The unique Tet festival of Lung Cung

We went to Lien Minh commune, Vu Ban district ( Nam Dinh province) to immerse ourselves in the festive atmosphere and celebrate the Lung Cung Tet - a very unique Tet with a type of cake whose main ingredients are only abundant in the spring...

People in Lien Minh commune (Vu Ban district, Nam Dinh province) make banh khuc (a type of Vietnamese rice cake) during the Lung Cung Tet festival. Photo: Pham Thao.

The Lung Cung Festival, also known as the Banh Khuc Festival or Vo Bo Festival, is a traditional celebration of the people of the three villages of Thuong, Tam, and Tien, held annually on the 1st day of the 2nd lunar month. The unique feature that makes this festival special is the indispensable Banh Khuc (rice cake).

In the past, this land belonged to the Son Nam Ha district, and it was the birthplace of a famous and talented general who dedicated his entire life to protecting the country's borders. One year, he and his soldiers were unable to celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year) with their families because they were busy fighting against invaders. In early February of that year, the army under his command achieved victory, and he decided to hold a celebratory feast for his troops. However, because the war had been long and their provisions were running out, he devised a plan: he pounded wild spinach, a type of vegetable that only grows abundantly in the spring, and mixed it with glutinous rice to make a cake to offer to heaven and earth, which he then distributed to his soldiers and the local people.

To commemorate this event and express gratitude for the contributions of the talented general, despite the passage of time, the people of the commune still maintain the tradition of making "banh khuc" (a type of rice cake) during the Lung Cung Tet festival (exactly one month after the Lunar New Year). Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Bich, a resident of Thuong village, shared: "I have been married into this family for over 30 years, and every year I participate in making 'banh khuc' with my family. Everyone has a task: some prepare the 'khuc' leaves, others soak the rice and beans, marinate the meat... and then prepare the banana leaves and the wood-fired stove."

From being organized only in the three hamlets of Thuong, Tam, and Tien in Luong Kiet village, the Lung Cung Tet festival has now spread to many hamlets and villages in the commune, gaining popularity among the people and contributing to strengthening family bonds and community spirit. On Tet day, family members gather together to make traditional cakes with distinctive flavors to offer to their ancestors, reminding descendants to always remember their homeland and roots.

The ingredients for making "bánh khúc" include glutinous rice flour mixed with regular rice flour in a specific ratio, mung beans, pork, spices, and, most importantly, the leaves of the "khúc nếp" plant. This is a wild herb that grows abundantly in fields and rice paddies, flourishing in the spring with its drizzling rain.

Carefully selected young shoots of the glutinous rice plant are washed, pounded into a paste, and mixed with rice flour, then shaped into cakes. Mung beans are steamed until cooked and then mashed. Pork is cut into small pieces, marinated with fish sauce and pepper, then stir-fried with onions until fragrant.

Every year, on the morning of the first day of the second lunar month, the people of the three villages of Thuong, Tam, and Tien in Lien Minh commune become bustling with activity. In the cool spring air, the fragrant aroma of sticky rice cakes wafts from each kitchen, incredibly enticing. The women choose the most beautiful cakes, with their plump, glossy grains of sticky rice, fragrant with the scent of the leaves of the "khuc" plant mixed with glutinous rice and beans, as a heartfelt offering from their descendants to the ancestral altar.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/doc-dao-tet-lung-cung-10300827.html