Unique moon cake, corn cake

In the days leading up to Tet, the kitchen fire in Dai An Khe village (Trieu Thuong commune, Hai Lang district, Quang Tri province) seems to never go out.

Mr. Dao Ngoc Da meticulously adds water and watches the fire to make a batch of delicious moon cake.

Mr. Dao Ngoc Da (65 years old, living in Dai An Khe village) said that this is a profession that has been passed down and preserved by his father for many generations and is now passed on to his four children.

Mr. Da's family hired 5 workers, mainly villagers, to make the cakes. Near Tet, the number of workers doubled to have enough cakes to deliver to customers near and far. The reason why villagers call it moon cake is because when "cut" (cut - PV) the cake has a crescent shape. The cake is made from sticky rice, green bean paste and pork belly. After soaking, the sticky rice is washed and drained. Then, it is mixed well with spinach juice to give the sticky rice a jade green color. To avoid the cake being soggy, the sticky rice must be taken out immediately after soaking for about 5-7 minutes.

Moon cake of Dai An Khe village. Photo: THANH VAN

Dai An Khe villagers often use banana leaves to wrap the cakes. "We choose banana leaves so that when the cake is cooked, it has a beautiful color and the inside of the cake is not stained," said Mr. Da. The cake is usually cooked for 7-8 hours and then taken out. During this process, the baker must be present at the stove to add water and watch the fire. Depending on each person's preferences and conditions, the moon cake will be best eaten after a day of baking. At this time, the cake has a jade green color, the sticky and fragrant sticky rice mixed with the flavor of green beans and the fatty taste of pork belly. If the cake is eaten with pickled vegetables and shallots, there is nothing better...

From individual cake-making households, now in Dai An Khe, a production cooperative has been formed with 23 participating households. Moon cake has now gone beyond the village boundary, and is ordered by consumers from many provinces and cities, especially during Tet.

In the countryside of Dat Do, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tinh (living in Thanh Tan quarter) has been making corn banh tet for 30 years, supplying more than 300 loaves of banh tet to suppliers every day.

Dat Do corn sticky rice cake is famous and known by many people. Photo: NGOC GIANG

The corn banh tet dish has been passed down through many generations in the family and the entire process of preparing the ingredients, marinating and wrapping the cake is done by hand. At the age of 15, Ms. Tinh followed her mother to wrap the cake, and since then, this has been both a way for her to earn a living and also a way for her to preserve the family's traditional profession.

Corn sticky rice cake uses fresh corn and green beans as the main ingredients. To make a delicious sticky rice cake, the corn must be carefully selected from the raw material stage. The main season is from April to the end of August, Dat Do corn absorbs the essence of heaven and earth and meets all the conditions to create the most chewy, sweet, and fragrant sticky rice cake. "First, you must choose corn that is just ripe enough and has just been harvested. If the corn is young, the cake will not be chewy, and if the corn is too old, it will not be fragrant and sweet" - Ms. Tinh shared.

After peeling the corn, wash it and shred it to remove the cob, then put it in a blender and mix it with a little salt. Cook the mung beans, puree them and mix them with the green onions that have been sauteed in cooking oil and a little sugar to make the filling.

The way to wrap the cake is similar to other types of banh tet with meat filling, corn flour spread on banana leaves and then put in mung bean filling, some places add pureed coconut rice to increase the fat content, but the traditional cake only has mung bean. All the filling is put in the middle, then wrapped and tied tightly with many strings into each loaves. After wrapping the cake, put it in a pot and cook for nearly 2 hours until it is just cooked, take it out to drain and eat.

This rustic dish has become a specialty that attracts tourists to enjoy every time they visit Dat Do. In particular, corn banh tet in Dat Do has been recorded in the Vietnam Guinness Book of Records.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/doc-dao-banh-tet-mat-trang-banh-tet-bap-196250124134423478.htm