“Banh chung” in the Southern New Year

The Lunar New Year is the same, but in each region there are unmistakable characteristics. Speaking of banh chung, immediately think of the North which is in the cold. Speaking of tacos, I remember the sunny and warm South ... Gradually, the process of intersecting culinary cultures blurs the geographical distance. Banh Chung "Nam Tien" at the Tet party, lying squarely next to the familiar round tacos. Mr. Hoa (a lifelong friend) muttered: "Tet is coming, I don't know how to prepare fruit cakes!". What he meant was "how to prepare banh chung". Life in the South is better than his Phu Tho countryside. But after a few years of the epidemic, the economy struggled, he was not eligible to go back to his hometown to celebrate Tet.

"On New Year's Eve, sitting and eating tacos I craved a terrible piece of banh chung! Not craving the taste of cakes, but craving the space of home, craving the feeling of sitting around the family tray, listening to the sound of wishing each other excitedly. Therefore, every year I look for a place to buy banh chung, ask them to send it to An Giang. I don't eat much, I mainly see it so that my heart is less busy," he confided. Banh chung in his mind is a very harmonious combination of the sticky taste, the fatty taste of fatty meat, the soft and smooth taste of mung beans, served with palanquins, pickles... salty, spicy. Banh Chung is made from the cold at the end of the year, from the enthusiasm of adults in the family to prepare for Tet, from the carefree eagerness of young children. Decades away from the North, he also has his own home, gradually getting used to the flavorful tacos of the "2nd homeland", Mr. Hoa still painfully remembers the banh chung. His wife practiced cooking packages, but he couldn't find the taste he remembered...

Far from her hometown of Thanh Hoa, in the South to set up a career, Ms. Pham Thi The (Chairwoman of the Women's Union of Chau Phu B Ward, Chau Doc City, An Giang Province) collected her nostalgia into each cake she made with her own hands, contributing to the joy of Tet in the west of the river. "Initially, I only wrapped about 10 pairs of cakes for the whole family to eat Tet. Gradually, many acquaintances and friends from the countryside like me asked me to pack a few more cakes so that they could not find a place to buy. Around December 20, I finalized the quantity, put dong leaves from the countryside, started to divide the package, and delivered it on December 25. A pair of small cakes (1.5 - 1.6kg) costs 250,000 VND; and a pair of cakes over 2kg costs 300,000 VND." There are few people in her house, all of them share the work, huddle together to cook banh chung, bring a specialty imbued with the flavor of the North mixed with the golden apricots, the sun and wind of the South.

In fact, banh chung and banh tac have many similarities. They all come from the ancient stories of the Vietnamese people, distilling the essence of the fields, combining cultivation and livestock products, elevating the traditional culinary philosophy. They are all according to the pattern: Glutinous rice surrounded by mung bean filling, fatty meat; are all shaped in pairs, symbolizing the mood of expecting a prosperous and lucky New Year, welcoming all good things. The biggest difference is the shape and packaging. Cylindrical tacos wrapped in banana leaves "Minh Thien" in the South. And the thick, bold square-shaped banh chung nestled in dong leaves, a type of leaf that is only popular in the North. The customs and customs of the homeland of the country are deeply ingrained in the subconscious and lifestyle, so the countryside specialties also follow in the footsteps of the countryside people to other countries.

In the era of market economy, "customers are god", many places expanded the banh chung business market, delivered goods nationwide, meeting the requirements of customers like Mr. Hoa. Just after Christmas, banh chung has been sold on social networks. Mainly, they promote cakes, attract customers to order to keep up with the delivery schedule near Tet. Ba Dung humpback cake establishment (Ha Giang province) launches a series of cakes - just hearing the name, you will find it attractive: Honey chung cake, gac chung cake, traditional humpback cake, glutinous humpback cake, brown rice... The most basic ingredients are yellow flower glutinous rice, native black pork filling, and green beans with eggplant. When eaten, mixed in the tip of the tongue is a characteristic soft taste, fragrant with dong leaves and mung beans. In addition to the familiar square size, banh chung is "miniaturized" to mini size, less than 400g.

"Every year, we announce the deadline for sending cakes according to orders to the South on December 24, customers receive them on December 26-28, just in time to prepare for New Year's Eve. Northern and Central orders will be sent later, but also reach customers no later than December 28. Shipping over long distances, so each cake is vacuumed, minimizing mold damage. When receiving the cake, customers store it in the refrigerator. To prepare and enjoy, just take it out to warm up, restoring the inherent deliciousness of the cake," - a representative of the establishment shared.

Many young people with business acumen quickly entered the banh chung distribution market. Le Minh Tuyen (living in Long Xuyen City, An Giang Province) shared: "I often collect orders for tacos for customers all year round. Occasionally, some customers ask to buy banh chung. The closer to Tet, the more customers ask. I chose to order a reputable establishment in Can Tho City. In particular, this establishment only packs banh chung mini (300gr/piece), priced at several tens of thousands of VND, very easy to consume. Just book 2 days in advance to receive the cake, any time of the year."

Banh Chung also evokes a very special memory in me. In 2020, many journalists accompanied the Western delegation to Naval Region 5. Tac cakes and banh chung are brought all over the islands, bringing the flavor of Tet to distant soldiers. We floated on the sea for nearly 1 week, eating almost all the food we brought. On the days near the end of the voyage, unable to swallow instant noodles and braised rice, we huddled into the kitchen, rummaged through the remaining banh chung, and divided our stomachs. Yet delicious! Delicious because it is strange, delicious because the circumstances dominate the taste, delicious because of the food shared with friends and colleagues - who have just met but are extremely close...

Therefore, I partly understand the nostalgia of Mr. Hoa, Ms. The. That nostalgia is invisible, but heavy every time Tet comes and Spring returns. Therefore, I only hope that Tet in the South is more than a square cake, to erase the distance in the heart.