Banh Chung: Traditonal Vietnamese Rice Cake in New Year

Banh Chung or Chung Cake (Vietnamese: Bánh Chưng - "Chưng" in "distilled", meaning steamed, but in fact the cake is cooked by boiling) is a kind of traditional sticky rice cake of the Vietnamese People to express the gratitude of descendants to their ancestors. Ingredients for making banh chung include glutinous rice, green beans, pork, and dong leaves. Chung Cakes are usually made on Tet Holiday of the Vietnamese people, as well as the death anniversary of Hung Kings (March 10 of the lunar calendar).

Legend and Story of Banh Chung in Vietnam

As the only type of cake with a long history in traditional Vietnamese cuisine that is still mentioned in history books, banh chung holds a special place in the minds of the Vietnamese community and its origin in legends related to Prince Lang Lieu in the 6th Hung King Dynasty. He made Banh Chung to be the special fift for the King on his birthday.

Banh Chung for New Year in the North Vietnam

The above story wants to remind descendants of the nation's tradition; is an explanation of the meaning and origin of Banh Chung and Banh Giay in culture, and at the same time emphasizes the importance of rice and nature in wet rice culture. Banh Chung is also called TET Cake as it is not be missed in TET holiday of Vietnamese.

Traditional Concept of Banh Chung (TET Cake):

According to the current popular concept, along with Banh Tet in the South, Banh Chung symbolizes the ancient Vietnamese conception of the universe. The cake has a green, square shape, which is considered typical for the land in the beliefs of the ancient Vietnamese and other ethnic groups in Asia. However, according to Professor Tran Quoc Vuong, the original banh chung had a round and long shape, like banh tet, and at the same time, banh chung and banh day symbolized men and women in Vietnamese traditional beliefs. Banh Tet, which replaces the place of Banh Chung on Tet occasions in the Vietnamese community in southern Vietnam, according to Tran Quoc Vuong, is the original form of banh chung.

However, this theory of his was rejected by some people because he did not remember the concept "the sky is round, the earth is square", if the thick cake is round, it must be accompanied by a pair of square Banh Chung. Moreover, everyone knows that making a cake or kneading something into a circle is easy, but making a square is difficult. No one has improved from the easy to the difficult for no particular reason or based on a cultural exchange.

Banh Tet for New Year in the South of Vietnam - Click to See >>>

According to a theory, from the beginning, Banh Chung is shaped like Banh Tet, then it turns into a square shape for no reason? And on what grounds? And why is it widely accepted in the folk? While at the beginning, banh chung has a square shape, having another form like banh tet has many satisfactory answers such as: Cultural exchange between Kinh and Tay people (banh tay), or because Banh Tet form is easier to transport and carry at the time of reclamation or battle,...

Wrapping and cooking banh chung, sitting in a pot of banh chung on the fire has become a living custom and culture in Vietnamese families every New Year to spring. When giving Tet cake to each other, Vietnamese people have the custom of giving a pair of cakes, not an odd one.

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See Also:

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• The 10 Best Vietnamese Cuisine Not to Be Missed