Incident at Hung Temple Festival: Giant sticky rice cake stuffed with... foam
The giant rice cake has only the top part made of flour, the rest of the base is foam and iron, Dam Sen claims it weighs nearly... 1 ton!
A member of the Hung Temple Festival Organizing Committee said that the giant Chung cake and Day cake made by Dam Sen Cultural Park by the evening of March 10, April 15, were cut and distributed to residents of Hi Cuong commune, Phong Chau district (where the Hung Temple Festival is held). However, witnesses were extremely surprised when cutting the Day cake because the cake only had a layer of flour on top (about 10 kg of flour) and the bottom was mainly... white foam.
“Fortunately, the Organizing Committee did not follow the plan of cutting the cake at 2 pm, when the guests were still present,” he added.
Should change the way of offering cakes
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Hai, Vice Chairman of Phu Tho Province, Head of the Festival Organizing Committee, the offering of giant banh chung and banh giay from Dam Sen Park - Ho Chi Minh City has been a precedent since previous years. "This is a gift showing the sincerity and heart of many people in Ho Chi Minh City towards their ancestors. However, I have suggested to the delegation of Ho Chi Minh City attending this festival that next year they should not make two such large cakes because transporting them over thousands of kilometers is very difficult, we receive, preserve and then distribute them to the festival attendees is also difficult" - Ms. Hai said. According to Ms. Hai, next year Ho Chi Minh City can come to Phu Tho and light a fire to wrap banh chung and banh giay right at the ancestral land like many localities have done this year. "If it is necessary to make a giant cake to create a unique mark, the makers can wrap hundreds of small cakes and combine them into a large cake" - Ms. Hai suggested.
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According to information provided to the press by the makers, the banh chung measures 1.8m x 1.8m and weighs 2 tons, and the banh giay is 1.8m in diameter and weighs 1 ton. The cakes departed from Ho Chi Minh City on April 11. After two days and three nights, the two offerings arrived at Hung Temple. By the afternoon of April 15, mold stains could be seen on the surface of the banh giay through the plastic wrap. Many people in Hi Cuong said they could not eat the banh chung after being given a portion because the cakes began to smell sour.
Afraid of waste so filled with... foam!
Explaining the “chung and giay banh incident”, Mr. Nguyen Huu Trung – Deputy Director of Dam Sen Cultural Park said: “This is the third year Dam Sen Cultural Park has offered cakes to the ancestral land. This year is not the year with the biggest chung and giay banh. Last year, the weight of chung cakes was up to 2.6 tons and giay cakes 1.2 tons”.
According to Mr. Trung, every time they make banh chung or banh giay, Dam Sen has a wood-fired oven right in the park and mobilizes 30 employees to make and cook the cakes. As for banh giay, this year Dam Sen has another facility make the dough and steam it because they do not have experience with the banh giay dough making machine.
Mr. Trung said the banh giay weighs one ton and is 1.8 meters in diameter. The banh giay is so large that in addition to the iron frame underneath, there is also a foam base to create stability for the cake, and the entire part that is more than an inch high above is completely made of flour.
Regarding the information that the banh giay only has more than 10 kg of rice, the rest is foam and iron, Mr. Trung explained: "How can 10 kg have a diameter of 1.8m? The finished cake has about 400-500 kg of flour plus the frame and other things to weigh nearly a ton. We don't make it big because we know that the banh giay cannot be eaten after the offering."
Mr. Trung said he had not heard of any reports of banh chung going bad. As for banh giay, it was true that it was a little bit spoiled and moldy due to long transportation. “We agreed with the festival organizing committee not to cut banh giay but to use it as a symbolic offering and only cut banh chung to invite people to enjoy,” Mr. Trung said.
“With the meaning of offering to the 18 Hung Kings, the banh giay has a large diameter of 1.8m. In fact, we do not make “fake” cakes, the foam part is only for shape. We also try to create real cakes, but if we pour a ton of flour to make banh giay, it would be... such a waste!”, said Mr. Trung.
According to NLĐ
