Soft and fragrant Vinh Hoa Chung cake

3am Village

Going through Dien Chau land, crossing Ba bridge, the sight of the prosperous village, with the soaring roof of the communal house, the spacious houses, the bustling atmosphere of trading along both sides of Provincial Road 38. Vinh Hoa Catholic village is located right at the "headland" of Yen Thanh district, an ancient land, associated with the name Con Bi, Chua Bi, with a history from the Later Le dynasty. According to the famous person Phan Thuc Truc, this is the "water navel of Dong Thanh, with many mangrove trees and water coconut trees growing in clumps, there is Tam Toa temple and But pagoda". After many ups and downs of history, the low-lying, flooded land of Chua Bi became a residential area for Catholics in Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, Yen Thanh. Being a low-lying land, flooded before rain, dry before sun, Vinh Hoa people have to struggle with all kinds of jobs to make a living, including the job of making cakes from rice.

Many people say that the profession of making banh chung Vinh Hoa was "born" by the great-grandfather Hien. Since the time of the French resistance, at the tea shop, banh chung of the great-grandfather Hien was famous for its delicious taste, known by many people who passed by and returned. Then, during the time of Mrs. Lanh, Mrs. Ton..., now all have passed away. Having the profession, many people in Vinh Hoa village eagerly followed, banh chung and banh tet were sold in all markets inside and outside Yen Thanh district. Since then, banh chung Vinh Hoa has been famous far and wide for the sweet, sticky taste of beans and sticky rice, the green color of dong leaves, the fatty taste of pork, the aroma of chili pepper, onions...

Stopping by a small banh chung shop by the roadside, the young shop owner happily and warmly invited customers to try a slice of banh chung. In the cold weather of the last days of the year, taking a bite of the cake, one feels that spring and reunion are very close. Just a short distance along Highway 38 passing through the hamlet, there are 7-8 houses both producing and selling banh chung and peanut candy. There are all kinds of customers, from women carrying fish sauce and salt from Dien Chau and Quynh Luu to the upper regions to sell, stopping by to eat a banh tet, a piece of peanut candy, and a sip of tea to regain strength for the long journey, to people driving cars, stopping by to buy some to take to Vinh, even to Hanoi as a precious gift from home. Banh chung here is sold quite cheaply, only 25 thousand VND/pair of cakes, while if bought in Vinh, it would cost 35-40 thousand VND. The cake is firm and tight, as Mr. Phan Duc Hanh (owner of Hanh Tinh cake production facility) proudly introduced, it is “hard but soft”, meaning the cake is “hard” but still flexible and soft, not falling apart at all.

Mr. Pham Van Loc's family prepares dong leaves and ingredients to wrap banh chung. Photo: NK

According to many households making banh chung here, there is no special secret to making banh chung in Vinh Hoa, but you have to put your heart into it. Mr. Hanh said: Keeping the fire red and boiling long enough is a very important factor to help the cake become soft and firm, but the most important factor that every baker must pay attention to first is choosing the ingredients. Even though it costs more, the sticky rice must be really good, helping the cake to be both soft and firm. Banana leaves used to wrap the cake must only be homegrown banana leaves, absolutely do not use wild banana leaves because the cake will not be delicious. In Vinh Hoa, there is an "army" that specializes in "hunting" all the way to the upper communes of Yen Thanh such as: Quang Thanh, Kim Thanh, Tay Thanh, all the way to Do Luong, Anh Son, Tan Ky... to collect leaves.

The strings used to wrap the cakes are also cut and collected by some people in the village who go all the way to Quang Thanh and Duc Thanh to "supply". "In general, a whole network has been formed to provide all the necessary ingredients, we just need to "polish" the cakes to make them delicious, build and maintain the reputation with consumers about the Vinh Hoa banh chung brand" - Mr. Hanh proudly said. Most notably, the banh chung sold here are not left for the second day. Every household calculates the amount of banh chung sold every day so as not to overwrap it, even in this cold weather the cakes can last for several days, but every household is the same, on days when they are unsold, they accept a loss to maintain the village's brand and absolutely do not cheat customers.

Coming to Vinh Hoa on the last day of the year, a bustling, excited, joyful and bustling atmosphere is evident in every alley, every corner of the people's house. In the spacious house that still smells of new paint, Mr. Pham Van Loc (52 years old) is quickly using a knife to split bamboo strips, while using a wet towel to meticulously clean the banana leaves that have been cut and carefully arranged into layers in the middle of the house. Outside, his wife is carefully stirring the pot of green beans, then quickly tearing banana leaves, using a small bowl to scoop rice, and picking up meat to wrap banh chung. Mr. Loc confided that since his grandfather's and father's time, there was a profession of wrapping banh chung, his grandmother and mother used to carry banh chung, cycle to Do Luong district, to Cho Dung, Cho Rang, all the way to Anh Son district to sell banh chung. In poverty, pots of banh chung have fed his whole family.

