Banh Chung(Chung Cake) – soul of Vietnamese cuisine

“Banh Chung” (Chung cake) is a traditional and irreplaceable cake of Vietnamese people in the Tet Holidays and King Hung’s anniversary (10th March Lunar). For the Vietnamese, making “Banh Chung” is the ideal way to express gratitude to their ancestors and homeland.

Bánh chưng is a traditional Vietnamese rice cake which is made from sticky rice, green bean, pork, dong leaves, and other additional spices as salt and pepper.

Bánh chưng

Legend tells us that when the 6th Hung King organized an ancestral worship 4,000 years ago, he told his princesses that whoever can cook the most delicious dish for the altar would become the next King of the country. While other princes tried to find the rare and delicious foods from forest and sea, the eighteenth prince, Lang Liêu, who was the poorest son of the Hung king, could not afford such luxurious dishes and had to be content with everyday ingredients, such as rice and pork. Finally, he created one cake in the square form of earth called “bánh chưng ” and one in the round form of sky called ” bánh giầy ” . Since the cakes he offered were of special meaning and delicious taste, Lang Lieu was selected to be the next Emperor. Since then, in honor of this 18th Prince, Vietnamese people always make and have Chung cake in the Lunar New Year. This legend aims not only to remind the next generations about the ancient tradition but also to emphasize the important role of rice and nature in water rice culture.

Banh Chung

Today, ingredients of making Cake remain unchanged: sticky rice, green bean, pork and “dong” leave. Traditional Vietnamese Tet holiday and images of green Chung Cakes are long-lasting traditional Vietnam culture. Chung Cake evokes Tet Holiday and vice versa. Perhaps, the combination becomes a cultural symbol of Vietnam. Therefore, the work of making Chung Cake when New Year comes is a fine cultural custom of Vietnam.

ingredients of making Chung Cake

For all globetrotters, traveling to Vietnam is not simply just going sightseeing, but also is enjoying unique local cuisine of places where they come to.