Hung Lo cassava cake - a delicious dish from the ancient village

Hung Lo ancient village, Hung Lo commune, Viet Tri City, has long been famous for its many delicious, unique dishes that anyone who has tasted will never forget. Along with banh chung, banh giay, noodles, vermicelli, peanut candy, ginger candy, and rice paper, cassava cake is another special gift from the ancient village.

The main ingredient of this dish is cassava (also known as tapioca). According to local people, cassava cake has been made in the village for hundreds of years. When the economy was still struggling and life was hard, people relied on cassava as a staple food to combat hunger.

Hung Lo cassava cake is a delicious rustic dish passed down from generation to generation.

The process of making cassava cake is not too complicated. Cassava is thinly sliced, dried, crushed, or pounded into flour and then filtered to remove fibers before making cakes. In the past, cassava cake had no filling; people used chopsticks to poke a hole in the middle to ensure even cooking. That is why people also jokingly call it “chopsticks” cassava cake.

Cassava cake is made from young, fresh, sticky cassava; the root tip must be small, the body smooth, easy to peel, and pure white.

Nowadays, cassava cake is made from young, fresh, sticky cassava; the root tip must be small, the body smooth, easily peeled, and pure white. After washing, the cassava is cut into pieces, dried, and ground into fine powder. Or some households have a more improved way of making it by peeling, pounding, and squeezing the water to get the pulp. The squeezed water is left to settle, and fine starch is obtained.

The maker mixes the flour with hot water, kneads it thoroughly until it becomes a smooth dough, and then shapes it into cakes. According to Ms. Cao Thi Nam, Tan Tien area, Hung Lo commune: The thing to pay special attention to when kneading the dough to make cakes is to knead with boiling water; only then will the cake be soft and smooth. If kneaded with cold water, the cake will be crumbly and not delicious.

The cake filling is processed in a variety of ways, with various fillings depending on each person’s preference. Savory cassava cakes will include pork with green beans or pork with wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms... Sweet cassava cakes will have green beans and can add shredded coconut, black beans, red beans...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoan from Zone 5, who has many years of experience making cassava cakes in Hung Lo commune, said, "Making cassava cakes is not difficult, but the maker must be skillful in spreading the dough evenly so that the cake does not tear when exposed to high temperatures. The wet dough is very sticky; if the cake crust is spread thinly, when adding the filling and rolling it into a ball, it will form an oval the size of a chicken egg.

After wrapping, the cake is steamed for about 40 minutes.

The outside of the cake is covered with a layer of royal banana leaves; if wrapped with banana leaves, the cake will turn black. This layer of leaves helps the cake not stick when steamed, and it is also convenient for the eater to hold when enjoying. The final step is to steam the cake for about 40 minutes. The cake is best eaten while it is still hot.

The final product: cassava cake.

When cooked, cassava cake has a white color, a soft and chewy crust, the natural sweetness of young cassava flour, green beans, the crunchiness of wood ear mushrooms, the sweetness of pork... Each type of filling will bring a different flavor, but cassava cake with minced meat and wood ear mushrooms is still the most popular and loved. Some people compare cassava cake to tapioca cake, but the chewy cassava flour layer and the flavor are very different; eating one makes you want to eat 2 or 3 more...

Currently, cassava cakes are made not only in Hung Lo commune but throughout the province, where they have been recognized as OCOP products in various localities. This makes this rustic dish, a hunger-fighting dish, gradually become a specialty, creating unforgettable impressions for diners when enjoying it.

If you have the opportunity to visit Phu Tho, especially Hung Lo ancient village, do not miss the opportunity to experience this unique dish and explore the rich, diverse, and attractive culinary culture of the Hung King’s Ancestral Land.

Vinh Ha