The 'sacred' banh tet cake on the Southern New Year

Seeing banh tet makes me think of Tet

Every year, after the middle of December, Mrs. Huynh Thi Dep (Tu Dep, 70 years old, living in Vinh Loc A commune, Hong Dan district, Bac Lieu ) begins to prepare ingredients to wrap banh tet for Tet. The fragrant sticky rice must be selected from pure quality, the green beans must be plump and the green banana leaves must be picked from the banana bush behind the house.

Wrapping banh tet for Tet in Bac Lieu

On the morning of December 30, the Tet atmosphere spread everywhere. When the ingredients were ready, Mrs. Tu Dep quickly wrapped the cakes, her four daughters gathered around to tie the strings. The eldest son busily lit the makeshift stove, and the children also ran around. The cake wrapping mat placed in the middle of the yard was bustling and bustling.

On the afternoon of the 30th of Tet, by the red fire and the cozy year-end meal, Mrs. Tu Dep's family gathered to wait for the cake to be cooked. As soon as the pot lid was opened, white smoke billowed out, and the fragrant smell of banh tet wafted in the wind. The first cake was still hot, Mrs. Tu Dep carefully cut it into slices, respectfully lit incense to worship her ancestors. Then, she divided the cake among her children, each person got a dozen cakes. That was also the time when New Year's Eve rang. "This custom has been around since I was a girl. My mother did it the same way, now I try to keep it and teach it to my children," Mrs. Tu Dep shared.

There are many explanations for the origin and name of Banh Tet. Many people believe that it is called Banh Tet because the leaf shell has to be cut to eat. Or in the past, people did not use a knife to cut the cake into slices but cut the shell and then used the string to wrap the cake to cut the cake into slices... No matter what, wrapping Banh Tet is always a typical cultural feature of the Southern Tet holiday. Seeing Banh Tet makes you think of Tet, think of the warmth and reunion of each family.

The "sacredness" in each stage

Researcher Nguyen Huu Hiep ( An Giang ) believes that the South has many types of "sacred" cakes, meaning cakes used for rituals and filial piety. To commemorate the deceased, there are offerings; to celebrate a full month or first birthday, there must be sweet rice balls; to commemorate a death anniversary or New Year, there are banh it, banh tet, etc. Among them, the most "sacred" and typical is banh tet. In the past, banh tet was not mass-packaged like it is now, and was only present on two occasions: death anniversaries and New Year.

Banh tet la cam with mixed fillings, a famous dish from the West

According to Mr. Hiep, the "sacred" way of wrapping banh tet is also in the way it is wrapped. In the past, to wrap the cake, some families grew their own sticky rice, sifted it carefully, and made sure the sticky rice was not mixed, then pounded it by hand instead of using a machine for fear of it being unclean. The secret to choosing good sticky rice is to bite and feel the sticky rice; if it is crispy or broken, it is mixed rice. Green beans must also be carefully selected, then the matter of adding coconut milk, seasoning, choosing leaves to tie strings... each step contains meticulousness to have the best banh tet to show respect to ancestors. That is a fragrant heart and also a lesson to remind children and grandchildren about the morality of "drinking water, remembering its source".

Now, banh tet is available almost all year round, becoming a specialty of the land and people of the South. Ms. Phan Kim Ngan (Bay Muon, a skillful baker in Con Son, Binh Thuy district, Can Tho city) can make hundreds of types of cakes, but wrapping banh tet always brings her many emotions. She said that in addition to wrapping banh tet for Tet, people in the island also wrap banh tet for tourism and especially for meaningful activities. For example, in mid-2024, when storm Yagi caused heavy damage in the northern provinces, people in Con Son wrapped thousands of banh tet to send to their fellow countrymen. Before that, banh tet from Con Son also came to people in the Central region during storms and floods...

Mixed banh tet filling has blue pea sticky rice, purple sticky rice, green beans, meat...

Composer Nham Hung (Can Tho city) commented that Southern people have been dynamic and creative in wrapping and eating banh tet, creating a seamless flow for this typical cake of this land. For example, in Can Tho, the late artisan Sau Trong created the famous banh tet with mixed leaves and purple fillings, which was once listed as one of the most delicious dishes in Vietnam. Or artisan Le Thi Be Bay in Con Son created banh tet with red ginseng and banh tet with moringa; people in Tra Vinh and Soc Trang provinces have banh tet with flat green rice... "Those innovations make banh tet more familiar, convenient and attractive in modern life while still maintaining its traditional features," said Mr. Hung.

Along the land and people of the South, banh tet always carries deep cultural values. No matter where you go, the image of the whole family gathering around a pot of banh tet on New Year's Eve is certainly an unforgettable memory for many people. For the South, banh tet is the taste of Tet, of home, the taste of family love, of reunion indispensable every spring.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/don-banh-tet-thieng-trong-ngay-tet-nam-bo-185250102210825211.htm