Green Chung Cake on the Island

(Baonghean) - Overcoming many storms, bundles of green dong leaves from the mainland have reached the outpost islands, bringing the taste of Tet to the island soldiers. The green banh chung cakes wrapped in square almond leaves and dong leaves are cherished and treasured by the soldiers as if they convey all their nostalgia for their homeland and their determination to keep their guns firmly in hand to protect the sea and islands of the Fatherland!

Wrapping banh chung to prepare for Tet on the island.

Stepping down the pier of Cam Ranh military port on a late winter day to go to Truong Sa on the first troop replacement and collection trip of 2015, everyone's heart was filled with an indescribable excitement. It was a march in which the soldiers' luggage included not only personal belongings, but also bags and pouches of lotus and apricot flowers made of silk, photo albums, flashing lights, small packages of fabric and multi-colored paper for decoration and display... Especially, it was indispensable to have bales of green dong leaves, bundles of giang bamboo and a herd of hundreds of pigs, divided equally among 4 naval ships to take to the remote islands.

The scenes were very ordinary but evoked many emotions, because in a corner of a large military port, suddenly there were sounds and images as if somewhere in a peaceful Vietnamese village was bustling and excitedly preparing for Tet. Those moments brought to each person the feeling that the distant islands were so close and the warmth of the mainland would be carried and spread to the remote islands.

Ship 571 (Truong Sa ship) that we were on, on the 3rd day of the operation at sea, arrived at Truong Sa Dong island. When transferring Tet At Mui gifts, goods and necessities to the first island, we felt sad when we saw the bundles of dong leaves starting to show signs of drying and curling at the edges. Colonel Phan Ngoc Quang - Head of the working group could not hide his impatience when the sea route still had to pass through 11 more islands and it would take at least 2 weeks to reach the last island, Tien Nu island.

The weather in Truong Sa, though it was winter, was still hot, combined with the heat of the cargo hold, which posed challenges in ensuring that the dong leaves did not spoil. After a quick consultation, the “military order” was given to assign soldiers to regularly stack and turn the dong leaf bundles, while also watering them with fresh water and covering them to prevent salt water and sea breeze from penetrating.

Arriving at the island points of Da Dong, Phan Vinh, Toc Tan, Nui Le, Tien Nu islands, when transporting goods from ships to boats to the islands, strong winds and big waves did not discourage the officers and soldiers, but only worried about... dong leaves being damaged. The distance between the island points in the archipelago is quite close to each other, in our journey the farthest distance was from Truong Sa Dong island to Da Dong (about 60 nautical miles), the remaining islands were on average about 15-25 nautical miles apart.

However, it usually takes 1 to 2 days to get to each island. The islands are all located on large coral reefs, hundreds or thousands of hectares wide. To take a boat from the ship to the island, at the end of the year you can only go in the afternoon, because that is when the tide is high, the water level is enough for the boat to pass the coral reefs, with a distance of about 3 to 7 nautical miles. Luckily, after the 12th day of the journey, ship 571 took us to the last island of the journey - Tien Nu Island, the dong leaves transported to the islands are still of good quality to wrap banh chung.

On Tien Nu Island, the easternmost submerged island of the Truong Sa archipelago, 375 nautical miles from the mainland, Lieutenant Vo Van Thuong (from Hao Kiet village, Vinh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh) said: Among the goods brought from the mainland for Tet, dong leaves are one of the things that officers and soldiers on Tien Nu Island look forward to the most. Because Tien Nu Island is the farthest island on the journey, there were many years when the ship arrived at Tien Nu Island, the dong leaves were damaged, dry and brittle, unable to wrap banh chung. That year, the taste of Tet was considered to be greatly reduced, because on the submerged island, no leaves could be found to replace dong leaves to wrap banh chung. This year, when we received bundles of dong leaves that were still fresh, we were extremely happy. The brothers on Tien Nu Island will continue the regular preservation steps to keep them until the 28th and 29th of December to wrap banh chung. To keep the dong leaves fresh until the day to wrap banh chung for Tet, we have considered putting the dong leaves in a cold cellar. I just realized that the desire of the marines to find the taste of Tet at home is very great. From that, I appreciate more those who know how to choose the difficult job, accept the disadvantages and sacrifices for the noble and sacred mission.

After completing the handover of new troops at the island points, ship 571 continued its journey to collect troops who had completed their missions and returned to celebrate Spring and Tet with officers and soldiers on Phan Vinh Island. Captain Trinh Trong Luong - Deputy Political Commissar of the island said: Previously, officers and soldiers of Phan Vinh Island wrapped Chung cakes with square almond leaves. In recent years, due to the frequent timely delivery of dong leaves to the island on Tet, they were wrapped with dong leaves. However, the dong leaves brought to Truong Sa often dry out and lose their green color. Therefore, when wrapping Chung cakes, the inside is still wrapped with square almond leaves to keep the Chung cakes green, and the outside is wrapped with dong leaves. In difficult conditions, to ensure that there must be "green Chung cakes" on the Tet tray, officers and soldiers have created the unique Truong Sa Chung cakes.

It is still the banh chung according to the legend of Prince Lang Lieu, son of the 6th Hung King, banh chung represents the earth, banh day represents the sky. The outer leaves, the inside of the cake represent the parents. Banh chung in Truong Sa is wrapped in square banh chung leaves with dong leaves, as a concept of the body of Vietnam as a unified block and Truong Sa is a sacred land in the heart of the Vietnamese people, surrounded by the mainland and Truong Sa is an indispensable part of the body of Vietnam. On remote islands, naval soldiers and people of Truong Sa still make banh chung to offer to ancestors, heaven and earth at New Year's Eve and during the three days of Tet. Despite difficult and deprived circumstances, the vitality of Vietnamese culture is still persistent, strong and has a deep mark in every inch of the nation's sovereign land.

Ngo Kien