A traditional Chung cake and Giay cake contest was held in the northernprovince of Phu Tho on April 6 to celebrate the annual Hung Kings’Temple Festival.
Taking part were teams from Hanoi city, Phu Tho, the northern province of Hoa Binh and the southern province of Binh Duong.
The capital won the first prize in the Giay cake category, while Phu Tho 2 topped the Chung cake competition.
Vu Ba Chung, a member from the Hanoi team, expressed his honourat winning the opportunity to offer traditional cakes to the Hung Kingsat a similar festival in 2015.
The contest is held annuallywith the aim of paying tributes to the kings - the founders of thenation - and fueling national pride.
Legend has it that thetwo kinds of cake were first made by Prince Lang Lieu, a son of HungKing VI. Thanks to this invention, he was given the crown from his father.
The Prince made Chung cakes (glutinous rice cakes) in a square shapeand Day cakes (glutinous rice dumplings) in a round shape to symbolisethe earth and the sky respectively, and offered them to the king toexpress his respect and gratitude for his parents and to thank the godsfor the year’s good harvest.
The tradition has been well preserved by the Vietnamese people nationwide, especially during the lunar New Year festival.
Northern Vietnamese make the Chung cake in square shape, while thesoutherners or ethnic people in mountainous areas wrap the cakes in acylindrical shape.
Making Chung cake requires simple materialsand ingredients which can be found in every market in Vietnam :glutinous rice, green bean, fatty pork spiced with salt, onion andpepper. All are wrapped in phrynium leaves before being boiled for atleast 10 hours.
Giay cake requires a more complicated process.First of all, sticky rice is dipped in water and then steamed. Steamedsticky rice will be pounded in a mortar until it turns into a softpaste, which is then shaped into round.
The worshipping ritualof the Hung Kings was honoured by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritageof Humanity in December 2012. Meanwhile the Hung Kings’ TempleFestival was recognised as a national event in 2007.-VNA
Taking part were teams from Hanoi city, Phu Tho, the northern province of Hoa Binh and the southern province of Binh Duong.
The capital won the first prize in the Giay cake category, while Phu Tho 2 topped the Chung cake competition.
Vu Ba Chung, a member from the Hanoi team, expressed his honourat winning the opportunity to offer traditional cakes to the Hung Kingsat a similar festival in 2015.
The contest is held annuallywith the aim of paying tributes to the kings - the founders of thenation - and fueling national pride.
Legend has it that thetwo kinds of cake were first made by Prince Lang Lieu, a son of HungKing VI. Thanks to this invention, he was given the crown from his father.
The Prince made Chung cakes (glutinous rice cakes) in a square shapeand Day cakes (glutinous rice dumplings) in a round shape to symbolisethe earth and the sky respectively, and offered them to the king toexpress his respect and gratitude for his parents and to thank the godsfor the year’s good harvest.
The tradition has been well preserved by the Vietnamese people nationwide, especially during the lunar New Year festival.
Northern Vietnamese make the Chung cake in square shape, while thesoutherners or ethnic people in mountainous areas wrap the cakes in acylindrical shape.
Making Chung cake requires simple materialsand ingredients which can be found in every market in Vietnam :glutinous rice, green bean, fatty pork spiced with salt, onion andpepper. All are wrapped in phrynium leaves before being boiled for atleast 10 hours.
Giay cake requires a more complicated process.First of all, sticky rice is dipped in water and then steamed. Steamedsticky rice will be pounded in a mortar until it turns into a softpaste, which is then shaped into round.
The worshipping ritualof the Hung Kings was honoured by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritageof Humanity in December 2012. Meanwhile the Hung Kings’ TempleFestival was recognised as a national event in 2007.-VNA
