Hue-style pressed rice cakes for Tet (Lunar New Year)

(NLĐO) - The hot, fragrant aroma of pork fat, tapioca flour, and scallions creates the distinctive flavor of Hue-style pressed rice cakes. This simple, inexpensive dish is a hit during Tet (Lunar New Year).

During the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Horse (Bính Ngọ), as the spring sun warmed the sea, the entire Thuận An area ( Hue City) suddenly awakened to the unique aroma of pressed rice cakes. After the New Year's feasts full of fatty meats, sticky rice cakes, and other traditional New Year's treats, many people came here as a way to "change things up," to combat the familiar feeling of satiety at the beginning of the year. From early morning, the stalls were already burning, and the workers busily kneaded dough, lit charcoal, and prepared for a day of welcoming customers from afar.

A new dish to enjoy during Tet (Vietnamese New Year).

Le Si Street, less than 300 meters long, is lined with 5-7 bánh ép (pressed rice cake) stalls. Each stall is filled with the smoke of charcoal smoke, with flames burning brightly from noon until evening. Customers come and go in a constant stream; the sounds of ordering, flipping molds, and sizzling oil fill the air, blending with the bustling Tet atmosphere to create a vibrant and rustic street food scene.

Hot, freshly made pressed rice cakes. Each one is served with pickles, vegetables, and fish sauce, but costs less than 4,000 VND.

Amidst the crowd were all sorts of faces: Hue locals celebrating Tet, domestic tourists, and even curious Western visitors stopping by the stall. They sat together at low plastic tables, enjoying hot pressed rice cakes while watching the nimble hands of the baker over the glowing charcoal stove. For many, pressed rice cakes were not just a dish, but a quintessential Hue Tet experience.

Not just a local snack, in 2021, the People's Committee of Hue City awarded first prize in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition to the project "Thuan An Pressed Cake – Crispy Pizza Conquering the World " by TP SEAFOOD Co., Ltd., demonstrating the far-reaching potential of this seemingly simple dish.

Besides wet pressed cakes that can be eaten on the spot, the stalls also sell dry pressed cakes – thinly pressed and baked until crispy – for customers to buy and take away.

Bags of dumplings are neatly stacked in the corner of the shop, emitting a faint aroma of tapioca flour and pork, accompanying tourists back to the city, and carried in the luggage of those returning home after Tet. The buying and selling atmosphere lasts all day, and sometimes customers have to stand and wait for a seat.

Pre-made dough.

Not just on Le Si Street, but throughout Thuan An ward, there are estimated to be at least 30 banh ep (pressed rice cake) stalls, densely concentrated along Hoang Quang, Tran Hai Thanh, and Thai Duong streets… The stalls are located next to each other, each with its own secret recipe, but all sharing the same bustling atmosphere during the early days of spring.

The freshly baked, hot cakes attract customers.

Amidst the lively laughter and chatter, the smell of glowing charcoal, and the salty sea breeze, Thuan An pressed rice cakes become a unique Tet delicacy – light on the stomach, easy to eat, enough to counteract the richness of hearty feasts, and entice people to linger longer in Hue.

"Hue Pizza" from a charcoal oven by the sea.

Using only familiar ingredients like pork, tapioca flour, chicken eggs, and scallions, the people of Hue have created banh ep (pressed rice cake) – a simple snack that captivates anyone who has tasted it even once. Among them, the banh ep "Mu Kieu" on Le Si Street is a name that many diners recommend to each other.

The kitchen area, with its 7-8 bread-pressing ovens and their sizzling sounds, creates an appetizing atmosphere for diners.

Tran Thi Kieu's eatery is just a small, one-story house by the roadside, without a sign, but it's always bustling with customers. This woman, over 50 years old, is affectionately called "Grandma Kieu" by her customers because of her cheerful, approachable nature and the way she's kept the passion for her business alive for decades.

To make hot pressed cakes, the workers have to sit for hours by the sweltering charcoal stove.

In this small shop, Mrs. Kieu has arranged seven ovens for pressing the rice cakes right next to the dining tables. This is what creates its unique appeal: customers can wait for their cakes while witnessing each step of the pressing process on the glowing charcoal ovens, listening to the sizzling sound of the melting fat, and enjoying the aroma spreading throughout the cramped space.

The dry cake is pressed together with chicken eggs.

Pressed rice cakes - A delicious treat to combat the feeling of being satiated during Tet (Vietnamese New Year).

From early morning, "Mụ's" husband wakes up and begins kneading the tapioca dough. The hands of this man from the coastal region nimbly roll the dough into small balls about the size of rambutans. Thinly sliced ​​pork is marinated and placed on top of the dough. Around 9 a.m., the charcoal stove is lit, and by noon, the restaurant officially opens its doors to customers.

Freshly made rice paper rolls, served with vegetables and dipped in fish sauce, are absolutely delicious.

When the cast iron mold is hot enough, the baker pours in the batter and presses it firmly to flatten the pancake. The mold is continuously turned to ensure the pancake cooks evenly on both sides. When the pancake is just cooked, beaten eggs are poured over it, chopped scallions are sprinkled on top, and the mold is covered for about 5-10 seconds before it can be removed and placed on a plate, with about 10 hot pancakes per plate.

Customers eating pressed rice cakes at "Mụ Kiều" restaurant.

Plastic tables are placed close together next to the charcoal stove, and when it gets crowded, there's sometimes no place to sit. Regular customers often bring their own food, such as the Vietnamese coriander, cucumber, pickles, quail eggs, and fermented pork sausage, as is typical of Hue cuisine.

From the charcoal ovens by the Thuận An coast, the humble bánh ép (pressed cake) is quietly telling a story that is uniquely Huế: simple, resilient, and capable of traveling far. Among Vietnam's nearly 3,000 dishes, Huế cuisine accounts for over 65%, with two main branches: royal cuisine and folk cuisine. Amidst this "forest" of delicious dishes, bánh ép stands out as a quintessential representative of street food, affectionately called by young people with the intriguing name: "Hue Pizza."

The rice paper rolls are chewy, fragrant with egg, and rich with pork. When eating, diners spread the roll out, add coriander, cucumber, shredded carrots and papaya, then roll it up and dip it in fish sauce. Those who prefer a stronger flavor can also wrap it with Hue-style fermented pork sausage, creating an unforgettable blend of tastes.

The restaurant's real selling point is the dipping sauce, personally prepared and blended by Mrs. Kieu: fragrant with garlic and chili, with a balanced salty-sour-sweet flavor that satisfies even the most discerning diners.

Having been involved in the business for nearly 20 years, from selling pressed rice crackers by the sea to running a shop at home for over 15 years, Mrs. Kieu has witnessed Thuan An pressed rice crackers transform from a simple, rustic snack into a part of the culinary memories of many generations.

Nowadays, "Mụ Kiều" pressed cakes are not only familiar to locals and young people in Hue, but they have also traveled with Vietnamese expats to the US and Europe, becoming a gift that brings the taste of home to those living abroad.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/banh-ep-hue-ngay-tet-196260213103723989.htm