Unique "overcoming difficulties" banh chung hen of Dien Chau people

For Vietnamese people, Tet is an occasion for reunion, an occasion to show gratitude to their ancestors for the achievements of a year of hard work. Therefore, every time Tet comes, no matter where they go, people always turn to their family and clan. For those who are far from home for many different reasons, if they cannot return, they still carefully prepare for their small family a truly traditional Tet in the land where they live. That means peach blossoms, kumquat trees, apricot blossoms... and of course green banh chung.

Dien Chau, where the famous Bung River meanders and flows into the sea, the 1980s of the last century were difficult days for me. The hardships and toil weighed heavily on my mother's shoulders, and then she created the Banh Chung Hen. My family had many siblings, and both my parents worked as farmers. In the sandy soil of my hometown, there was only one crop of rice grown a year. The red-brown, plump rice variety was very sweet and fragrant, but its yield was low. After the rice harvest, spring came to plant peanuts. There were only two main crops a year, so poverty persisted year after year.

Clams were used to make banh chung filling when pork was still expensive and rare. Photo: Le Thang

During Tet, my family usually wraps two types of banh chung, one with pork filling, this type is only for guests and offerings. The second type of banh chung is filled with… don (sea mussels). To give the banh chung a rich taste, the mussel filling is mixed with lard. The banh chung with mussel filling has the sweet taste of mussels, the fragrant smell of mud and of course the fatty taste of lard.

My brothers and I ate so much mussel cake that we were sick of it. Some people might wonder why there was such a strange cake. Actually, it all came from poverty. Every day, we would go to the beach and use a ladle to scoop up mussels, and in a short time, a basket would be full. During Tet, for my family, we only had enough pork to wrap a few fatty rolls and a pot of braised meat to store for the three days of Tet. The little left was used to wrap banh chung.

The filling for banh chung hen is made from stir-fried mussels mixed with lard. Photo: Le Thang

In my hometown, on the first day of Tet, children have to bring a full tray to the parents' house on both sides. Families with children who have their own families have to prepare a tray to bring to both the paternal and maternal sides. The time is determined by each other to bring the tray. In my family, because my father is the eldest son, on the first day of Tet, we only bring one tray to the maternal side. And of course, the pair of banh chung that we bring must be filled with pork. At that time, my siblings and I were still young, so we didn't understand anything. When we saw our mother preparing a tray with that kind of banh chung with pork filling to bring to our maternal side, we often cried out in regret. One year, my younger brother and I, when my mother wasn't paying attention, changed the banh chung with don (sea mussel) filling to the offering tray. My parents didn't know so they just carried the tray to my maternal side, we still carefreely trotted along at my mother's feet. When the offering was finished, my grandfather took the banh chung down to the kitchen to slice it, tears streaming down his face. My grandmother hid it and replaced it with a pair of banh chung from her maternal side.

We kept that secret deep in our hearts until now. But even so, on the first Tet away from home in my life, I made banh chung with mussel filling. Of course, at that time, I did not feel bored like when I was young, but on the contrary, it was full of sweet flavor.

The pot of banh chung my mother made is a memory of the old Tet holiday that has been associated with many generations. Photo: Trung Ha

Now, when that difficult banh chung dish is just a memory, every time I think about it, I still proudly hum:

My hometown
Where the Bung River overflows into the sea day and night
The sea gate roars with waves crashing into the open sea
Where my mother still bends her back on the beach
Scratching the donkey, dragging the donkey tired
My mother
Big foot on the sand dune
Pressing the toes until they bleed
Waiting for the water to recede deep into the ground
The sea cracks open
Skinny hands with a harelip
Scratching the sky and earth
Find don

Banh chung hen is not only a unique dish but also a memory of a difficult but warm childhood with parents. Photo: Quoc Dan

So, my hometown still exists and the beach has now become a famous beach of Nghe An province. My hometown has many high-rise buildings built close together, prosperous and wealthy, but my mother's banh chung hen is something I will never forget.