Ke rice crackers, a local delicacy from the Kinh Bac region.

Whenever they are far from home, upon hearing the song "Returning Home" by the late composer Pho Duc Phuong with its lyrics: "Oh, my homeland, with its rice crackers and rice cakes. Where fragrant meadows and green fields yield sweet fruits…", the people of Kinh Bac region feel nostalgic for their hometown, for the rice crackers their mothers used to buy as gifts at the market.

I remember back then, as soon as we saw Mom's shadow at the end of the alley, my sisters and I would rush out, grabbing her bag and searching for the still-warm treats from the countryside. In those days, the rice crackers from Dinh Ke village, now Dinh Ke ward, Bac Giang city, Bac Giang province, were a simple, affordable local treat that mothers and grandmothers often bought at the market.

The freshly baked Kế rice cracker was fragrant with the aroma of sesame seeds, peanuts, and cooked rice flour over the charcoal fire. Delightfully holding the large, conical-sized cracker in their hands, the children vied with each other to break it apart and savor the crispness as it crumbled in their mouths.

When we were a little older, in middle and high school, during the Mid-Autumn Festival feast at school, we students would choose the biggest rice cracker to hang on a bamboo branch to represent the moon. The whole class was delighted when the teachers judging the feast praised us for our creative way of using the rice cracker from our hometown.

It's unclear exactly when the people of Dinh Ke village started making rice crackers. The stories they told me about 10, 15, or even a few hundred years ago are probably just estimates. All I know is that while there are many rice cracker villages in Vietnam, such as Lang Son , Nam Dinh, and Binh Thuan, the rice crackers from Ke are a unique specialty, embodying the spirit of the Kinh Bac region in a way that's unlike any other.

The Kế rice crackers are skillfully grilled over charcoal to produce a crispy, fragrant cracker.

To create the large, crispy, and fragrant Kế rice crackers, the villagers of Kế always keep their own secret recipe, which they call a "family tradition." Kế rice crackers are made entirely by hand through many processes such as: grinding rice flour, spreading the batter, sprinkling sesame seeds and peanuts, drying the crackers on racks in the sun, and then baking them over charcoal. Among these steps, the baking method is the secret, a "certificate" of skill for the women of Kế.

Nowadays, on every journey through Bac Giang province, people from afar often buy Ke rice crackers as gifts for friends and relatives.

For adults, Kế rice crackers have long been a wonderful appetizer at every party. It's great to sit with friends, sipping a cold beer and enjoying a crispy Kế rice cracker dipped in chili sauce. Not only in Bắc Giang, but now in many beer gardens and pubs in many northern provinces and cities, you can always find Kế rice crackers on the menu.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/diem-den-hap-dan/banh-da-ke-qua-que-vung-kinh-bac-20201022222747499.htm