Saigon people cook banh chung and banh tet in every alley.

A few days before New Year's Eve, many families gather to wrap Chung and Tet cakes, staying up all night watching the red-hot pots of cakes throughout the alleys.

At noon on the 26th of Tet (February 5), in the house in alley 453 Le Van Sy street, district 3, the family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Uyen Chi (third from right) gathered to wrap Chung and Tet cakes.

This year, her family wrapped about 300 cakes, including 100 banh tet, some for themselves and to give to relatives. "Most of the cakes are for sale, so we have to mobilize relatives from all over to help, to finish them in time for the day," said the 53-year-old woman.

Outside the door, Mr. Tran Van Phong helps prepare sticky rice, green beans, wash dong leaves... To wrap 300 cakes, Mrs. Chi's family uses about 150 kg of rice, 70 kg of green beans and 35 kg of pork.

"Making banh chung requires many steps. A few days before, you have to wake up early to choose dong leaves, good pork belly, then soak sticky rice and mung beans all night," said Mr. Phong.

Ms. Tran Thi Phuong Nhi, 30 years old, helps Ms. Chi put the filling into the banh tet to wrap. Living in Tien Giang , every Lunar New Year, she takes a few days off work to help wrap the banh tet. "It's hard work but fun because the relatives get to gather together," she said.

On the same day, in an alley on Tran Thi Dieu Street, Phuoc Long B Ward, Thu Duc City, Mr. Minh Tung, 38 years old (left corner), wrapped about 30 banh chung. Each person had a job such as dividing the meat, arranging the leaves, wrapping the cakes, and making the filling.

Mr. Tung makes Chung cake in the Central style. The mung beans are cooked until soft and then pressed tightly with the boiled pork. "Thanks to that, when cutting the cake, the filling inside does not fall apart and mix with the rice," Mr. Tung shared.

Seven kilometers away, Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc (Road 182, Tang Nhon Phu A Ward) and her children and grandchildren were wrapping banh tet on the porch of her house on the afternoon of the 27th of Tet (February 6). "Every year, my family wraps 40 banh tet in the Southern style. No matter how far away our children and grandchildren are, they all gather to wrap banh tet on this day," she said.

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After soaking, the sticky rice is mixed with spinach juice and pandan leaves to create a natural green color. The most difficult step in wrapping is folding the banana leaves so that the top of the cake is square.

Ha Mai Quynh, 12 years old, granddaughter of Mrs. Cuc, holds in her hands some newly wrapped banh tet. Banh tet is tied with banana strings instead of bamboo strings like banh chung.

At Ms. Uyen Chi’s house, 300 cakes are placed in two large pots, boiled right next to the alley in front of the house. Metal sheets are placed in front of the pots to prevent smoke from surrounding areas.

The banh chung are packed tightly together. Because they are packaged in large quantities for sale, nylon strings are often used to tie them together for convenience and tightness.

That same evening, Mrs. Cuc started to boil two pots of banh tet in front of her house. "Every hour or so, I add more water and boil it all night until the next morning, when I take the cakes out," she said, while adding water to the pot.

Nearby, at 11pm, Mrs. Bui Thi Tam also stayed up all night to watch the pot of banh chung. She didn't have a large yard so she had to boil the cakes on the side of the road. "Sitting near the fire makes me sweat all the time, my eyes sting, but I'm happy because it only happens once a year," the 50-year-old woman shared.

Quynh Tran - Vnexpress.net

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