Dong Co Chung Cake

Nguyen Thi Chin’s business household (at Area 4, Bao Thanh commune) was busy with pots of Chung cake right before the Tet holiday, delivering them to Tet vendors on time. Dong Co Chung cake not only has a delicious flavor typical of the land in the middle of Bao Thanh, but it is also a three-star certified OCOP product from Phu Ninh district.

Dong Co was the old name for Administrative Area No. 4, Bao Thanh Commune. When deciding on a name for the commune’s OCOP product, commune leaders and business households considered several options. Everyone agreed to name the product “Dong Co Chung Cake”, desiring a name that conveyed the simplicity and familiarity of the countryside.

Dong Co Chung Cake is wrapped in sticky rice, mung beans, pork belly, and locally grown Dong leaves. A working day for Ms. Nui’s family starts at 3 am. Each person has a stage from washing leaves, rice, and beans, slicing meat, wrapping cakes, tying, and stamping, which is completed competently.

Nguyen Thi Chin was pleased to share that "In the days preceding the Lunar New Year, the number of ordered cakes is up to two thousand per day. A dozen of workers are needed and the cake pots are boiled all day and night to fulfill orders at that time.”

Ten years of working as a Chung Cake maker means ten years of drawing on their own experience to make the cake more delicious and popular with people not only within the province but also in neighboring provinces. The cake is not only green and thorough, but it also tastes great. It is affordable to consumers thanks to its reasonable prices. The Square Chung Cakes are priced between 30,000 and 50,000 VND per piece, while long ones range between 35,000 and 55,000 VND per piece. With prestige and quality, Dong Co Chung Cake has been recognized as a three-star OCOP product.

The journey to transform Dong Co Chung Cake from a pure “agricultural brand” to a “brand” of Bao Thanh has raised many concerns among commune leaders. According to Mr. Cao Xuan Truong, Chairman of the Commune People’s Committee, "It takes 2 years for the Party committees and authorities to build OCOP products in Bao Thanh commune. With the characteristics of the middle land and difficult economic conditions, it is difficult to find products and mobilise people to participate in the program.”

Before being transferred for consumption, the finished Chung Cake will be stamped with a certificate of origin and packaged in paper bags as gifts. The product with “a new brand name” promises to introduce the Dong Co, Bao Thanh brand to a large number of consumers across the country.

Thuy Trang