Dam village banh chung: Rich in rustic flavor in each layer of leaves

Ha Nam is not only famous for its tourist resorts, but it is also known for its attractive specialties that "thousands of people love". When talking about Ha Nam specialties, it is impossible not to mention Dam village banh chung. Next, let's join Tien Loc Palace Hotel to learn about this specialty dish!

1. Introducing banh chung in Dam village
 

Dam village is also known as Bich Tri village, Liem Tuyen commune, Phu Ly city, Ha Nam province, about 70 km south of Hanoi city. Dam village is one of the villages with the oldest tradition of making banh chung in the North.

From ancient times until now, Dam village has been known as a land of many professions, with industrious and hard-working people. This place is also known for traditional products such as rice paper, tofu, and rice cake. But gradually, making banh chung has become the main occupation of the people of Dam village.

Dam village makes banh chung all year round, but on the days leading up to Tet, one can feel the urgency and bustle of the atmosphere, feel the unique flavor from the smoke from the kitchen in the late afternoon, from the pots of red fire cakes, from the Familiar village scene.
 

The most important thing when making banh chung is the selection and processing of ingredients. Sticky rice must be of good quality. Dam villagers skillfully mixed Hai Hau sticky rice with yellow flower sticky rice. Green beans are carefully dried to avoid flat seeds, choosing round ones. The meat used to make the cake is pork belly, to ensure the cake has a characteristic greasy texture and does not make it greasy when eaten. You have to choose banh leaves that are not withered or torn, so they can create a beautiful green color for the cake. Each cake will be wrapped in about four to five leaves.

Banh chung is boiled with rain water. When cooked, the cake will have the green color of dong leaves, the cake will retain the fragrant aroma of green beans and sticky rice, and the cake can be kept at normal temperature for ten days without spoiling. A special thing in Dam village is that from the old to the young, everyone does not use molds when wrapping cakes but wraps them by hand. Everyone has skillful techniques, in just 2 to 3 minutes they can wrap a square cake, brief, complete.
 

After wrapping, the cake is placed in a pot to boil. Dam villagers often choose a large pot with a large capacity, enough to hold 90 to 100 cakes. The stove must be prepared 20 minutes before boiling the cake. When boiling the cake, the fire must be from low to high and when the cake pot boils, the fire must be gradually reduced. Each pot of banh chung is boiled for about 9 to 10 hours or up to 12 hours, so the cake is guaranteed to be soft, flexible and last a long time. Boiling the cake also requires keeping an eye on the water in the pot. If the water in the pot is shallow, add more water to avoid the cake from drying out. When taking the cake out, you must arrange and press it so that it is square and drains quickly.

2. Dam village banh chung: has a bold rustic flavor in each layer of leaves

Open each layer of dong leaves and you will see a lush green color surrounding the cake body. Along with that is the fatty, nutty aroma from pork and green beans, mixed with a slightly spicy taste of pepper. All are blended together to give people a rustic taste imbued with the culinary essence of heaven and earth.
 

To increase the rich flavor when enjoying banh chung, you can combine banh chung with fatty meat, tubers, pickled onions or green vegetables. Not only does it help supplement fiber, it also creates an appetite and stimulates taste buds. Enjoy each piece of soft cake with a little spiciness of the pickled onion, you will feel the appeal that comes from this perfect combination.

Currently, Dam village has about 20 households working as cake wrappers. The average monthly income of each family will be tens of millions of dong, the income of the month close to Tet is many times more. Thanks to doing this job, the people of Dam village have a more prosperous and fulfilling life, many high-rise buildings are built close together, and the streets and alleys are cleaner and more spacious.
 

With ingenuity, diligence and quick adaptation to today's market, the people of Dam village have helped their ancient profession develop, bringing stable income to thousands of workers. Dam village banh chung is definitely an ideal dish for those who want to remind them of their hometown, traditional and familiar flavors.

If you have the opportunity to visit this land, you must definitely go to Dam village and enjoy the specialties here. Coming to Ha Nam, you can choose Tien Loc Palace hotel to stay. Tien Loc Palace is committed to bringing you extremely cozy and comfortable moments of relaxation with smart equipment and quality services. We are very happy to have you choose us to accompany you on this trip.
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