Dog head cake of Tho Quy Hop ethnic group
(Baonghean) -Similar to the croissant cake in the Tet tray of the Thai ethnic group in western Nghe An, the dog head cake is an indispensable cake in the tray of the Tho ethnic group families in Quy Hop area (Nghe An) on holidays and Tet.
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To wrap the cake, you need to prepare in advance sticky rice, giang strings and wrapping leaves - which must be chit leaves (leaves of the broom tree belonging to the reed family, found in abundance on mountain slopes and streams in Quy Hop, Quy Chau, Que Phong...). In particular, the cake only uses pure sticky rice, without fillings like banh chung or banh tet.
Wash the sticky rice thoroughly, shake it with enough salt, and drain. Wash the fresh chit leaves and arrange them in layers. Each dog head cake uses only two leaves to wrap. The leaves are arranged in a funnel shape, scoop in the washed sticky rice (about a ladle of sticky rice for each cake), press tightly with your hands, skillfully roll the leaves tightly into the shape of a dog's head, then tie tightly with a flexible bamboo string. When the cake is finished, place it in a pot, cover with water, and cook thoroughly for about 2 hours. When the cake is done, remove it, drain, and store in a cool place.
In addition to its function as an offering on the ancestral altar, on Tet holidays, along with Chung cake, Day cake... Dog head cake is also a lucky money gift for children. If in the concept of Thai people, the buffalo is considered a close and familiar animal to each family, so on Tet holidays they wrap buffalo horn cake with the wish for health like a buffalo... In Tho ethnic group, the dog is considered a loyal and close animal... so the dog head cake also has the meaning of connection and closeness in the community.
It would be lucky for anyone to be solemnly offered a plate of dog head cake by the host at a New Year's Eve meal... It is not a delicacy, but from deep within the folk consciousness, through this rustic cake, one can feel the true value of the host's affection through this simple, rustic gift.
Le Ba Lieu
