The old profession of "the cake is delicious before you see it" in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - Gone are the days when "we couldn't sell rice cakes in time to sell to cows". After many years, people who make rice cakes in Nam Dan town are still attached to their job to make a living and preserve a long-standing traditional profession.
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| Nam Dan people often recite the song: "Banh duc, banh do, not yet seen, already craving" to talk about the deliciousness of banh duc at Sa Nam market.Cast cakeused to be a specialty, imbued with regional cuisine: “Sa Nam on the wharf under the ferry/ Three-row rice cake with beef and me thien”. Nowadays, there are not as many people making rice cake around Sa Nam market as before, but some families here still stick to the traditional profession. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| To make banh duc, it takes many steps: making molds, grinding flour, cooking flour, pouring cakes... In the past, when cooking cakes, people here often poured cakes into trays and rice bowls. Later, people improved by using small, round areca leaves to create molds. In recent years, many people have cut PV plastic pipes to make molds instead of areca leaves. The mold made of 8 cm diameter plastic pipes, 1.5 cm thick, lined with banana leaves will produce evenly sized banh duc. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Ms. Ho Thi Lieu (36 years old) in Nam Bac Son block, Nam Dan town said that her husband's family has been making banh duc for 3 generations. According to Ms. Lieu, banh duc is made from rice flour and lime water. After boiling the lime water, pour in the rice flour mixture, heat it evenly, and stir constantly. Cooking banh duc is the most difficult step because the cook has to "hold" the pot all day and stir the cake continuously. In winter, cooking banh duc is bearable, but in summer it is very hot. Photo: Huy Thu |
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In the past, Sa Nam rice cakes were cooked directly from rice, but later, with the introduction of mills and motorized flour mills, they were cooked from a mixture of rice flour, making the job of making rice cakes less difficult. However, it takes a few hours to cook a pot of cakes (about 10kg of rice). Photo: Huy Thu |
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When the cake is done, the pot must be removed from the stove and the cake must be scooped into the mold while it is still hot. Ms. Lieu's family cooks about 30 kg of rice every day, usually at dusk and dawn. Each kg of rice can cook 20 - 25 cakes. Ms. Lieu said that the income from making rice cakes is not enough to get rich, but it helps her family stabilize their lives. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| To make delicious banh duc, according to those who make it, first of all, you need to choose the right rice, now people often use Khang Dan rice. In addition, experience, mixing techniques, and fire control are also very important, especially the amount of lime water for each pot of banh duc. A batch of delicious, well-cooked banh duc must ensure the requirements of "firm, smooth, beautiful color", the cake is solid, bright white, and retains its flavor. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Ms. Tran Thi Hong (50 years old) in Van An block, Nam Dan town said that her parents' family in Bac Son hamlet, Van Dien commune (old) has been in the business of making rice cakes for sale at Sa Nam market and many other rural markets in the district for 5 generations. As for her, since she was in 3rd grade, she knew how to grind flour, followed her mother to make rice cakes, then brought this job to her husband's house and has been doing it for the past several decades. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| From a rustic dish, bought and sold daily, used to worship ancestors on holidays, banh ducSa Namhas become a specialty of Nam Dan. Eating banh duc with soy sauce, shrimp paste, or with mussels and crab moss all leave an unforgettable impression. Photo: Huy Thu |
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Although there are many delicious gifts and strange cakes on the market, the ancient, rustic rice cake at Sa Nam market is still treasured by customers as a gift.specialty“rare and hard to find”. Thanks to that, people who make banh duc in Nam Dan town are also more attached to and love their traditional profession. Photo: Huy Thu |
| The hard work of making banh duc in Nam Dan town. Video: Huy Thu |
