From the early morning, Ms. Thai Thi Hien in Thanh Thoi An commune (Tran De district, Soc Trang province) gathered fire, prepared flour, raw vegetables and shrimp filling to pour a few dozen banh xeo. For her, making a bucket of gourd on Doan Ngo Tet holiday is an indispensable part to worship ancestors, commemorate grandparents, then the whole family gathers, eats, and shares daily activities.
Squeezing each grated, crispy golden cake, Ms. Hien said: "Make a banh xeo to offer first and eat later. This dish is not only delicious but also a traditional connection, connecting families. The children and grandchildren will be happy when they return home in the winter, and they will feel healthy when they work hard."
Similarly, in Luong Tam commune (Long My district, Hau Giang province), the atmosphere of Doan Ngo Tet at Ms. Nguyen Thi Hiep's family is equally bustling. This year, all 5 of her children, even though they work in the same place, have returned on time for the weekend. So the big family gathered together, together making a banh xeo as an unctory habit.
"Every day on the 5th of the lunar month, we make cakes. Every year when the children are few, they work little, and every year when there are many, there are a few dozen. Each person has a hand, some make flour, some make filling, some pour the cake. It's tiring but fun, because everyone knows how to share work with each other," Ms. Hiep shared.
The custom of pouring the ball on the Lunar New Year was deeply ingrained in the cultural life of the West. From the kitchen to the countryside markets, everywhere fragrant smell of rice flour, fresh turmeric and coconut milk. The filling is rich according to the taste of each house, there are places where ground pork, bean sprouts, tubers, some places prefer minced Siamese duck meat, coconut tubers, delicious fresh shrimp. Raw vegetables are served with all kinds: leaves, mustard greens, lettuce, cloves, cinnamon all creates a rustic meal but rich in the homeland flavor.
Not only in every home, Doan Ngo Tet also bustles the shops selling banh xeo across the West. At a famous restaurant on Tran Hung Dao Street (Soc Trang City, Soc Trang Province), the owner said that he had to increase human resources, build roofs for customers to sit and eat and buy at home because the number of people buying cakes increased many times a day. Each cake costs from tens of thousands of VND, depending on the type of filling.
The festive atmosphere could not lack the shade of this rustic cake. The annual Song Nuoc Thuong Bao Festival in Ke Sach district (Soc Trang province) is held on the occasion of Doan Ngo Lunar New Year, the performance of pouring banh xeo to serve visitors has become an indispensable activity.
In recent years, many localities in the West have recreated this traditional cultural feature through community activities. Typically, at Co Hai Market in Cu Lao Dung District (Soc Trang Province), the stall for selling banh xeo is always a highlight that attracts a large number of tourists.
