placed orders to supply the Tet market. According to Ms. Anh, over the years, the banh chung making profession in her hometown has always been preserved, maintained and developed.
To make Banh Chung that meets the standards of the King, the cake must have a beautiful shape, square and sharp edges, bright colors, and fragrant rice. Thanks to its unique flavor, the Banh Chung Chinh Anh establishment owned by her has won 7 high prizes in the Banh Chung making contest to offer to the Hung Kings in Phu Tho.
Xom Village (Hung Lo Commune, Viet Tri City) is considered the birthplace of Banh Chung to offer to Hung King. Since 2017, the villagers have successfully built the brand "Banh Chung Hung Lo" and developed it into a traditional craft village.
Mr. Nguyen Van Ninh, Head of Hung Lo traditional banh chung and banh giay village, said that to make Hung Lo banh chung famous with the title “presented to the King” is the process of accumulating experience passed down through many generations. The secret to making delicious banh chung with the traditional taste is the most important step in choosing and preparing ingredients.
Sticky rice is the main ingredient of the cake, carefully selected, usually yellow sticky rice. Fresh pork belly, plump green beans, with shells are soaked and peeled to retain the aroma. Currently, Hung Lo craft village has attracted 30 households to make banh chung all year round. The village's banh chung products have also been selected as a product serving the province's tourism industry.
Mo Chu Ha craft village (Bach Hac ward, Viet Tri city) is famous for making sticky rice cakes. Currently, the production of cakes is still maintained by pounding with stone mortars and bamboo pestles. This is a traditional cultural beauty preserved from generation to generation and is also the secret to making the most fragrant, soft, white and delicious sticky rice cakes that not every locality can do.
Mr. Do Quang Le, a rice cake maker in Mo Chu Ha craft village, said that every January and on the occasion of the Hung King's death anniversary, villagers hold a rice cake pounding competition to recall the tradition of "When drinking water, remember its source" and prepare soft, fragrant, and flavorful rice cakes to offer to their ancestors.
According to history books, banh chung and banh giay are associated with the legendary story of the filial piety of Prince Lang Lieu during the Hung King period. After thousands of years of history, banh chung and banh giay have been preserved intact in shape and flavor by the Vietnamese people and are offered to worship their ancestors.
Nowadays, the craft of making banh chung and banh giay in Phu Tho is still passed down from generation to generation. Banh chung and banh giay of traditional craft villages not only serve people during Tet holiday, but also produce thousands of cakes every day to serve the culinary needs of people and tourists.
Mr. Nguyen Dac Thuy, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that within the flow of the Hung King worship belief of Vietnamese people, the square Chung cakes and round Giay cakes from legend have been passed down, preserved and developed by the community into the current Chung cake and Giay cake making profession.
Entering the period of renovation, economic development, people's lives are stable, the profession of making banh chung and banh giay has increasingly become an indispensable need, meeting the needs of serving festivals and spiritual tourism of the people.
Through the development of the profession, it has contributed to preserving and promoting cultural values, arousing pride in the historical traditions of the nation; showing respect for the achievements and creativity in the labor of the people. At the same time, it has contributed to promoting and introducing the unique cultural and culinary features of the Ancestral Land to domestic and foreign tourists.
Source: https://baodaknong.vn/xay-dung-thuong-hieu-banh-chung-banh-giay-tai-cac-lang-nghe-phu-tho-240316.html
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