Delicious Tet cakes made from rice of the Mong people in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - Every time Tet comes, when the peach blossoms bloom, it is also the time when the Mong people in the mountainous district of Nghe An help each other make traditional "Mong" cakes to worship their ancestors.
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| Although they celebrate the same Lunar New Year as all other ethnic groups in Vietnam, the traditional cake offered to their ancestors on Tet of the Mong people in Ky Son, Nghe An is not banh chung, but "Dua tua" which means "dammed cake" (Dua means cake, tua means "dammed") - a type of cake mashed from uncooked boiled rice, people temporarily call it "Mong" cake. |
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| To make "Mong" cake, people must choose new sticky rice, which is white, sticky, and has a delicious flavor. The rice is soaked in cold water for 3 to 5 hours, then scooped into a pot to cook. |
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| When the sticky rice is cooked, pour it all into a mortar and pound it until smooth. The mortar used to pound the cake by the Mong people is made from a sturdy, heavy tree trunk to make it more stable when pounded and is hollowed out like a trough for pigs to feed; the pestle to pound the cake is also made from a hard, heavy wood. When pounding the cake, the pestle is washed in water to lubricate and prevent the sticky rice from sticking. The pounding process is a men's job, quite hard and requires a lot of strength and technique. Therefore, those who participate in pounding the cake are usually strong young men. |
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| The more thoroughly the cake is pounded, the more supple and delicious it will be and the longer it will last. Cakes wrapped in wild dong leaves will be more beautiful, durable and fragrant. |
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| When the sticky rice is smooth, the pounding process is complete. At this point, wrapping the cake is only for women. |
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| “Dua Tua” cake is one of the three indispensable offerings on the ancestral altar during every Tet holiday. According to the Mong people’s belief, the living can endure hunger and thirst during the year, but on holidays and Tet holidays, there must be beef, chicken, wine and this cake offered to the ancestral altar. |
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| According to Mr. Xong Nhia Vu, Buoc Mu village, Na Ngoi commune, Ky Son, in the past, the Mong people often had to go to the fields to produce and go into the forest all day to hunt wild animals for food, so to prevent the sticky rice from spoiling and spoiling quickly, people created this type of cake to take to the forest. If left for a long time, the cake can become moldy, but when we scrape off the outer layer and grill it over hot coals, it is very delicious. Nowadays, "Mong" cake is not only a type of cake used to worship ancestors every Tet holiday, but has also become a popular commodity in highland markets, a gift for tourists who have the opportunity to visit the mountains. |
.jpg "Ấm áp ngày Tết Nguyên tiêu ở Nghệ An")
