Se porridge, Hon cake - Traditional dishes of Binh Nguyen people

Talking about Phu Tho cuisine with its unique delicacies, imbued with regional flavors, it is impossible not to mention the dish of "c hao se" and "banh hon" of the people of Binh Nguyen commune (mainly in the area of ​​Huong Canh town, old Binh Xuyen district). This rustic dish is made from rice flour as the crust mixed with meat, wood ear, green onion... making it unforgettable for anyone who has ever enjoyed it.

Se porridge, Hon cake - Traditional dishes of Binh Nguyen people

Binh Nguyen Commune was established on the basis of merging 4 administrative units: Huong Canh Town; Tam Hop, Quat Luu and Son Loi communes. Learning about the origin of porridge and banh hon in Binh Nguyen, it is known that this rustic dish appeared in the late 18th century.

The elders still recount: At that time, the continuous war completely isolated Huong Canh village, the food in the village was also gradually depleted. From then on, the dish of banh hon and chao se was born as a food to relieve hunger, helping the villagers overcome difficult times.

The filling of the cake is made from minced pork, green onions, and wood ear mushrooms.

At that time, the cake crust was made thin, large and filled with fresh onions or wood ear mushrooms mixed with salt to create the feeling of being able to eat a lot. Because it was shaped round and hollow inside, people called it a round cake.

Along with the banh hon dish, the people of Huong Canh village created a porridge dish to eat with the cake. A portion of the flour used to make the banh hon is kneaded thoroughly to achieve a certain level of elasticity and smoothness. Each piece of dough is placed between the palms of the hands, the palms of the hands are pressed tightly, rolled evenly to form small strands of dough, flowing continuously into the pot of boiling water, so it is called porridge. The hands of the person rolling the dough must move continuously so that the strands of dough do not get tangled together.

When the dough is formed and put into the pot, the maker will continue to simmer and stir constantly until the rice flour strands float up, then the porridge pot is cooked evenly. When eating, the cake will be put into the porridge bowl to eat together, the flavors of these two foods blend together to make it more delicious. With this creative way of making, the villagers lived together through the difficult and famine days.

To have hot banh hon to sell to people early in the morning, the baker must wake up from 2-3am to prepare the ingredients and complete the steps of shaping and steaming the cake.

Nowadays, the Banh Hon in Binh Nguyen is made much smaller but still retains the traditional way of making. In particular, when conditions permit, the cake filling is added with minced pork combined with green onions and wood ear mushrooms, creating an attractive, unforgettable flavor when enjoyed.

Banh hon and porridge are chosen as breakfast by many families.

As the owner of a famous banh hon and chao se shop in village 1, Binh Nguyen commune, Ms. Tran Thi Kim Cuc has been involved in this traditional profession for more than 10 years. She said: Since childhood, every time there was a party at home, she watched her grandmother and mother make banh hon and chao se to entertain guests, then she also practiced making the cakes, sitting and waiting for the cakes to be cooked so that her mother could let her try them.

The passion for baking was nurtured in her mind, making her want to preserve the taste of the rustic dishes of her hometown even more when she grew up. That is why she gave up her job in the animal feed business - a job that also brought a good income for her family - to pursue her passion for making banh hon and chao se.

According to Ms. Cuc, to make delicious banh hon, the rice selection step is extremely important. Rice for making banh hon and congee must be good rice saved from the previous crop to reduce stickiness. Experience is that after being washed thoroughly and drained, the rice is ground to get fine powder, then poured into a steamer. The dough is then expanded and spongy, then mixed thoroughly until the dough is soft and not sticky, and the dough can be stretched out without breaking to meet the requirements.

Ms. Tran Thi Kim Cuc's family's rice cake production facility has added frozen rice cakes to serve the needs of diners in all regions.

When she first started her business, the consumer market was still limited and she had no experience or skills to access social networks, so every day Ms. Cuc only made 7-10 kg of flour. Due to the outstanding taste of her banh hon and chao se dishes, her reputation spread far and wide, and customers introduced each other, so the number of cakes made increased every day.

Up to now, every day she makes 40-50kg of flour, on peak days she makes more than 100kg of flour to have enough cakes to supply to restaurants, weddings, parties... To have hot banh hon every morning, every day she has to wake up at 2am to prepare the filling and mobilize workers to shape and steam the cakes.

BOX:

Every morning, her establishment sells hundreds of boxes of banh hon and porridge. According to preliminary calculations, the revenue from making banh hon and porridge of Ms. Cuc's family each month reaches 70-80 million VND, after deducting expenses, the profit is also 25-30 million VND. At the same time, it creates jobs for 4-5 local workers with an income of 4-5 million VND/person/month. Currently, Ms. Cuc's banh hon and porridge establishment has developed sales points in Vinh Yen ward, Vinh Phuc , and Tam Dao commune.

Up to now, her house is the only facility in the old Huong Canh area that produces frozen rice cakes to serve the enjoyment needs of people in provinces and cities across the country. This type of frozen cake can be kept for 1 month in the freezer, when needed, just take it out of the freezer and put it in a steamer for 20-30 minutes to enjoy, the cake eaten hot still retains the flavor as if it had just been made at the place of production. Rice cakes can be eaten alone, dipped in sweet and sour garlic chili fish sauce or can be eaten with porridge to add a unique and unforgettable flavor.

Life is increasingly developing, although there are many new and attractive dishes, but Hon cake and Se porridge are still the hometown gifts chosen by people not only in Binh Nguyen but also in many neighboring localities for breakfast. The rich and delicious flavor of Huong Canh Hon cake is also loved by people in other provinces and cities. The market is open, the profession of making Hon cake and Se porridge is increasingly developing, attracting many participants, especially women in their free time.

Comrade Tran Tien Giang, Deputy Head of the Culture - Society Department of Binh Nguyen Commune, said: The commune currently has 38 residential villages, but only 18 villages belong to the old Huong Canh town with more than 70 households making banh hon and chao se. On average, each day, households supply thousands of boxes of cakes and cups of porridge to the market.

This rustic dish now not only serves local people but has been brought to the market in many communes and wards in the province and in Hanoi , Hung Yen... and is even loved by customers in Ho Chi Minh City, thus actively contributing to creating jobs and increasing income for hundreds of workers, contributing to the development of local socio-economics.

In order to preserve culinary quintessence, bring traditional local dishes to all regions, contribute to improving income and life for people, Binh Nguyen commune is continuing to create conditions, regularly encouraging households to increase investment in modern machinery, ensure food safety and improve product quality so that local rustic dishes continue to reach everywhere.

Hoang Nga - Duong Chung

Source: https://baophutho.vn/chao-se-banh-hon--mon-an-dan-da-cua-nguoi-binh-nguyen-239910.htm