For nearly 50 years, in the middle of a small street corner in Hanoi, the moon cake pot of Ms. Truong Lam (57 years old, Hanoi) has been on fire every day. Amidst the noisy life of the city, that woman's hands are still tirelessly stirring up every piece of cake, preserving the passion for the profession that her mother passed on.
Carrying banh da to nuoi a whole family
Ms. Lam was born into a poor family with many children. Her childhood was spent with street vendors selling enough to support the whole family, most famously banh da. When she goes to school at 12 noon and cannot rest, she has to beat sesame seeds, boil the price, slice the banana flowers... prepare goods for the u - Ms. Lam's familiar name for her mother.
During the holidays, her neighbor, Ms. Tung, a famous banh chung seller at 112 Truong Dinh, often teases: "If you stay, you are a donkey".
However, for decades selling cakes, Ms. Lam's mother has been selling them regularly, only until she was no longer able to do so and refused to stop.
Her entire childhood was spent with banh da, but when she was young, Ms. Lam did not choose to follow the family's traditional profession. Because she thought that making banh da would be hard on the money, she opened a candy dealer for many years.
In 2014, Ms. Lam rented out the store, and in 2016, when she saw that she was at home and was sad, she remembered her uncle's instructions and returned to her old job. At first, she only sold the trees in front of the store for rent, with only a small cabinet given by the bride, a few dozen bowls and a pot of cakes on the charcoal stove.
The restaurant looked so simple that many people passing by thought it was a makeshift shop that few people would visit. However, when someone sat down and smashed her hot hot pot of banh da, they were surprised by the familiar delicious flavor.
Cooking hot-malted cake not difficult but difficult
To cook soft and sticky cakes, when eaten like a morning goose, it seems simple but you have to do it properly to get into the "profession". The heat when making the cake must be moderate, if it is large, it will burn the dough, the heat is too small, it will prevent the cake from cooking.
Before cooking, the rice must be soaked for several hours to bloom evenly, and must definitely choose old, dried, and firm rice. Only then, when grinding, will the fine flour be released, the cake will be cast into a new mold to be sticky, fragrant and sturdy.
While many bakeries have now switched to using self-stirring machines to reduce the hardship of the baking process, Ms. Lam still maintains the traditional method of making the cakes. She held each batch of cakes on fire, measured the time and stirred the cakes herself.
Ms. Lam shared that because now is " fun at the same time as working", not chasing quantity, she still wants to slowly make each piece to perfect the flavor.
In the past, her mother cooked banh da hoan toan with experience. Everything is often self-assessed with the eyes, just look at the Noodles to see how many liters of water and how much flour are there.
Now, Ms. Lam has to write the recipe on paper, Hung it in liters, and weigh each amount of rice, meat, and spices to be strict. The meticulousness in each stage will bring complete results, so that every time diners taste the cake, they can see the passion of the cook.
Many regular customers still come to enjoy the cakes, and every time they praise the cakes as clean and delicious. Even many young tourists from the South to Hanoi rent motorbikes to get there just to enjoy the familiar flavor. That made her feel like she was not selling cakes, but was preserving a familiar memory of the small corner of the capital.
Every day, she only sells about 50 - 100 bowls, enough two pots of cakes to make them right. She did not consider expanding the restaurant or thinking about passing on the profession or franchises. However, she believes that her profession will never be lost because of its unique flavor that is not available anywhere else.
After more than half a century in the profession, she still kept the core of the old bakery, only adjusting it a little to suit the taste of young people when reducing the smell of lime, adding a few side dishes such as quail eggs and beans. Many customers are so used to eating that they come every day and remember them when they are away for a few days. The old job was so hard, but it was the love of customers that kept her attached until now.
