Rich flavor of traditional cakes

The Women's Union at all levels in Phong Dien district regularly cares about and creates conditions to help members and women promote traditional cakes.

Every day, when the rooster crows, Ms. Tran Thi Thu, in Tan Long B hamlet, Tan Thoi commune, Phong Dien district, lights the oven to make cakes. Ms. Thu is the second generation to keep the family's traditional cake making profession. Ms. Thu shared: "My family has 3 sisters, 2 of whom have followed their mother's footsteps, preserving and developing the profession for more than ten years. At the beginning, when I first started my business, I only made small cakes according to orders. Gradually, the number of customers increased, some people ordered large quantities of cakes to serve parties and businesses." Currently, Ms. Thu makes many types of traditional cakes, such as salty cakes, rice cakes, pig skin cakes, tapioca cakes, and tet cakes... using the manual method of steaming cakes. Ms. Thu shared: “Making traditional cakes is not difficult, but you need to have your own secret, and gain experience while making them. For example, when making banh da lon, my mother mainly uses rice flour, while I add more wheat flour to make the cake more chewy. An indispensable ingredient is coconut milk, which contributes to making the cake more traditional, fatty, and fragrant. In addition, the color of the cake is completely made from natural ingredients such as gac fruit, pandan leaves, purple leaves, etc. The cake does not use preservatives to ensure the health of consumers.” On average, Ms. Thu sells about 500-600 banh bo, 30-40kg banh da lon, and several dozen kilos of other types of cakes every day; after deducting expenses, she makes a profit of about 400,000 VND. On holidays and Tet, neighbors come to her to order cakes in large quantities, bringing in a stable income for the family.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Duom in Truong Tay hamlet, Tan Thoi commune, Phong Dien district has also maintained the traditional cake making profession for many years. Ms. Duom said: “My main business is providing catering services for parties and accepting orders for roast pigs. Although I am busy, I still maintain the traditional cake making profession, both to earn income and to preserve the traditional profession passed down from my mother. Currently, I make cakes according to orders, mainly banh tet and banh it”. According to Ms. Duom, to make delicious banh tet and banh it, the first criteria is to choose good sticky rice, other ingredients must be of good quality, and a lot of coconut to achieve the right fat content. In addition to traditional banh tet with banana and bean fillings, she also makes variations to make giant spiral-shaped banh tet weighing over 2kg; letter-shaped banh tet, five-color banh tet... which are popular with many customers. On average, each month, thanks to selling traditional cakes, she "pockets" about 3 million VND.

Not only Ms. Thu and Ms. Duom, the traditional cake making profession has become a job that brings a stable source of income for many members and women in Phong Dien district. According to Ms. Bui Thi Uyen, President of the Women's Union of Phong Dien district, currently, the Union at all levels is effectively maintaining the model of "Five-color Tet cake" in Nhon Nghia commune; the traditional cake making association group in Truong Long commune; the traditional cake cooperative group in Tan Thoi commune. These models attract many members and skilled women to participate. In order to help women members do business smoothly in conjunction with developing traditional crafts in the locality, the Women's Union at all levels of Phong Dien district always cares about and supports members in accessing preferential loans; supports design, brand building; creates favorable conditions for women to participate in seminars and fairs to display and promote traditional cakes to customers near and far...

Article and photos: Kien Quoc

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/dam-da-huong-vi-banh-dan-gian-a186314.html