From banana leaf sticky rice, 3 talented generations elevate Can Tho's famous purple sticky rice cake

Classy gifts from the countryside

On the days leading up to the Lunar New Year 2024, the family of three of Ms. Duong Thi Xinh, in An Thoi ward, Binh Thuy district, Can Tho city, is busy making batches of banh tet la cam every day.

This is not only a job during Tet, but Mrs. Xinh's bakery has been burning for more than half a century. The story of the famous Banh Tet La Cam from Tay Do is not new, but every Tet it is told again.

Từ gói xôi lá chuối, 3 thế hệ tài hoa nâng tầm bánh tét lá cẩm trứ danh Cần Thơ- Ảnh 1. — Ms. Van (in red shirt) is very passionate about her family's famous profession of wrapping banh tet la cam.

Ms. Xinh said that her only daughter - Le Duong Tuyet Van, the third generation descendant of the family who makes banh tet la cam, is currently following in her family's footsteps and is very passionate about the profession.

A hundred years ago, Mrs. Xinh's grandmother was famous in the region for her traditional cake-making skills. Among the specialties were fragrant and soft banh tet used in death anniversaries, parties, and Tet.

By the time of Huynh Thi Trong - Mrs. Xinh's mother, that talent had been elevated to a new level. Huynh Thi Trong is no longer here, but her story and the purple sticky rice cake are always remembered by the people of the West.

More than half a century ago, inheriting the skillful baking and sticky rice cooking skills from her mother and husband, Mrs. Trong's purple sticky rice was once famous in Binh Thuy market.

The traditional sticky rice packages and cakes of the old man satisfy the taste of the most demanding people. The signature dish is purple sticky rice. This simple sticky rice is made from the deep purple color of purple leaves, served with grated coconut, peanut salt, and green beans, making diners crave it just by looking at it.

Từ gói xôi lá chuối, 3 thế hệ tài hoa nâng tầm bánh tét lá cẩm trứ danh Cần Thơ- Ảnh 2. — Natural purple color from purple leaves, both creates eye-catching color and ensures health when used.

"My mother once told me that while cooking sticky rice, she suddenly thought: Why not try using purple color for banh tet?

Thinking is doing, my mother cooked purple leaves, soaked sticky rice to create color, and started to try making it," Ms. Xinh said about the process of creating her mother's famous purple leaf sticky rice cake.

After five or ten attempts, Mr. Trong finally succeeded. The banh tet cakes were no longer simply sticky rice with green bean and fatty meat fillings, but became colorful and varied in flavor.

Mr. Trong's purple sticky rice cake is stir-fried with sticky rice, coconut milk, and a little seasoning until 30% cooked. The filling still has mung beans and fatty meat, but salted duck egg yolk is added to create a unique flavor.

Từ gói xôi lá chuối, 3 thế hệ tài hoa nâng tầm bánh tét lá cẩm trứ danh Cần Thơ- Ảnh 3. — In addition to purple leaves, Ms. Huynh Thi Trong also uses gac fruit to create orange color and pandan leaves to create green color to wrap beautiful three-color banh tet.

"The hardest part is seasoning the crust and filling. This is a family secret, not something you can do just because you want to. Banh tet la cam tastes very different from Banh tet Tra Cuon ( Tra Vinh ) or Banh tet nuoc tro," Ms. Xinh explained.

Ten years of no price increase

According to Ms. Tuyet Van - the third generation descendant of Banh Tet La Cam and the fourth generation of her family's traditional cake making profession, the golden time to enjoy the cake is 5-7 hours after removing it from the pot.

"The cake crust will be cool and soft at this point, best enjoyed. Each slice of cake must be even, with all the fillings such as meat and salted egg yolk. We also make cakes with other fillings such as sweet beans and bananas," Ms. Van shared.

Từ gói xôi lá chuối, 3 thế hệ tài hoa nâng tầm bánh tét lá cẩm trứ danh Cần Thơ- Ảnh 4. — Mixed filling with green beans, salted eggs, fatty meat.

Not only has the original flavor of the cake been preserved for more than half a century, Van and her mother have not changed the way they cook the cake with firewood even though there are now many other ways such as using an electric pot.

"An electric stove will save time and you won't have to worry about tending the fire, but as our grandparents said, nothing tastes better than firewood. My family's banh tet cakes only use homegrown ingredients," said Ms. Xinh.

At this time, Ms. Van's family bakery sells an average of 300-400 banh tet loaves per day and this number will increase gradually until Tet.

"After the Kitchen God Festival is over, we enter our peak season, selling about 1,000 loaves per day. At this time, we have to hire more helpers, about ten people are needed to keep up," said Ms. Van.

Từ gói xôi lá chuối, 3 thế hệ tài hoa nâng tầm bánh tét lá cẩm trứ danh Cần Thơ- Ảnh 5. — Mrs. Duong Thi Xinh and her daughter are the ones keeping the family bakery alive.

Ms. Van said that depending on the type of filling, the cake has different prices, ranging from 40,000 - 120,000 VND/loaf. There are also cases where customers order, she will make according to the request and have different prices.

According to Ms. Van, the price of these banh tet cakes has not increased for more than ten years, even during Tet, even though prices are climbing every day.

That is the reason why this purple sticky rice cake is loved by diners everywhere, even some foreign tourists are still lingering after tasting it.

With the inheritance and diligence of more than half a century through three generations of Mrs. Xinh's family, Ms. Van has produced tens of thousands of banh tet cakes to serve diners across the country and even the world.

The rustic gift has been elevated, bearing the mark and characteristic flavor of the river delta region.

Source