The story of banh chung pot in America
(Baonghean.vn) - Cooking banh chung and inviting friends to celebrate the traditional Vietnamese New Year is what teacher Dustin Gerding did this Lunar New Year. What's special is that his pot of banh chung was cooked in the US, when he had been away from Vinh City for nearly a year.
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| Teacher Dustin Gerding wraps Chung cakes for Tet Mau Tuat in Vinh city. |
In previous years, the image of teacher Dustin Gerding appeared frequently on the streets of Vinh city. After more than three years of teaching English and being attached to Nghe An, he considers this his second hometown. Dustin Gerding's love for Nghe An is also expressed through the video "Nghe An in the eyes of Americans" with many images associated with each "road, street corner" that is very warm and close. At the time, this video was popular on social networks, Dustin also said: I "fell in love" with this land.
Returning to the US in mid-2017, Dustin’s love for Vinh City and Vietnam remains intact. Celebrating the second anniversary of the video “Nghe An in the eyes of Americans”, he shared on his personal page:Two years ago, this video showed the world the beauty of Nghe An - and from that day on, Dustin's heart belonged to Vietnam forever. Love Nghe An.
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| Dustin on a visit to Uncle Ho's hometown in Kim Lien (Nam Dan). Photo - NVCC |
Following Dustin's Facebook, you can feel his love for Vietnam as most of his posts are in Vietnamese and the people he interacts with regularly are mainly his colleagues and Vietnamese students that he used to teach.
Dustin also regularly follows Vietnam's outstanding events through articles and clips on Nghe An Newspaper and several other websites introducing Vinh City.
During the event of U23 Vietnam participating in the U23 Asian Cup finals, despite being half a world away, Dustin still "supported" by wearing a shirt with the words "I love Vietnam" printed on it, along with a red flag with a yellow star, and holding a banner "Vietnam is the champion".
Vietnam is also Dustin's unforgettable memory every Christmas, the first day of school and the moment the whole world steps into 2018. It was so touching that on the last day of the old year, Dustin shared:Hello December. The last month of a very complicated year. Returning to this country but missing the other. I hope the day when I return to that country will come soon!...
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| Extracurricular lesson of teacher Dustin and his students at Quyet Mountain Forest Park. Photo - NVCC |
Previously, having a chance to chat with Dustin when he was in Nghe An, Dustin also said: Before coming to Vietnam, I had traveled and volunteered in 13 other countries in the world. However, I don't know why I feel attached and have special feelings for this land, especially the people of Nghe An.
Maybe because here, I have a job, close and friendly friends and I feel the love that everyone has for me. Three years in Nghe An also gave me a lifetime of experience, I learned a lot and grew up from the people living around me.
Dustin's love for Vietnam and the traditional Tet holiday of the Vietnamese people was also wrapped up in these days before Tet, when he decided to cook a pot of banh chung to "treat" his American friends.
To prepare for this special event, Dustin went online to ask his friends in the US where to buy ingredients to make banh chung. After having sticky rice, beans, and meat, Dustin personally wrapped the banh chung and invited his friends to enjoy it to introduce Vietnamese Tet and this traditional dish.
An interesting thing about Dustin's banh chung is that he wrapped it in aluminum foil instead of dong leaves because he couldn't find enough ingredients. As for the meat filling, instead of leaving it raw, Dustin cooked it before wrapping.
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| Dustin and a banh chung wrapped in 2015 in Vietnam. Photo: NVCC |
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| Dustin and the banh chung wrapped in 2018 in the US with the main ingredients being foil, meat, beans and sticky rice. Photo: NVCC |
The finished cake pot, although not yet finished, was quickly "shown off" by Dustin online.: Tet 2015 learned to make banh chung in Nghe An. Tet 2018 made banh chung in the US. This year Dus' banh chung is not as delicious as Vietnamese banh chung, but I'm very happy because the pot of banh chung is finished!.
The Story of Dustin's Banh Chungalso received a lot of love from everyone with comments like: "Dus is so good!", "So touching Dustin! Rarely anyone is like you!". "Go and marry a Vietnamese son-in-law Dus.". "Dustin is a culinary ambassador"...
Perhaps, because he felt these special feelings, it was interesting that on the 27th of the lunar calendar, Dustin suddenly returned to Nghe An to celebrate Tet with everyone. When talking about this plan, Dustin himself did not believe in his actions, "Returning to Vietnam was the right decision for me, because I miss the taste of Vietnamese Tet so much".
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| Teacher Dustin teaches English at high schools in Vinh city. Photo: NVCC |
Celebrating Tet in Nghe An, Dustin did not choose to travel but returned to Nghi An to his adoptive parents' house to wrap banh chung, celebrate New Year's Eve and have a year-end meal with his family.
Choosing this simple Tet is also a way for Dustin to express his feelings, like a child returning from a long trip.