Since the age of 5, Loc has known how to choose dong leaves, peel banana leaves, split bamboo strips and wrap banh chung and banh tet. When he grew up and got married, he continued to follow his father's profession. His wife, a person from a neighboring village, also learned how to make banh chung and go to the market. The work schedule of Loc and his wife starts at 3am, when the rooster has not yet crowed, the couple wakes up to drain the banh chung, load it onto a shoulder pole and start selling it at 4am. For families who go to the market further away in Hoang Mai, Quynh Luu, Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, they have to leave an hour earlier. While the wives bring banh chung to the market, the men in Vinh Hoa stay home to do the mother's work, taking care of the children's meals before taking them to school and preparing ingredients for the afternoon banh chung wrapping session.

Around 2pm is the busiest time of the day in Vinh Hoa. This is when the whole village sits together to wrap banh chung. From the children after school, to the elderly, young people, and women, everyone rolls up their sleeves to get to work. Some prepare leaves, some grind rice, some split bamboo strips, some wrap the banh chung, light the stove, some change the water. The sound of slicing meat, chopping onions, and grinding flour mixes with the sound of people calling each other, asking about the morning market, along with the cheerful music of Christmas songs, making Vinh Hoa as vibrant as in the city. The rhythm of life in Vinh Hoa continues like that until the end of the night, when pots of banh chung are put on the stove, boiling vigorously, emitting smoke. Around 3-4am, the whole Vinh Hoa village wakes up, lit up like daytime. Cars and motorbikes flock in to pick up the banh chung to send to many places. That is why, for the past few years, Vinh Hoa has also had another name: "3am Village".

Bring spring everywhere

Vinh Hoa people never worry about unemployment because their banh chung and banh tet brands are well-known. For many years, Vinh Hoa cakes have been present in the South, the North, and even Laos. Especially at the end of the year, when Tet comes, the whole village is like a noisy, bustling factory. Everyone works day and night to deliver orders to customers. Each family produces 800-900 kg of good sticky rice along with a large amount of green beans, pork belly, onions, garlic, chili pepper. Last Tet, Mr. Loc's family wrapped 3,000 pairs of banh chung, and orders are expected to continue to increase this year. “In the past, Vĩnh Hòa banh chung and banh tet helped villagers escape poverty, but today, making banh chung during Tet is not simply a way to make a living. For us, this is a custom, a spring tradition. We produce a product that is both simple and sacred, the soul of the nation during Tet, so wrapping banh chung to serve Tet to villagers must be much more elaborate and careful than before,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan, a resident of Vĩnh Hòa hamlet.

On normal days, Mrs. Phan Thi Binh's family - a household with 30 years of experience in making banh chung - only has 5 ovens to cook banh chung, but on days before Tet, she has to build a few more "field" ovens, with red-hot coals burning day and night, and military pots that can hold up to 70 pairs of banh chung boiling. With pots of banh chung and banh muot, she has raised 5 grown sons, all of whom are working abroad. On normal days, she makes the cakes by herself, selling them at Hop Thanh market with the help of her daughter-in-law, but from around the 27th of Tet onwards, when the "orders" keep coming in, her three daughters-in-law come to their mother's house, and the mother and children take turns working continuously from morning to night, from night to morning, until the afternoon of the 30th to stop and go shopping for Tet. For decades now, there has been almost no market day without Mrs. Binh. “My children are grown up, I don’t lack money anymore, they just want me to rest, but I can’t give up my job,” Mrs. Binh shared. Like many people in this Catholic neighborhood, the small banh chung cakes are not only a lifeline during the hard days of making a living, but have become love, soul, attachment, sharing of village affection, and a unique feature of the homeland that is not easy to give up and forget.

Mr. Luu Duc Bang, Head of Vinh Hoa Hamlet, said that out of 320 households in the hamlet, almost all of them follow traditional occupations such as wrapping banh chung, making banh da, banh it, banh cuon, and banh muot. Currently, the hamlet has only 17 poor households, many well-off and rich households have established companies trading in products produced by local people. Thanks to the dynamism and hard work of many generations of people, Vinh Hoa banh chung has become a brand that is present everywhere, from the flea markets in the countryside to the bustling trading areas in Hanoi and Saigon. From rice grains of the lowland plains, under the meticulous, skillful hands and hard work of the people here, Vinh Hoa banh chung and banh tet have appeared, penetrating into many families, bringing the breath of spring, the traditional Tet flavor and the sincere feelings of the people of the rice fields.

Taking us to see families making traditional cakes and then going around to the parish church, Mr. Hoang The Nhan - Vice Chairman of the Pastoral Council of Vinh Hoa Parish confided that, thanks to banh chung, Vinh Hoa people are changing every day. Vinh Hoa children can go to school, study in college and university, people join hands to build national solidarity, love and bond, respect God and love the Country, thanks to that, the poor ancient village has now become a prosperous and peaceful area.

Mr. Hoang Van Ly - Chairman of Hop Thanh Commune People's Committee said jokingly, comparing that in Vinh Hoa, almost every day is Tet, every season is Spring. The skillful hands and family secrets of Vinh Hoa people are breathing life into Chung cakes and Tet cakes every day, every hour, bringing Tet to everywhere.

Nguyen Khoa - Phu Huong