Top 12 Best Tet Food Poems

Every spring, my mind returns to our ancestral village

Missing my gentle mother, the scent of rice straw in the air

The cherry blossoms bloom, swallows play in the wind

Fluttering and calling out to the green sprouts.

New Year's Eve, my mother wraps the green Chung cake

Each layer of banana leaves brings joy

This year's cake is as beautiful as my mother's daughter!

The skin is smooth and also imbued with charm.

Fireworks burst and crackle outside the door

Pink shells are stacked to make a path of happiness

On the marriage day, I follow my husband far away

Away from my dear mother, thousands of miles under the sky.

The round mold from the old days is still here!

Each grain of rice is missing my mother's hand

Ten years together quietly in life

Also learning to wrap Chung cakes like my mother.

Foreign land's rice is sparse but... it's a joy

Adding soybeans without bitterness, without stickiness

Diligently wrapping with the silent respect of a child

Gently whispering as if there were my mother of the past

The cake is soft, outside covered in rain

Like my mother's feet just arriving from afar.

I bow my head silently beside the candle flame

The plate of Chung cake seems to want to speak

Spring is back! I invite my mother, oh mother!

The candle flame smiles, radiating warmth

In longing, tears flow abundantly

The cake in my hand gently swallows, choked with emotion

I often wait for my mother in the dream realm
When night falls, mother, please don't forget, mother!

Author: Lê Hoàng Trúc

Time passes swiftly, gently leading

A turn of the head and a year has passed

Sixteenth-market post-full-moon

Buying leaves, buying sticky rice, making chung cakes

Like Lang Lieu of yore

Offering the king symbolic cakes of land and sky

Pork belly now seasoned

Marinated with salt, pepper just right

Mung beans boiled till midday

Yellow flowers push through clean rice

Dark green dong leaves all the same hue

Rice then beans then meat wrapped and tied

Grandchild running around, excited

Granny, kindly, tie it up, don't let it open

Excitedly she runs around

Wrapping each grandchild's chung cake

The kitchen bustling, fire roaring

Her cheeks flushed, lovely and dear

I love you, Granny, love you much

Spring has come, kites soaring far

A few more pots pass by

I will grow up, taking over for Granny welcoming spring

Sitting by the fire, gathered close

I sit wrapping cakes, Granny her portion, mine

And that day tomorrow surely

A few missing teeth, Granny's silvering head

Hoping spring doesn't rush

Calmly Tet comes, enriching our time.

Author: Trịnh Thanh Hằng

In ancient Văn Lang's realm,

Under King Sixth's auspicious helm.

He sought a change to overwhelm,

To reshape the land under his realm.

He decided to choose a son,

Competing to cook, but there was one.

The taste, unmatched under the sun,

Could never equal to Heaven's fun.

However, a twist in the tale,

Lang Liêu's assistance, never to fail.

While pondering on what to do,

Ancestor's reminder came through.

Ordinary yet profound, it's true,

Chung Cake on Tet, beloved by many a crew.

Dày Cake, too, faces no adieu,

With its fragrant glutinous rice and mung beans in view.

Symbolizing the land's verdant hue,

Chung Cake wrapped in green leaves anew.

Molded round with glutinous rice, a brew,

Dày Cake represents the sky's vast blue.

Such a delicacy, how could it subdue,

Lang Liêu, elevated, as the celestial few.

When spring arrives, everywhere you pursue,

You'll see Chung Cake and Dày Cake, the menu.

Author: Lệ Hoa Trang

Growing up

Rooted in the bamboo village

You arrive in the evening

I cross over at noon

Next door

Nothing grandiose about the hour

Our village lane remains hearty together.

Year after year, spring arrives…

Your hands prepare for Tet

Offering to the ancestors.

Sincere heart,

Ancestors understand the sentiment

Blessings of fortune and happiness… a reflection of hometown love.

Even if the rice burns slightly

The kitchen fragrance remains familiar come evening.

