Northern - Southern culinary culture exchange
According to the reporter's records, many artisans are currently gathering at the Song Hau Farm Eco-zone in Co Do district, Can Tho city to urgently prepare the processing stages of "the largest banh chung in the Mekong Delta", on the occasion of the 12th Southern Traditional Bread Festival in 2025, which will open on April 5.
Sharing about the idea of creating this special banh chung, Mr. Tran Minh Cuong - Permanent Vice President of the Can Tho Professional Chefs Association, and Head of the Hau Farm River Eco-zone - said that this comes from the desire to promote local cuisine within the framework of the Southern Traditional Bread Festival, while expressing respect and remembrance for the Hung Kings.
The special thing about this banh chung is the unique culinary culture exchange between the North and the South. "Chang Chung is a specialty of the North, while the South is familiar with banh tet. However, we want to create a cake with a Southern flavor but still maintain the characteristics of Chung cake, said Mr. Cuong.
In terms of form, the cake is still wrapped in dong leaves on the outside and traditional Northlian rope. However, the inner leaf uses the familiar Southern-style hot banana leaves, with the desire to keep the cake natural green.
The ingredients for making the cake are also carefully selected from local agricultural products, including 600kg of sticky rice, 235kg of green beans, 215kg of pork belly, 1,000 banana leaf boats and 1,800 dong leaves transported from the North.
To enhance the typical flavor of the South, artisans have cleverly added coconut milk, salt and sugar, to suit the rich and slightly sweet taste of Southerners. This makes a difference from the traditional Chung cake of the North, which mainly uses salt only.
Serving about 2,000 cakes for free
The process of making banh chung is also extremely elaborate, with the participation of more than 30 artisans and domestic workers. The cake is shaped with a wooden zinc frame, then steamed in a special boiler for more than 20 hours, helping to maintain softness, flexibility and better flavor.
According to Mr. Cuong, as of the afternoon of April 2, the cost of making this banh chung was 137 million VND, excluding transportation costs. It is expected that when cooked, the size of the cake will be 1.9x1.9m, about 0.8m high, and weigh up to more than 1 ton.
After completion, the cakes will be displayed at the Southern Traditional Bread Festival and offered at Hung Kings Temple, contributing to activities to commemorate and show gratitude to Hung Kings, arousing pride in the origin of the nation.
In particular, about 2,000 cakes from this "huge" banh chung will be served free of charge to people and tourists who come to visit and attend the ceremony on April 5, thereby demonstrating the spirit of sharing and spreading traditional cultural values.
The 12th Southern Traditional Bread Festival in 2025 will take place from April 4 to 8 at Binh Thuy District Square, Can Tho City. This is the largest cake festival in the West, with a scale of about 231 booths. In particular, this year's festival will have the appearance of the "super-huge" and "largest banh chung of the Mekong Delta".
