According to the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper in Cha To commune, Dien Bien province, from the early morning of the last day of the Year of the Snake, the atmosphere of preparing to welcome Tet took place very bustlingly. In each family, from old to young, each person has a job.
Ms. Poong Thi Dien (Vang Xon village, Cha To commune) said: "On the last day of the year, my family usually maintains the custom of wrapping banh chung in the early morning, boiling banh chung near noon, and at the moment of New Year's Eve, the banh chung will be cooked in time to burn incense at New Year's Eve. In the afternoon of the last day of the year, everyone will go to the stream to wash their hair to wash away old things and welcome the new year.
The preparation stage for banh chung with strong identity usually starts from the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month. Ingredients are carefully selected such as: upland sticky rice, pork, green beans...
Sticky rice after being washed clean, the bean filling is soaked overnight, cooked and mixed just right with spices. Dong leaves are washed, drained and cut off the hard part so that they are soft when wrapped.
According to the elderly in Vang Xon village, Cha To commune, banh chung is for worshiping ancestors, commemorating the merits of giving birth and nurturing of grandparents and parents. Therefore, even if life is more modern, wrapping banh chung right on the last day of the lunar year is always emphasized.
Banh chung of the Thai ethnic people usually has two types (banh chung tube and banh chung go), each type requires the unique dexterity of the woman in the family.
To wrap banh chung tubes, usually choose large, long dong leaves. Rice is spread evenly on the surface of the leaves, followed by the meat and bean filling, and then covered with a layer of rice. The finished cake is tied with bamboo strings, divided into small pieces, bound tightly like a spring roll.
Meanwhile, banh chung go is somewhat easier to wrap but has a unique shape like a mountain.
The wrapper usually puts a lot of rice in the middle to create volume (curd), the layers of leaves are folded diagonally to ensure tightness. The special thing is that when boiled, the two curd banh chung cakes are often clasped with the curd sides together and tied tightly into a pair, symbolizing cohesion.
After completing the wrapping process, the cakes are placed in a pot, cooked on a regular stove for about 12 hours. Cooked cakes are taken out to drain before being offered to the altar.
For the Thai ethnic community in Dien Bien, banh chung is still passed down from generation to generation. And that is also the pride of every Thai ethnic child when introduced to the traditional cake.
