Every time someone introduces you Tet customs, there will be many people talking about customs such as cleaning the house for Tet, displaying the altar, displaying the five-fruit tray, worshiping the Kitchen God, worshiping the grandparents, especially the custom of wrapping banh chung on Tet. This is one of the indispensable customs every time Tet comes and spring comes. So what is special about the custom of cooking banh chung on Tet? Let's find out right here!
History The custom of wrapping banh chung on Tet
It can be said that the custom of wrapping banh chung and banh day came from the sixth Hung King dynasty. According to legend in Vietnam, King Hung summoned all his children on the King's Anniversary. Legend has it that the mandarin who finds the most suitable offering to his ancestors will be given the throne. The princes searched for a lot of mountains and rivers, delicious foods and precious gems; or rare products that can be offered to the king.
Meanwhile, Lang Lieu is a mandarin ranked 18th. Having an estranged mother and no one to help, it is difficult to find valuable items. One night, Lang Lieu dreamed and saw a fairy come and say that nothing on this Earth is more precious than rice.
Use sticky rice to make square and round cakes symbolizing earth and sky. Inside the cake, use delicious flavors. The outside is wrapped with leaves, implying the great merit of the parents. Lang Lieu followed the gods' instructions and used sticky rice, pork, green beans and dong leaves to make banh chung and banh day, symbolizing heaven and earth.
After offering this gift to his father, he was very satisfied and decided to pass the throne to Lang Lieu. Since then, banh day and banh chung have become a valuable offering in ancestor worship rituals as well as appearing in Tet for Vietnamese people today.
Meaning of the custom of wrapping banh chung on Tet
Banh chung on Tet has many different meanings, but the following article will send you the most special meanings.
Square shaped banh chung symbolizes the ground; Banh day will have a round shape symbolizing the sun or sky. The country of Vietnam developed from wet rice civilization. That is why we attach great importance to worshiping heaven and earth. Vietnamese people often offer banh chung during Tet holidays to express their sincerity and gratitude to heaven and earth for a year of favorable rain and wind.
Besides, banh chung also helps express the Vietnamese people's spirit of remembering the source when drinking water and remembering their ancestors. On the last days of the year, families will often gather together and prepare ingredients to wrap banh chung. People will wipe leaves, people wash rice, and people soak sticky rice, creating an extremely warm and familiar scene in anyone's memory. Even those who are far from home. After preparation is complete, the whole family will wrap the cake together.
Grandparents and parents will guide the children in the house on how to make the squarest and most delicious Banh Chung. Everyone will sit together around the pot of Banh Chung and talk about the past year. This is what makes the custom of wrapping banh chung on Tet holiday more meaningful and special than ever. When many generations in a family gather together. In the exciting atmosphere of the days approaching Tet, banh chung is not simply a cake to worship heaven and earth but also a symbol of joy, reunion and joy as Tet is approaching.
How to make traditional banh chung
The traditional banh chung has many great meanings. Banh chung is made from only very simple ingredients such as green beans, sticky rice, pork, dong leaves and peanut strings; However, the preparation and implementation method is relatively complicated. Because only with complexity can these simple ingredients be processed into beautiful and delicious cakes.
The dong leaves need to be cleaned and wiped thoroughly. For sticky rice, you must choose large, even seeds sticky rice with yellow flowers and soak for at least 8 hours. Before wrapping green bean cakes, you should choose pepper green beans with small seeds and yellow flesh. For pork to make banh chung, the best meat is still lean and fatty enough, not too lean, not too fatty.
For the custom of wrapping banh chung on Tet, you should prepare a few extra cake wrapping molds. This is one of the tools that will help make your cake more square and measure the right amount of ingredients. After placing the leaves in the mold, you will add each ingredient in the order of sticky rice - green beans - meat - green beans - sticky rice. And wrap it carefully, then tie the cake tightly with string.
Next, put the cake in the pot, cover with water and cook for about 8 to 10 hours until the cake will be cooked. Depending on the Tet customs in each different region and each person's preferences, you can make salty banh chung or sweet banh chung. You can change the amount of lean meat and fatty meat in the cake.
Epilogue
Hopefully the information in this article has helped you better understand the custom of wrapping Banh Chung on Tet and how to create a traditional Banh Chung dish. Don't forget to FOLLOW Pasta Fresca Saigon today to update the most interesting information about Tet and the Vietnamese people.