For the people of Nhan, every time Tet comes and Spring comes, besides banh chung, the banh te (also known as banh chung), a rustic specialty made from ingredients such as: Plain rice, pork, wood ear mushrooms, dried onions......
For the people of Nhan, every time Tet comes and Spring comes, besides banh chung, the banh te (also known as banh chung), a rustic specialty made from ingredients such as: Plain rice, pork, wood ear mushrooms, dried onions......
People in Phung Cong commune (Van Giang) wrap banh te to serve customers during the Lunar New Year
Phung Cong commune (Van Giang) is not only famous for its colorful and fragrant flower gardens but is also known for its traditional banh te making. As the Lunar New Year approaches, craft households here are busy day and night producing cakes to meet market demand.
Phung Cong people said that banh te is made from simple ingredients such as: glutinous rice, pork, wood ear mushrooms, dried onions, and dong leaves. The cake recipe seems simple at first, but to "create" famous delicious cakes, it is indeed not easy. First, people choose sticky, fragrant plain rice, soak it in cold water for about 1 hour and then grind it with clear lime water. Next is draining the flour, the most important step in making banh te, because it requires the maker to know how to mix the right amount of water and flour. After mixing the water, place it on the stove over low heat and the worker must always stir well so that the powder does not lump, until the powder is supple enough, not too dry or too mushy. The leaves wrapping the cake are dong leaves grown in the alluvial soil of Dong Ket commune (Khái Chau), soft and chewy. The filling consists of chopped pork mixed with dried onions, wood ear mushrooms and seasoned with spices such as pepper, salt, and MSG, then stir-fried until the filling is rich and delicious.
Wrapping the cake is also an important step, requiring skillful hands, spreading the dough evenly and neatly inside the leaf, placing the filling in the middle. The finished cake looks exactly like a harrow's teeth, the middle is bulging and the two ends are smaller. Boil the cake with boiling water, if boiled with cold water or talcum powder, the cake will be mushy. After about 15 - 20 minutes, when the aroma of the arrowroot leaves mixes with the rice flour and the filling is fragrant, the cake is done. The cooked cake has a clear color mixed with the green of dong leaves, beautiful shine, crispy and chewy taste, and fragrant filling. When enjoying, diners feel the simplicity, rusticity, rich and unforgettable aftertaste that carries the soul of Vietnamese village cuisine. Today, Phung Cong banh te has become an indispensable traditional dish in feasts, Tet holidays and important meals of families here. This is also a hometown gift followed by hometown children and tourists from all over the country.
On the last day of December, visiting the Tuan Linh banh te production facility in Dai village, Phung Cong commune, we witnessed the enthusiastic working atmosphere of the workers. From the skillful and agile hands of the baker, cakes shaped like harrow teeth look very attractive. Ms. Tran Thi Linh, owner of the establishment, said: Nowadays, banh te is not only a dish at weddings and conferences, but also a dish in the meals of many families. On a normal day, my family makes 500 - 700 pieces/day. From December 25 to 30, the facility is in peak production season for Tet, each day providing 3,000 - 4,000 cakes to the market, selling prices from 3,500 - 5,000 VND/piece. To ensure a sufficient quantity of cakes to be delivered to customers as soon as possible, without affecting the quality of the cakes, my family hires 5-7 more cake wrappers. In September 2023, the People's Committee of Van Giang district certified OCOP 3 stars for my family's Banh Te product, helping the product to be widely promoted and trusted and favored by customers.
Currently, Phung Cong commune has more than 30 households producing and trading banh te. The product is produced all year round, each year supplying millions of cakes to the market, creating jobs and stable income for hundreds of workers. All craft households invest in supporting machinery in the stages of rice milling, meat slicing, and flour draining to improve product quality and quantity, reduce labor, and lower product costs. Currently, to maintain and develop the traditional craft in a sustainable way, along with ensuring the quality of cakes, the government and local people are interested in building the brand of Phung Cong sticky rice products.
Not only in Phung Cong commune, banh te is also a specialty dish of people in many localities in the province every time Tet and Spring come. During Tet holidays, almost every family in Thuan Hung commune (Khái Chau) also makes banh te to worship ancestors and for children near and far to enjoy. On the days leading up to Tet, many people in the commune are busy preparing ingredients, grinding flour, and washing dong leaves to make banh te. Ms. Pham Thi Lien in village 4 said: It has become a custom that every year during Tet, I personally choose the ingredients and then grind the flour, drain the flour... make sticky rice cakes for the whole family to eat and give away. On the traditional Tet feast or holidays of the year, although there are many delicious foods, there is always a steaming, fragrant, and attractive plate of sticky rice cakes. This rustic, rustic cake is loved by everyone during Tet because it is chewy, crispy, fragrant, has the green color of dong leaves, and is fatty without being greasy...
Banh te, a simple cake with the flavor of heaven and earth, of human love, a gift from the countryside of Nhan farmers "one sun, two dew". For many generations, people in many localities in the province have still kept the custom of using banh te as a gift to relatives and expatriates as a message to always remember their roots and the traditional flavors of their homeland...
Nguồn trích dẫn: baohungyen.vn