A square Chung Cake, a savory slice of pork

Pickled onions, a bowl of delicious soup

A stir-fried dish…

The ancestral altar, the feast set high

The fragrant smoke swirls and rises.

Years of bustling days

Care and work,

These hands… yours.

Amidst criticism, amidst praise

Wearing old clothes, still familiar with life's rhythm.

Warmth

Oh my dear, sentimental and tender!

Still as it was then, a lifetime together

Bamboo arches, leafy roofs, the bridge's end…

Your hands

Ignite the fire, the color of youth!

Tet is coming

Tet draws near

Thinking of you

I, again, compose joyful verses!

Author: Phạm Ngọc Vĩnh

Rice bean, banana leaf, dong leaf...

Soft and pliable...

Done square, round

Green color...

Color of the motherland

For thousands of years...

With descendants of the Hung Kings

Tet cake round...

Square chung cake...

Symbolizing heaven and earth...

Wrapped to offer to life

Through countless changes of the era

Chung cake, tet cake...

People's hearts remind each other

Some eat early, some eat late

Village affection, national bond remains intact

Chung cake square, tet cake round

Two regions gather together...

The country shines brightly

New Year's Eve...

Spring transforms land and sky

Praying for the nation's everlasting prosperity.

Author: Hoang Bich Ha

Raindrops on the narrow path

Spring returns with mother's hair

Short or long, our joys and sorrows

Evening shadows in the village

Green chung cake remains the same

Soft and fragrant to the core

Time's silver threads subtly weave

Squares and circles, bound and awaited

Whoever comes bears a heartfelt smile

Only the cherry blossoms understand

The vague haze of dreams...!

Author: Mai Nhat Nguyen

Spring brings the vibrant colors of flowers

For you, a touch of blended affection with fragrance

Fragrant perfume of sugared pomelo peel

Red watermelon by the pond, sweet sesame candy

Ginger jam with a hint of spice

Luscious coconut candy, tempting tamarind jam...

Bringing joy as Tet arrives, you offer

Me a gift with accompanying flowers

Wishing for a harmonious new year

Safe and prosperous, every home joyous in Spring.

Author: Khanh Quynh

Bringing home a slab of pork from the market stall
Marbled with white and red, so pristine and clear
Seasoned just right, skillfully done with care
Simmered in broth, rich and thick like molasses

The sauce flows, a tantalizing blend of red and brown
Tender and succulent, the pork glistens and gleams
Sweet and fragrant, enticing us to taste
White rice in a bowl, a perfect complement to devour.

Source: Collected

Wrapped in green banana leaves, vibrant and lush

Filled with glutinous rice, beans, pork, and spices

A package of love, a bundle of affection

Soft and fragrant since the time of Lang Liêu.

Source: Compiled

Sitting by the rice cake

Recalling a time of literary passion

But tonight, sitting by the fire under the wall

It's where poetry once leaned against the wall

Poetry, intoxicated, demanding courage

Bitter wine embraces longing for homeland

What's the point of showing compassion and love

For poets sitting by the fire all night

Oh rice cake, sustaining the hungry for days

Hungry for poetry, words don't return

Poets, don't take the virtuous wife!

Author: Trần Đại

A festive day in spring, so grand

Melon seeds, candied fruits, processions, and square cakes

Every table adorned with banh tet and square cakes

Braised pork, pickled vegetables, and jellied meat in every home

Plus trays of five fruits displayed

Pomelos, coconuts, papayas, and ripe mangoes for the joyous Tet

Fireworks bursting with loud booms

On the 30th night, spring arrives with a bang

Throughout the North, Central, and South

People rejoice, welcoming Tet in every home.

Author: Hoàng Ngọc

Preparing braised pork in soy sauce,

Though not quite perfect, the color is sad.

No worries, the taste is still delightful,

Tet remains complete when the family shares a meal.

Source: Collected