The Doan Ngo Festival, which takes place on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month every year, is also known as the Insect Extermination Festival. This is an occasion for Vietnamese people to express their gratitude to their ancestors and pray for health and luck for their families. Traditionally, the Doan Ngo Festival offering tray often includes dishes such as sticky rice wine, rice wine, ash cakes, plums, lychees, sticky rice, sweet soup and early-season fruits.
Offering tray of Hanoi's good mother - a harmonious combination of tradition and modernity
Ms. Vu Thu Huong, a woman who loves the kitchen and is passionate about cuisine , has created a beautiful and culturally rich Tet Doan Ngo offering tray. Her tray is not only full of traditional dishes but also delicately arranged, showing respect and devotion to ancestors.
That feast is not simply beautifully presented food, but love, respect for heritage, a part of childhood memories that Ms. Huong preserves and passes on to the next generation.
In this article, let's explore each dish on Ms. Vu Thu Huong's Doan Ngo Tet offering tray to see that food is not only to fill the stomach, but also to remember, to love, and to know who you are.
Offering tray 1
Ms. Vu Thu Huong prepares the Doan Ngo Festival offering tray with full traditional dishes and delicately arranged.
Sticky rice wine and rice wine – folk medicine to kill insects
Sticky rice wine and rice wine are made from yellow sticky rice - a delicious specialty of the North. The sweet and spicy taste of sticky rice wine, combined with naturally fermented yeast, according to folk beliefs, helps "kill insects" in the body, purify and protect health.
Sticky rice wine and rice wine: dishes that symbolize body purification and wish for good health.
Ash cake (ash cake) – cool taste of summer
Banh tro is an indispensable dish during the Duan Ngo Festival, made from glutinous rice soaked in ash water, wrapped in banana leaves and boiled. When peeling off the cake, the thin, flexible, transparent crust sparkles under the sunlight, taking a light bite will feel the cool, soft taste. Banh tro not only helps cool down on summer days, but is also a symbol of purification and purity.
Ash cake: cool, light, symbolizing purity in Vietnamese cuisine.
Plum and lychee – the vibrant flavors of summer
Plums and lychees are two typical fruits of summer, often appearing on the offerings tray during the Duanwu Festival. Plump purple plums and sweet red lychees are not only delicious, but also symbolize wishes for health, luck, and peace for the family.
Plum and lychee: symbols of reunion, bountiful harvest and wishes for peace.
Sticky rice with lotus seed and coconut and stir-fried green rice – the taste of abundance
In Ms. Vu Thu Huong's Doan Ngo Tet offering tray, sticky rice with lotus and coconut is the delicate highlight. This sticky rice dish is made from fragrant young green rice grains, combined with the sweet taste of fresh coconut and the elegant scent of lotus. Each piece of sticky rice is fragrant, fatty, and melts gently on the tip of the tongue, reminding us of the sticky rice fields, the windy autumn afternoons in Hanoi , and the scent of lotus by the lake.
Along with that, sticky rice flakes are also a special dish on the offering tray. The rice flakes are skillfully stir-fried with coconut milk and sugar, creating a soft, chewy and fragrant dish. Sticky rice flakes are not only delicious but also a symbol of resilience, strength in family affection and gratitude to ancestors.
Sticky rice with lotus seed and coconut and stir-fried sticky rice – The quintessential flavor of summer, symbol of abundance and reunion.
Offering tray 2
Blue glaze tea set displayed with lotus tea on the offering tray – The fusion between tradition and the quintessence of Vietnamese ceramic art.
Lotus tea on the offering tray is not only for enjoyment but also a symbol of tranquility, nobility and respect for ancestors. Each cup of tea is distilled from the essence of the first lotus buds of the season, the light fragrance, the sweet taste permeates the heart, reminding descendants of a pure, simple but profound lifestyle.
Lotus – symbol of Vietnamese culture and spirit
Pink and white lotus flowers are placed alternately on the altar table as a highlight, enhancing the elegant beauty of the space. Lotus is not only a beautiful flower, but also the soul of Vietnamese culture, symbolizing purity, filial piety and the spirit of strong growth in any circumstance.
Five-color fruit tray - sweet taste, vibrant colors
The five-color fruit tray with sweet, soft, colorful fruits is harmoniously arranged, symbolizing the five elements, the balance of yin and yang, and wishes for family reunion, happiness, and peace.
Young areca nut, fresh betel leaf – traditional connecting thread
Next to the tea and flower trays, the young green areca nuts and the slender fresh betel leaves are neatly displayed as an indispensable part. This is a familiar image in Vietnamese culture, symbolizing the bond and steadfastness in the love between husband and wife, family and community.
