Almost everyone in Hanoi’s Tranh Khuc village is busy at the end of the lunar year making banh chung, the traditional Tet cake made of glutinous rice.
The village in Thanh Tri District is renowned for the cake.
People at Tranh Khuc village make banh chung. Not only do they don't even need a mold to wrap the banh chung in the exact manner, but also many can make hundreds of them of the same size. (Photo: SGGP)
Nguyen Van Dung, a veteran banh chung maker, said 300 households are making the cakes in the village this year, 10 percent more than last.
They are expected to make 30,000 of them for Tet, he said.
There are around 10 kinds of banh chung produced in the north and there have also been disturbing reports of batteries being boiled along with the cakes.
But the village has trademarked the Tranh Khuc banh chung and retains people’s confidence, he said.
Thanh Tri District authorities invested nearly VND500 million (US$26,000) in building the brand, logo, and packaging.
They tasked the Van Khuc Agriculture Service Cooperative with monitoring cake production at households to ensure safety and quality.
The efforts are paying off, with Tranh Khuc banh chung now being available all over the country at supermarkets and food shops and exported to many countries where ethnic Vietnamese live.
Making good banh chung requires high-quality ingredients – for instance, la dong (phrynium) leaves should be bought from Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Yen Bai, Lao Cai, or Ha Giang Province because they are soft, tough, and have a nice green color after cooking.
Fat and lean pork are used because the fatty flavor mixes well with the glutinous rice and bean, developing a special taste, a villager explained. The ingredients are placed in the la dong leaves and cooked.
Fibers drawn from bamboo are soaked in saltwater or steamed to make them flexible enough to tie the banh chung.
Tranh Khuc, which has been famous for the last 40-50 years, makes the cakes through the year, generally earning a profit of VND10,000-15,000 on each.
But during Tet, people earn much more money, the villager said.
Not only do they don’t even need a mold to wrap the banh chung in the exact manner, but also many can make hundreds of them of the same size, he said proudly.
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