Chung Cake Village Welcomes Tet.

There are only a few days till Lunar New Year. People in the chung cake and giay cake artisan villages of Hung Lo commune, Viet Tri city, have practically no free time these days; everyone and every family is busy producing cakes to meet the growing demand of consumers during the Tet holiday season.

From the full moon of December to the first month of the lunar calendar, people in Hung Lo commune are busy wrapping cakes for diners both inside and beyond the province.

Hung Lo commune is notable for having several traditional craft villages that are still preserved and developed today, such as the rice noodle craft village, the chung cake manufacturing village, the giay cake village, and so on, but the profession of wrapping chung cake remains the most well-known.

During Tet, Ms. Nguyen Mai Huong’s family - area 2 may produce up to 5 tons of rice, which equates to around 15,000 cakes.

Chung cake after being wrapped.

Hung Lo chung cake has been famed for its taste since it was initially offered in traditional markets, thanks to meticulous attention to ingredient selection, wrapping, and boiling. To make the cake delightful, It’s recommended wrapping it with silky sticky rice with medium-sized grains. When done, the cake is malleable, amaranth, hard, and does not crumble. The stuffing consists of lean and fatty pork belly marinated in spices, pepper to taste, and rubbed green beans. After the rice and beans have soaked for about two hours and the meat has absorbed the seasonings, begin wrapping. Previously, after the rice was soaked and removed, the elders would typically allow it to dry before wrapping. They packed it securely, making the cake rigid rather than gooey.

In addition to picking components and wrapping the cake, the method of boiling the cake is critical to deciding its taste. As a result, the cake must be cooked for at least 6 to 8 hours, depending on its size, whether square or long. While boiling, remember to add water every hour, and use plain water to keep the cake immersed.

After the cake has finished cooking, allow it to cool before compressing it to make it square and lovely, vacuuming it, labeling it, and bringing it to market...

Baking has been a traditional occupation in Hung Lo, passed down through generations.

Being careful at every stage - owing to the workers' devotion and responsibility, chung cake products in Hung Lo commune are becoming increasingly popular with clients and well-known throughout and beyond the province. Every day, a family in the hamlet produces 30-50kg of rice; on the full moon, the first day of the lunar month, and New Year’s Day, they do more. Mr. Nguyen Van Tu, Deputy Head of Hung Lo chung cake and Giay cake Craft community, stated that the community presently has 30 homes who make cakes on a daily basis. During Tet, the community produces around 2 tons of rice every day... primarily in the 12th lunar month. People’s incomes from baking are fairly considerable, averaging over 8 million VND per person per month. Many families have purchased more acreage and erected new, big, and contemporary homes...

Walking through the chung cake and giay cake artisan villages in Hung Lo commune in the days leading up to Tet, we see the people’s busy and hurried attitude. People create chung cake, giay cake, gai cake, honey cake, and rom cake. From the old to the children, they work together seamlessly and quickly to finish the processes necessary to have the cake served to the customers' hand. And among the children’s laughing and the adults' talk, it was as if the aroma of fragrant cakes from the kitchens was spreading everywhere, signifying that Tet was near...

Vinh Ha