Offering tray 3
The scent of Vietnamese countryside on the offering tray for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Lotus leaves - cool green background cherishes Vietnamese soul
In the photo above, lush green lotus leaves are used as a background for the offering tray, creating a harmonious, fresh whole. Lotus leaves not only beautify but also have the meaning of purification, purity, reminiscent of vast rice fields, fragrant lotus ponds on hot summer days.
Com cake, xu xe cake – sweet hometown gifts on the Doan Ngo Festival offering tray
Besides sweet soups, sticky rice, and fresh fruits, Ms. Vu Thu Huong's Doan Ngo Tet offering tray also stands out with jade green sticky rice cakes, each cake is carefully wrapped, square, showing sophistication and ingenuity.
Pink lotus – noble and gentle
Indispensable on the offering tray are pink lotus flowers, placed next to each dish, skillfully decorated as a delicate touch. Lotus symbolizes nobility, reminding of the pure, simple but profound lifestyle of the Vietnamese people.
Young Areca - a spiritual connection
The young, green, fresh areca nuts evoke a familiar image in Vietnamese ritual culture. Areca nuts on the offering tray are not only for decoration but also a symbol of loyalty, connection and a message about family affection and filial piety.
Purple sticky rice and plum sweet soup – brilliant summer colors
A bowl of shiny purple sticky rice, next to it is a plump, plump plum. The harmonious combination of color and flavor on the offering tray tells the story of summer: sweet, cool, full of love.
Offering tray 4
Harmony of color - aroma - taste: The feast is a work of art.
Golden rice cake – symbol of happiness and reunion
On the offering tray, the most prominent is the shiny yellow xu xe cake, cut into squares and arranged into large flowers on lotus leaves. The inner crust is chewy, the filling is sweet and rich with mung beans and fragrant with shredded coconut. The xu xe cake is not only beautiful but also carries the meaning of wishing for lasting happiness and unity for the family.
Golden rice cake – soft, cool, symbol of complete happiness.
Purple sticky rice dessert – simple color, sweet taste
Bowls of shiny purple-brown sticky rice are neatly placed on the offering tray, containing the sweet, fatty and cool taste of summer. Sticky rice is a wish for fulfillment, fullness and prosperity.
Yellow sticky rice wine – spicy yeast flavor, purifies the body
The rice wine bowls are neatly placed in blue enamel bowls, the glutinous rice grains are golden yellow, soft, and fragrant. This is a traditional dish that helps "kill insects", purify the body, and symbolizes wishing health and peace for the whole family.
Plum and lychee – brilliant summer colors
Plump purple plums and bright red lychee bunches are beautifully displayed, representing a bountiful harvest and wishes for good health and prosperity.
Plum, lychee: sweet taste, bring wishes of peace and prosperity to the family.
Ash cake (ash cake) – cool summer days, detoxifying the body
Small ash cakes, wrapped in green dong leaves, tied with rustic strings, the cake crust is transparent, soft, and has a light taste. It is a traditional dish that helps cool down and purify the body during the Doan Ngo Festival.
Lotus and jasmine flowers – sophistication and elegance on the offering tray
Pink lotus flowers and white jasmine flowers are delicately dotted on the offering tray, not only beautifying the space but also carrying deep spiritual meaning: purity, sincerity and aspiration towards good things.
Five-fruit tray - wishing for good fortune and complete prosperity
Central tray of five-color fruits: Golden soft bananas, interspersed with bright red soft persimmons, soft oranges and tangerines, arranged in a brilliant flower cluster, reminiscent of a five-color lotus.
The central tray of fruit on the main offering tray is the "five-color fruit tray from soft fruit cakes" including yellow soft bananas, red soft persimmons, interspersed with oranges and tangerines, forming a brilliant flower cluster like a prominent five-color lotus.
In addition, pink lotus flowers, white lotus flowers, jasmine flowers, and lotus leaves are still arranged harmoniously, creating a harmonious picture between cuisine and handicraft art. Next to that are dishes of plump purple plums, bright red lychees, sticky rice wine, and purple sticky rice sweet soup neatly displayed in blue-glazed bowls.
Each offering tray is a story of love, each dish is a part of the Vietnamese soul.
Vu Thu Huong's Doan Ngo Tet offering tray is not only beautiful but also rich in cultural and spiritual meaning. Each dish and each flower on the offering tray is a message of gratitude to ancestors, family love and pride in preserving the beauty of Vietnamese culture. Looking at that offering tray, people not only see a ritual, but also the affection, care, and desire to pass on traditional values to future generations.
Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/chiem-nguong-mam-cung-tet-doan-ngo-dep-nhu-tranh-cua-me-dam-ha-thanh-goi-tron-hon-viet-trong-tung-le-vat-172250529122051412.htm
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