The Le Hoan Temple Festival and Tho Xuan Culture, Tourism, and Culinary Week 2024 took place from April 13th to 17th (corresponding to the 5th to 9th day of the 3rd lunar month of the Year of the Dragon). The aim was to create a joyful atmosphere, attract a large number of locals and tourists from all over, and promote the local culinary culture. As part of the series of events, Tho Xuan district organized an activity to introduce the production process of traditional craft village specialties.
One of the specialties of Tho Xuan district is the "banh la rang bua" (a type of rice cake wrapped in leaves). This type of cake is made in large quantities in Xuan Lap commune.
To make the "bánh lá răng bừa" (a type of Vietnamese rice cake), people usually choose evenly-grained, shiny, fragrant rice, soak it in cold water for about 2-3 hours, and then grind it into a watery flour using a hand-cranked mill to make the flour more pliable and fine. Next, the drying process is very important because it requires the maker to know how to mix the right amount of water and salt in the flour. After mixing, the mixture is placed on a low heat and the maker must constantly stir to prevent lumps, continuing until the flour reaches the right consistency (not too dry or too wet).
To wrap the rice flour cakes, the locals here usually choose banana leaves. The filling consists of finely minced lean pork shoulder mixed with dried onions, wood ear mushrooms, and seasoned with spices such as pepper and salt to taste, then stir-fried until the filling is flavorful and delicious.
After completing the preparation steps, the next step is wrapping the cake. Place a sufficient amount of dough onto a banana leaf, add the filling in the middle, spread it along the length of the banana leaf, and roll it up. At the same time, the maker must gently rotate the cake to make it round and even, with the filling rolled inside. Finally, fold the two ends of the cake inwards.
After wrapping the dumplings, they are steamed until cooked.
Once the cakes are steamed, visitors can enjoy them.
Four-pillar thorn cake is also a specialty of Tho Xuan district. Thorn cakes are mainly made in Tho Dien commune.
Each piece of cake is a wonderful combination of glutinous rice, molasses, banana oil, mung beans, and shredded pork, creating a rich flavor.
The finished sticky rice cakes will be displayed at stalls for tourists to visit and shop.
In addition, visitors attending the Le Hoan Temple Festival and the Tho Xuan Culture, Tourism and Food Week should not miss the baked sticky rice cake (banh chung nung).
The people of Xuan Lap commune make banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes) with great care, especially the baking process. After wrapping, the cakes are placed in earthenware jars surrounded by bricks and filled with rice husks and sawdust for baking. During baking, they must be closely monitored and water added to the pot as needed. To ensure the cakes are chewy and fragrant, they add ngăm leaves (a type of herb) to the baking pot. After baking for 24 hours, the cakes can be taken out and enjoyed.
Reporters' Team
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