If you don’t have time to wrap banh chung for Tet, you can buy pre-packaged banh chung, but it must ensure quality and deliciousness. Bo Dau banh chung, Van banh chung and Dat To banh chung are 3 famous banh chung brands that you can refer to this Tet:
1. Bo Dau Chung Cake
Mentioned trademarkChung cake The famous deliciousness cannot be missed Bo Dau banh chung – specialty of craft village in Co Lung commune, Phu Luong district, Thai Nguyen province. Bo Dau banh chung from a traditional cake of Bo Dau craft village is currently known to many people and is very popular every Tet and spring. The founder of this Banh Chung brand is Mrs. Nguyen Thi Xuan, also known as Mrs. Xuan or Mrs. Ngoi. At first he sold it on the roadside and later passed it on to his descendants, gradually becoming a traditional craft village.
The Bo Dau banh chung brand is a specialty of Co Lung craft village, Phu Luong district, Thai Nguyen province (Photo: Ngoctt).
Special point of Bo Dau banh chung Sticky rice must be a sticky and fragrant specialty of Dinh Hoa. The sticky rice will be soaked for a few hours and then taken out to drain. Even the dong leaves used to wrap the cake must be different, they are thick, wide sticky dong leaves taken from the Na Ri forest of Bac Kan province. Bo Dau banh chung filling includes large meat and green beans, in which the pork belly is from free-range pigs so it has a certain firmness and aroma.
Bo Dau Chung Cake Not only is it delicious but it also shows the hard work and ingenuity of the craft villagers. Each cake is wrapped by hand but is square, no different from being wrapped in a mold, sharp and not distorted. After boiling the cake for 8-10 hours, the cake is finished with a layer of green sticky rice. When eaten, the aromatic flavor of sticky rice mixed with meat and nutty beans. From selecting ingredients to wrapping and cooking, everything is done carefully and ensures food hygiene and safety so you can use it with peace of mind.
2. Van Chung Cake
Saying goodbye to Bo Dau banh chung village in Thai Nguyen, we come to Van village banh chung brand in Hiep Hoa – Bac Giang that many people order every Lunar New Year. There are about 200 households making cakes here and the most are in Hoang An and Hoang Van communes. The ingredients for making the cake are also sticky rice, green beans and pork belly, but they create a different flavor, especially the wrapping leaves.
TrademarkVan Chung cake is the common name of Hiep Hoa banh chung, becoming famous for its deliciousness, greasiness, and ensuring food hygiene and safety. The sticky rice wrapped in the cake is Cai Hoa Vang sticky rice grown in Thai Son commune in the same district with a characteristic fragrant consistency. The rice used to wrap the cake is carefully chosen. After washing it, it is mixed with a little salt to add a rich flavor. Van village’s banh chung filling includes pork selected from farms and green beans along with traditional spices.
Van village’s banh chung brand in Hiep Hoa – Bac Giang is wrapped with chit leaves (Photo: Bacgianggov).
The most special feature of Van banh chung brand is the wrapping leaves. The leaves are not dong leaves but chit leaves for people to grow themselves. After cutting off the tops and stems, chit leaves are washed, boiled until the water just boils, then picked out to soften and retain the smell. Because it is wrapped in chit leaves, Van chung cake is white, not green like wrapped in banana leaves or dong leaves.
Wrapping Banh Chung Van must be skillful and careful, not too tight and the rice will quickly turn to rice, too loose and the cake will be mushy. The cake is boiled on the stove a total of 2 times for about 4 hours and then taken out. To make the cake smooth and flexible, people must roll it evenly on kitchen straw and then wrap it. Every Tet holiday, craft villagers are bustling, always on hand to meet the needs of customers.
3. Dat To Banh Chung
Dat To Banh Chung Also known as “Banh Chung Offering to the King”. banh chung brand famous in Cat Tru commune, Cam Khe district, Phu Tho province. Being a land with a long tradition of experienced artisans making banh chung to offer to King Hung, Dat To banh chung is also more trusted and loved. Currently, the number of households keeping the profession is still small, but the traditional value and each cake remain unchanged. The oldest and most famous of these is the family of artisan Nguyen Thi Anh.
The way to wrap Dat To banh chung is no different from traditional square banh chung filled with meat. Ingredients include sticky rice, pork belly, green beans, spices and dong leaves, but the selection of ingredients is the important point that creates the unique flavor of this cake.
Dat To is a delicious banh chung brand with historical and traditional significance (Photo: Ngoctt).
Sticky rice wrapped in cakes is usually Cai Hoa Vang sticky rice or Nhung sticky rice. The grains must be uniform so that the finished product is beautiful and fragrant. Green beans are also quite different as they come from small seed pods and are soaked and cooked carefully before wrapping. The leaves are selected to be neither too young nor too old to ensure the green color of the cake when cooked. When wrapping Dat To banh chung, you have to cut it by hand to make it soft and flexible. Once boiled, it still retains its square edges.
Boiling the cake is also extremely important as it must be boiled on a wood stove for 10-12 hours. While boiling, keep an eye on the wood and water regularly to avoid burning. Once the cake is boiled, take it out, wash off the oil layer from the shell, drain it, vacuum it and deliver it to the user. Dat To banh chung is not only chosen to make banh chung for the annual Hung King’s Commemoration Ceremony, but also wins many great awards and is distributed and consumed in nearly 200 clean food stores in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, and Phnom. Penh and our friend Singapore.
If you have the opportunity, please enjoy the famous Banh Chung brands above to know how talented and skillful Vietnamese people are in all provinces and cities. These are also options that you should consider if you want to buy banh chung as a gift for relatives, friends, colleagues or bosses.
