Traditional pastry villages in Lam Dong province are bustling with activity during the Tet holiday season.

Every year, from the beginning of the twelfth lunar month until the Lunar New Year, traditional cake-making villages in Lam Dong province come alive with activity, busily producing and preparing goods to supply the market for the Lunar New Year of the Horse in 2026.

Rice paper rolls served "on fire" to customers.

Phu Long rice paper rolls have become a favorite dish of both locals and tourists.

These days, visiting any house in the Phu Long rice paper making village, Ham Thang ward, reveals the bustling atmosphere of traditional rice paper ovens. The ovens are lit from dawn to make and dry the rice paper, ensuring timely delivery to customers as Tet (Lunar New Year) approaches.

According to bakery owners, during the peak period of the Lunar New Year, bakeries can increase production to meet market demand. Each day, the bakeries typically start at 2 AM and operate until 4 PM. Those grinding the flour, making the batter, drying the cakes, and removing the cakes from the ovens all work with great urgency.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong, residing in Phu Thinh neighborhood, Ham Thang ward, Lam Dong province, stated that during Tet (Lunar New Year), the number of rice paper orders is significantly higher than usual. While her facility typically produces around 1,000 pieces per day, this number increases to 1,700-2,000 during this period. Although the rice paper is made to customer demand with greater care and quality during Tet, the prices remain unchanged, ranging from 30,000-40,000 VND per dozen for thin rice paper and 50,000-60,000 VND per dozen for thicker rice paper.

Trays of rice paper are spread out to dry throughout the villages of Ham Thang ward, Lam Dong province.

For a long time, Phu Long rice paper has been a favorite dish not only of locals but also of tourists due to its distinctive flavor, stemming from a dough recipe passed down through generations. Although many steps have been replaced by machinery, some rice paper factories still maintain the traditional hand-making method that has been in use for over a hundred years.

Phu Long rice paper is known for its many varieties, such as thick rice paper for grilling and puffing, rice paper for wrapping fried spring rolls, and rice paper for making fried sausages, etc. The most popular type remains the thin, flexible rice paper. This is an indispensable dish for the local people during every Tet holiday. In recent years, thanks to improvements in design and diversification of types, Phu Long rice paper has become popular in neighboring provinces.

Some households in Ham Thang ward, Lam Dong province, a village known for its rice paper production, have improved their technology and applied scientific and technical advancements to increase productivity.

Mr. Tran Van Sang, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ham Thang Ward, said that the ward still has about 40 rice paper making workshops. Some households have improved technology and applied science and techniques to increase productivity; food safety is also given great attention. Making rice paper, especially during the Tet holiday season, provides a stable income, helps people prepare for Tet, and solves rural employment problems.

The unique craft of making sticky rice cakes in coastal areas.

The main ingredient in making cốm hộc (a type of Vietnamese rice snack) is puffed rice roasted from fragrant glutinous rice that has been cooked for three months; this type of glutinous rice determines the distinctive flavor of cốm.

Besides rice paper, sticky rice cakes are also an indispensable dish during Tet (Lunar New Year) for people in the coastal areas of Lam Dong province. This is not only an offering to ancestors, but also a traditional dish that has been associated with the local people for a very long time.

In coastal areas, this type of rice flake snack only appears during Tet (Lunar New Year). Previously, each family would organize the making and packaging of rice flakes, a tradition passed down through generations. However, with modern lifestyles, in the last decade or so, many people have opted to order from bakeries and workshops for convenience. As a result, bakeries and workshops have sprung up and are bustling with activity in the days leading up to Tet, concentrated mainly in Ham Thang ward, Phan Thiet ward, Ham Liem commune, Ham Thuan commune, etc.

The rice flake making workshops in Ham Thuan commune, Lam Dong province, are only bustling for about a month each year during the Tet holiday.

In the final days of the year, the rice cake making workshop of Ms. Pham Thi Be Ba's family in Ward 5, Ham Thuan Commune (Lam Dong Province) is bustling day and night. From 6 a.m., some peel pineapples and ginger; others stir-fry sugar; some mix; and others shape the rice cakes. By evening, everyone gathers to pack. In this busy atmosphere, batches of square, fragrant rice cakes are made in time for shipments to be used in ancestral worship ceremonies in the coastal region of Lam Dong.

According to Ms. Pham Thi Be Ba, the craft of making puffed rice cakes has been passed down to her by her mother for over a decade. "Initially, we made puffed rice cakes just for ancestral offerings and, more importantly, to preserve our family's traditional craft. But then friends and relatives introduced us to it, and more and more people liked it, placing orders, leading to the large-scale production we see today," Ms. Be Ba explained.

For a long time, "cốm hộc" (a type of Vietnamese rice snack) has been an indispensable offering on the ancestral altar during Tet (Lunar New Year) in coastal areas. Making "cốm hộc" involves many stages, and each step is crucial to achieving delicious, chewy pieces. Everything is done entirely by hand to ensure the best traditional flavor. The main ingredient is puffed rice, roasted from fragrant glutinous rice that has been harvested three months prior – a type of rice that determines the distinctive flavor of "cốm hộc." After being cleaned, the puffed rice is mixed with sugar, pineapple, and ginger according to a predetermined ratio. The mixed rice is then stuffed into wooden molds, pressed tightly into square compartments, dried, wrapped in decorative paper, and presented attractively.

At the rice flake making facility in Ham Thuan commune, Lam Dong province, the rice flakes are beautifully wrapped in decorative paper before being delivered to consumers.

Ms. Pham Thi Be Ba said that on average, her rice puffing workshop produces several hundred boxes of puffed rice per day; from the beginning of the twelfth lunar month until now, they have produced more than 7,000 boxes, mostly based on pre-orders. This year, the type of glutinous rice used for puffing is scarce, so around the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, the workshop will close and not accept any more orders. Despite the increase in raw materials, the price of puffed rice per box remains stable, ranging from 28,000 to 36,000 VND per box, depending on weight and quality.

Not only in Ham Thuan, but also in Phan Thiet ward, many households are still involved in the traditional craft of making sticky rice cakes. Every Tet holiday, the atmosphere of cake-making becomes bustling throughout the neighborhood. Amidst the hustle and bustle of modern life, the traditional cake-making craft in Lam Dong province continues to exist as a part of Vietnamese memories, preserving the flavor of Tet.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/cac-lang-banh-truyen-thong-lam-dong-do-lua-vu-tet-20260202122548089.htm