Despite being busy with farming, many households in Phụng Công Commune still spare time to make the rice cake in huge quantities, up to hundreds to thousands of pieces, to sell to traders.(Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Anyone who has tried banhte or banh rang bua (rice cake filled with brown onion) will never forget itsdelicious taste.
The dish is a specialty of PhungCong commune in the northern province of Hung Yen. Its taste is derived fromthe sweetness of meat and crispiness of cat’s ear mixed with the soft andflavourful rice powder.
Phung Cong rice cake is so well known innorthern Vietnam that it is not only sold in every small lane and alley of Hanoibut is also sold abundantly in many rural markets in nearby Hung Yen, Hai Duong,Bac Ninh and Hai Phong provinces.
With simple ingredients, the cake can befound in many places in Vietnam, but gourmets argue that those made in PhungCong commune are the best, both in shape and taste.
Despite being busy with farming, manyhouseholds in the commune still spare time to make the rice cake in hugequantities, from hundreds to thousands of pieces, to sell to traders.
“During leisure after harvesting, thehouseholds increase the number of banh te they make, which are not only sold totraders but also in rural markets or village fairs within the provinces,” said NguyenThi Hai, whose family has made banh te for three generations.
“The cake is cheap, so it is sold like hotcakes. Many people buy it to gift to the elderly or children. Sometimes I take500 pieces to the village fair and they are all sold in the middle of the day,”she added.
According to experienced local rice-cake makers,the ingredients must be delicious to make the cake delicious, which is why theprocess of choosing the rice, meat and spices is crucial.
The best rice to make banh te is thearomatic tam xoan or tam thom variety grown in Nam Dinh province that has beenrecently harvested. The rice that has been harvested for too long issubstandard as it will have an unpleasant smell.
“All households in the commune, includingmine, making the rice cake must keep their customers’ trust by never buyingcheap, low-quality rice,” Hai said.
Likewise, the ingredients for the stuffing- mixed lean and fat meat, cat’s ear, pepper and onion - must be of the bestquality.
The process of making banh te is quitesimple; it is the grinding of rice powder that is complex. The rice, afterbeing soaked in pure limewater for three to four hours, needs to be cleanedthoroughly with fresh water.
It is compulsory to grind the rice in astone mortar instead of using ready-to-use rice powder as it will make the cakehard and not as soft as that made with rice powder ground with water.
After the grinding phase, the mixture ispoured into a huge pot and heated with light fire to become condensed. The cookmust use a large flat chopstick to stir the liquid constantly to prevent thepowder at the bottom of the pot from overcooking. After the powder ishalf-cooked and has condensed, it is placed on a tray to cool off.
The stuffing is made with minced and boiledlean and fat meat mixed with sliced cat’s ear and slightly grilled onion. Allthe ingredients are minced to small pieces. Before frying, pepper andhigh-quality fish sauce are added. The amount of sauce added to the mixture isalso important as it will decide the taste of the cake.
According to Hai, the wrapping phasedemands meticulousness and patience, and an experienced cake maker can wraphundreds of cakes in a day. Phrynium leaf, some 40cm long and 15cm wide, isused to wrap the cake. After wrapping, a handful of rice powder is spread alongthe leaf. The stuffing is placed right in the middle and the cake is shapedlike harrow teeth, or rang bua in Vietnamese, after which the cake is named.The cake is then tied around with nylon or bamboo strings.
The final step is boiling or steaming thecake. Boiling is faster, taking some 10 minutes, but steaming helps to preservethe original taste of the cake.
“Though steaming is more time-consuming,nearly all the villagers opt for this method because it preserves the flavour,glutinosity and strong taste of banh te made in our village,” Hai said.
Peel off the steaming hot banh te and enjoy itinstantly with chilli sauce. The easy-to-make and reasonably priced ruralspecialty reflects the rural taste of Phung Cong commune, attracting visitorsto try the delicacy.-VNA
VNA
