Banh to is an indispensable dish in the annual offering tray to send off Ong Cong and Ong Tao to heaven of the people of Quang Nam and Da Nang every 23rd of December.
Banh to (rice cake) during the Lunar New Year in the Central region reminds us of the origin "birds have nests, people have ancestors".
Ms. Vo Thi Man (79 years old), is the third generation in a family with a tradition of more than 100 years of making banh to in Hoi An (Photo: Ngo Linh).
Since December 19, the traditional banh to production facility of Mrs. Vo Thi Man's family (Hau Xa block, Thanh Ha ward, Hoi An city, Quang Nam) has been busy heating up the stove and getting into the process of making cakes.
This banh to oven is over 100 years old, Mrs. Man is the third generation to succeed her father and grandfather. This is also one of the rare families that still preserves the traditional banh to making profession in Hoi An every Tet and spring.
The over 100-year-old cake oven is busy producing "products" to worship Tao Quan ( Video : Ngo Linh).
According to Mrs. Man, to supply the market on the occasion of worshiping Ong Cong and Ong Tao, her family prepared nearly 900 loaves of cake. For each loaf, she gave the seller 25,000 VND, while the retail price on the market was about 30,000-35,000 VND/loaf.
This year, cake production has decreased by about 20% because wholesalers are also worried about the general economic difficulties. As customers place orders, the family produces accordingly.
The ingredients for making the cake are simple, including sugar and glutinous rice flour, with absolutely no additives, so it is very trusted by consumers. The consumption market is throughout the provinces and cities from Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City...
The ingredients for making the cake are sugar and sticky rice flour. The dough is poured into banana leaf molds that are shaped like bird nests, then put into a steamer for 4-4.5 hours (Photo: Ngo Linh).
"I am now old and weak, so I rely on my daughter-in-law's help. The bakery has been passed down through three generations, and every year the fire must be lit to remember the teachings of my ancestors," Ms. Man confided.
Banh to appeared in Hoi An quite a long time ago, probably with the formation of the old town, introduced by the Chinese in the 16th-17th century and still exists today. Banh to and Cao Lau are two traditional dishes, typical of the culinary culture of Hoi An ancient town for hundreds of years.
Like banh tet and banh chung, banh to is cooked before Tet. The ingredients include sticky rice and sugar. The sticky rice must be of the best quality, dried thoroughly, and then ground into flour. The sticky rice flour and sugar are "cooked" thoroughly, all impurities are filtered out, and a little fresh ginger juice is added to enhance the flavor (depending on taste).
The final step is to sprinkle some roasted white sesame seeds on the surface (depending on taste) (Photo: Ngo Linh).
The baker then puts the dough into a bamboo mold woven to look like a bird’s nest, 10-15cm in diameter, lined with banana leaves. The cake is wrapped and the edges of the leaves are pinned with bamboo toothpicks. Each cake weighs about 500g.
Steam the cake for about 4 hours, take it out to cool and store in a cool place. Depending on your preference, you can add a little roasted white sesame. The characteristic of Hoi An cake is that it is both chewy and flexible, has a rich and delicious flavor, and can be stored for a long time without fear of mold.
In Quang Nam, there are many places that specialize in making banh to to supply the Tet market, but the most delicious and valuable cakes are still those made in Hoi An. That is why the cake shops in Hoi An always attract shoppers in the days before Tet.
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