Kinh Bac soul in phu the cake
According to many people in Dinh Bang village, the craft of making Phu The cakes has existed since the Ly Dynasty. Legend has it that when King Ly Anh Tong went to war, his wife at home, feeling sorry for her husband's hardship, made the cakes herself and sent them to him. The King found them delicious and was moved by his wife's steadfast love, so he named the cakes "phu the". Since then, the villagers have passed on the method of making the cakes and preserved the craft to this day. Over time, Phu The cakes have become a familiar gift at weddings - a symbol of the love between husband and wife and the desire for steadfast loyalty.
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Phu The cake - famous specialty in Tu Son ward ( Bac Ninh ). |
As one of the long-standing families making Phu The cakes in Dinh Bang village, the family of Mr. Nguyen Dinh Minh (67 years old) and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thu (65 years old) has been involved in the profession for more than 35 years. When asked about the reason for coming to the profession, artisan Nguyen Thi Thu shared: "When I was young, my grandparents often made many types of traditional cakes for me to eat, but Phu The cakes are the ones that I remember the most because of their rich flavor and uniqueness. Therefore, when I grew up, I decided to open a cake shop to sell to the market and to customers from all over the world . "
In the past, only wealthy families could afford to produce Phu The cakes. In the 1990s, the cake-making industry began to flourish, and Mrs. Thu’s family opened a shop. After 2000, Phu The cakes became more popular, and her family gradually expanded production and has maintained it to this day.
According to Ms. Thu, the two ingredients that make up the characteristics of the Phu The cake are sticky rice flour and green papaya, while green beans are a familiar ingredient in most traditional cakes. The outer part (cake crust) is made from fragrant yellow sticky rice, ground into fine powder, carefully filtered to get the starch, then kneaded with green papaya and gardenia juice to create natural color. The cake filling is made from thoroughly soaked green beans, steamed, then finely ground and mixed with sugar, mixed with shredded coconut.
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After going through the steps, the cake is wrapped in two layers of leaves, the inside is banana leaves, the outside is dong leaves. |
Not only now but also for a long time, regarding the name, many opinions have not been unanimous when it comes to the fact that Phu The cake is Xu Xe cake (or Su Se). However, with many years of experience in the profession, Ms. Thu said that these two types of cakes have completely different ingredients and methods of making. Dinh Bang Phu The cake is sold in pairs, only yellow in color and larger in size than Xu Xe cake.
Keep the profession out of love for the homeland
Thanks to extensive experience, Mrs. Thu's family's Phu The cakes not only gain trust from customers but also achieve many achievements in cake making competitions. In 2022, artisan Nguyen Dinh Minh (Mrs. Thu's husband) won the Gold Medal at the Traditional Cake Competition held in Can Tho city and won first prize in the Phu The Cake Wrapping Competition at the Do Temple Festival for many consecutive years. Mr. Minh - Mrs. Thu's family's products were recognized as 4-star OCOP. Recently, Minh Thu Phu The Cake was honored as a typical agricultural product of Bac Ninh province in 2025.
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Minh Thu Phu The Cakes are granted many certificates for goods and product quality. |
On average, every day, Minh Thu's Phu The Cake Shop makes from 300 to 500 pairs of cakes to serve customers in and outside the province, each cake costs from 40,000 to 50,000 VND depending on the type. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Son, son of artisan Nguyen Thi Thu, said: "In January and the Do Temple Festival (from the 14th to the 16th of the third lunar month every year), the consumption of Phu The cakes is the highest because this is the occasion when people buy cakes as offerings or gifts." During this peak season, in addition to the four main workers, Ms. Thu's family often hires seasonal workers to complete orders for customers on time.
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Artisan Nguyen Thi Thu (right) and her son are wrapping phu the cakes. |
With her love for the profession, Mrs. Thu always wants to pass on the secret of making cakes to her children and grandchildren, so that Dinh Bang Phu The cakes can continue to preserve their flavor and spread throughout the community. Since childhood, Mr. Son - Mrs. Thu's son has been familiar with many stages of making cakes. Now, he has become the main factor in preserving and developing the Minh Thu Phu The cake brand. For artisan Thu, Phu The cakes are not only a gift of ceremony but also carry cultural significance, sentiment and traditional beauty of Kinh Bac homeland.
For over 35 years in the profession, Mrs. Thu has always put food safety and hygiene first. From the stage of choosing ingredients to the stages of making cakes, all ingredients and utensils are carefully selected by her, ensuring cleanliness and neat arrangement. Previously, cakes were only sold directly at the store, but now, thanks to taking advantage of information technology, Mrs. Thu's family has expanded their sales channels through social networks, serving customers in many provinces and cities across the country.
Ngo Thi Tham, a customer buying cakes at Minh Thu Phu The cake shop, shared: “This is the first time I have visited and admired Do Temple and also the first time I have eaten Phu The cake. I find the cake to be soft, fragrant, and has a unique flavor. If I have a chance to come back, I will continue to buy cakes.”
Along the Thuong residential area, near the historical site of Do Temple, there are currently about 20 households making professional Phu The cakes. For each local resident, making Phu The cakes is not only about making money , but they are also cherishing and appreciating a product that is the crystallization of emotions, cultural features and a touching story about the love between husband and wife, and the love between couples. For the artisan couple Nguyen Dinh Minh - Nguyen Thi Thu, with their passion and enthusiasm, together with other households, they not only preserve the traditional profession but also contribute to bringing the flavor of Phu The cakes further and further.
Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/giu-hon-banh-phu-the-dinh-bang-postid429396.bbg
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