Are there still sticky rice cakes from Chuon village? Yes, there are, and they will always be...

At the end of the year, before returning to the village, I anxiously inquired about the traditional craft of making banh tet (Vietnamese sticky rice cake). "Yes, it's still thriving!" replied Doan Manh, a villager from Chuon who makes a living driving a taxi in the city, with a concise answer accompanied by a bright, cheerful laugh.

Báo Tuổi Trẻ•15/02/2026

Wrapping beautiful cakes requires years of experience in the craft. - Photo: VU HAO

The village of Chuồn used to be a remote area. At its easternmost point was a raised mound called "Đồng Miệu," jutting out into the Tam Giang lagoon, attracting all kinds of dragonflies flying low and high. This is how the village got its folk name, "Chuồn" (Dragonfly).

Necessity is the mother of invention, a way to escape poverty.

The villagers of Chuồn are skilled in wrapping bánh tét (Vietnamese sticky rice cakes ) and brewing traditional rượu (rice wine).

Since ancient times, the village has designated 20 acres of "first-class rice fields" to cultivate high-quality glutinous rice for making bánh tét (Vietnamese rice cakes). The bánh tét making tradition in Chuồn village has existed for five centuries, from the village's founding to the present day.

This profession originated from the women's ability to calculate the pros and cons. Selling a few baskets of sticky rice at the market didn't bring in much money, depending on the end-of-year market. It was better to process it into banh tet (Vietnamese sticky rice cakes), which provided food, a place to keep, and a higher profit.

The craft of making bánh tét (Vietnamese sticky rice cake) was born from that. "Tét" refers to the act of slicing the cake with a thin string. The women of Chuồn village are honest and simple. Their cakes are clean, delicious, and they don't haggle over prices. Their reputation spread far and wide. During Tet (Vietnamese New Year), people in Hue city flock to order their bánh tét. The brand of bánh tét from Chuồn village was formed simply and sustainably.

The villagers humbly stated, "Due to the soil , the glutinous rice used to make the cakes is very fragrant." The cake-making craft is also passed down through generations, with the most famous in the village being the family of Mr. Doan Rang in alley number 7. All nine of his children, both sons and daughters, have followed this profession, whether they live in the South or the North.

The glutinous rice used for making cakes must be rubbed to remove all the outer husks and other impurities. - Photo: VU HAO

Secrets to making delicious and unique banh tet (Vietnamese sticky rice cake).

In Hue, from the 25th day of the 12th lunar month, you can see sticky rice cakes from Chuon village being sold at Dong Ba, Tay Loc, Ben Ngu, and An Cuu markets… They are also displayed on the sidewalks of Tran Hung Dao, Mai Thuc Loan, Ba Trieu, Nguyen Sinh Cung, and An Duong Vuong streets. You buy them to offer as sacrifices, and if you don't finish them, on the 7th day of the 1st lunar month, take down the bamboo pole, fry them up, and eat them with pickled vegetables and pork sausage – they're still delicious.

The cakes from Chuồn village are easily recognizable. Staying true to the traditional wrapping and cooking methods, the cakes are usually tied with thin strips of bamboo. The person wrapping the cakes counts the number of wraps and ties the string when enough wraps are complete, ensuring the cake is evenly shaped and visually appealing.

Then the cakes are wrapped in many layers of banana leaves, tightly compressed into a round shape. It's not just about the quality of the glutinous rice; for a delicious cake, you also need to choose the right mung beans and pork fat for the filling, and know how to use the firewood for cooking…

The secret to making the cake turn a jade green color is to add some "mat luc" leaves (wild-growing leaves with lobed shapes, small, tapered tips, and sparsely thorny stems and branches) to the cooking pot.

Each pot of rice cakes must have its water changed at least twice to prevent the leaves from fading. The cakes need to be cooked for 12 hours to preserve them for a long time. The heat must be even and continuous during cooking, never letting it die down. After the cakes are cooked, the pot must be thoroughly cleaned before cooking again; otherwise, the leaves will turn dark purple. Stainless steel or aluminum pots are not suitable for cooking rice cakes.

Once cooked, the rice cakes are immediately removed and placed in a basin of cold water to cool. The rice cakes must meet three standards: the outside of the cake must be a smooth, green color. To achieve this, the cooking pot must be made of welded sheet metal, and after two Tet holidays, it must be discarded and replaced with a new one.

When sliced, the cake has a smooth, flat surface, with the glutinous rice and filling clearly separated. The cake is chewy, fragrant, and the aroma of glutinous rice blends harmoniously with the mung bean and pork fat filling (seasoned).