Buzz
When in Thai Binh, food enthusiasts will immediately recall the renowned specialty, the Nguyen Village's banyan cake, now situated in Nguyen Xa commune, Dong Hung district. This cake has been famous for ages, serving as an excellent snack.
Nguyen Village's Delightful Banyan Cake - A Famous Rural Gift from Thai Binh
According to folklore, it's called banyan cake because it resembles a banyan bird's egg. Some say it's because the cake is so fragrant and delicious that it was chosen to offer to the king. The king found it savory, sweet, and balanced with the spiciness of ginger. When asked the name of the cake, the royal official offering it replied that it was a spicy cake. From then on, the locals mispronounced it as banyan cake.
The progenitor of the Nguyen Village's banyan cake craft was Nguyen Thi Tan, the nanny of Duke Phuc Dinh, a Nguyen dynasty official. Nguyen Thi Tan created the banyan cake in 1725. Legend has it that it was so delicious that the king decreed it must be offered annually to the court.
Crafting the fragrant, chewy banyan cake is a meticulous, complex process with intricate steps. The ingredients are entirely natural: glutinous rice, saffron flowers, gac fruit, or dandelion leaves, peanuts, sesame seeds, ginger, carrots, orange peel, coconut, sugarcane juice, and lard.
Before making the cakes, one must soak the pork fat in sugar, then slice the pomegranate seeds and sauté until the fat becomes dry, crispy, and translucent. Sticky rice is divided into 3 portions: Two for cooking sticky rice, one for toasting.
After steaming the sticky rice, it is divided into halves; one part mixed with Momordica cochinchinensis, the other with bitter melon juice; then the two parts of sticky rice are mixed together, mashed, sliced, and dried. Sesame seeds and peanuts are roasted until fragrant and the skins rubbed off. Then, carrots and citrus peel are sautéed with sugar and ginger juice.
Once all the ingredients are prepared, they are thoroughly mixed with sugar cane syrup and cooked on a stove. If the heat is too high, the cakes will become hard, but if the heat is too low, they will be moist and crumbly. When the cakes start to emit aroma, pour them into a wide wooden mold lined with toasted sesame seeds, then press tightly, and sprinkle a layer of sesame seeds and shredded coconut on top.
When the cakes harden, a knife and a large wooden ruler are used to cut them into equal squares. If made according to the traditional process, there is no need to dry or sun-dry the cakes, yet the cakes from Nguyễn village can still be preserved for many months.
Cakes are enjoyed with fragrant, hot lotus tea. A piece of cake with the authentic taste of Nguyễn village must have the aroma of sesame, peanuts, citrus peel, combined with the richness of fat, coconut, and the sweetness of sugar cane, with a hint of ginger… The distinctive flavor that has made the reputation of Nguyễn village's cakes in Thái Bình for many years.
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Discover the wonders of travel with MytourJanuary 16, 2023
