A Brief Introduction of The Moon cakes (Bánh Trung Thu)

Moon cakes (Bánh Trung Thu) are sold in the seventh month of lunar year. Both Hanoian children and adults love Moon cakes and choose them as a present in Mid-Autumn Festival.

The Moon cakes (Bánh Trung Thu) has two parts including crust and stuffing. Two kinds of Mid-Autumn cakes are baked ones and sticky ones. This classification depends on cakes’ crust. Ingredients for stuffing consist of jam, polony, green bean, lotus seed, salted eggs, sugar, oil, etc.

The crust of baked Moon cakes are processed from a mixture of wheat flour, boiled syrup, malt and oil. After adding stuffing into the central of thin smooth dough, the baker puts the Moon cakes into a moon cake press, then removes the pressed cakes out of the mould, brush each Moon cake with egg wash and put them into oven. The baked cakes are shaped square, colored golden brown, shiny and sweet-smelling. The combination of the crispy skin and sweet - savory fillings brings buttery taste that makes the Moon cake remarkably delicious.

Sticky cakes are made from cooked sticky rice dough and fillings. The dough is a mixture of smooth roasted sticky rice, vanilla or pomelo flower flavoring and syrup. It can be eaten right after being removed from the cake mould. Sticky cakes with aromatic glutinous skin and savory stuffing have round shape and leave unforgettable aftertaste. In Mid-Autumn festival, the Hanoians and their family often sit together and enjoy Moon cakes with "tra ngau” (tea infused with the flower from the Aglaia duperreana tree).

Nowadays, based on flavor and form of traditional Mid-Autumn cakes, the Hanoians process Moon cakes with various forms and flavors such as carp shaped cakes and dragon shaped cakes with green tea or taro taste to meet personal demand and taste.

A Brief Introduction of Young rice cake (Bánh Cốm)

Young rice (Cốm) is used to prepared various interesting dishes, namely young rice cake (bánh cốm) and che com (green rice sweet soup).

Young rice (Cốm) does not stay fresh for long, so Hanoi people thought of pressing the grains together to prevent them from beinf stale without losing its softness and scent. Before pressing, the grains are dampened and stir-fried with syrup. The filling is mung beans, peeled and crushed with sugar, and coconut strips. The square cake wrapped in banana leaves and tied by a red strip represent the relationship of a married couple and, therefore, is a necessity part of the offerings in an engagement party in Vietnam.

A Brief Introduction of The Millet crispy rice cake (Bánh Đa Kê)

Millet crispy rice cake (Bánh Đa Kê) - a tasty nosh of Hanoi - is not only a delicious snack but also a dish containing kindness, rusticness of the Hanoians

Millet crispy rice cake (Bánh Đa Kê) is only peddled on bicycles, leisurely acrossing every corner of streets. When anyone wants to buy a cake, the hawkers stop the bike, pick a piece of Banh da with black sesame scattered on the surface, and use the tip of a knife cut it into two even halves. Vendors use a big flat chopstick to spread a layer of millet, then a layer of grounded mung bean paste on one half, sprinkle a little sugar and cover with the other half.

Once the hawker complete a piece of "Banh da ke", you should enjoy it immediately to have the best appetite. If we leave it for while, the crust will easily get sodden and less tasty. Eating each small bite, we can find all the tastes perfectly blending. Crispy roasted rice cake, tender millet grains combine with fleshy grounded mung beans and sweet sugar create an unforgettable flavor awakening the diner’s gustation and olfaction.

A Brief Introduction of The Sticky rice cake (Bánh Trôi / Chay)

(Bánh Trôi) is made from simple ingredients: glutinous rice mixed with ordinary rice in a proper proportion and grinded into flour; green peas, pomelo flower syrup, sesame, tapioca starch, coconut meat. The ingredients are plain but the cuisine is palatable and cool. The ordinary rice and glutinous rice are mixed together in the ratio 9:2 and grinded in shucker into sticky flour. The dough is balled into kumquat shape, filled by brown sugar cube made in Duong Lieu, Cat Que which is cut into small cube with lightly sweet taste. The cakes are boiled until they float to the surface of the pot, and then taken out by a slotted ladle. Afterwards, those balls are put into the bowl of cold water before putting on plates and sprinkled with roasted sesame.

(Bánh Chay) is also processed from rice flour with water. The cake is made in a flat shape and bigger than floating cake. The filling is a mixture of steamed and well-grinded mung beans with coconut meat and sugar. Selected mung bean are small type, flavorous and unshelled. Boiled cakes is put in bowls and soused by typical pomelo flower syrup soup. The liquid must be so pure that the balls in the bowl can be looked clearly.

A Brief Introduction of The Ke Gia thorn leaf cake (Bánh Gai Kẻ Giá)

Ke Gia thorn leaf cake (Bánh Gai Kẻ Giá) is a specialty from countryside

Nep cai hoa vang (Hoa vang glutinous rice), Cat Que molasses syrup, fresh thorn leaves, coconut meat, pork fat, sugar, sesame, peanut and coconut leaves are all the ingredients that make this wonderful treat. Glutinous rice is soaked in 2 hours, finely brayed in mortar and carefully sieved until it becomes a smooth dough. Thorn leaves are removed fibers, boiled and repeatedly squeezed to deodorize pungent smell, finally put into the mortar and thoroughly brayed with glutinous flour. We add molasses syrup, and bray the mixture until we get cloggy, velvety black dough. This stage is such a challenging one that requires absolute delicacy and elaboration of the makers. Each batch of dough is continually brayed by three or five people during three hours. Making filling also requires many details. Pork fat is cubed and seasoned with sugar. Mung beans is flayed and steamed. We choose old coconuts to make the filling, scrape the black skin then grate the coconut meat into thin strips. Grated coconut is mixed with sugar, mung bean, pork fat and some sweetened squash, or sweetened lotus seed. We divide filling and dough into evenly small balls, stuff one filling into each dough ball, coat the cake with a little fat liquid to keep it tender and glossy, and finally sprinkle some roasted sesame on the top. The cake is wrapped in dried banana cake before being put into the mould - a coconut leaf square box. Gai cake after that is cooked in a steamer. The cooked cakes have a beautiful light brown color. The cakes are let cool down, then tied each five ones by red bamboo strips. Openning the coconut leaf box, tear down the dried banana leaf layer, we can discover the aromatic glossy black cake inside. Gai cake is sticky, sweet and buttery thanks to mung bean and coconut.

Ke Gia thorn leaf cake (Bánh Gai Kẻ Giá) – the tasty simple gift of countryside is also sold in an excessively rustic way. It is often arranged in shoulder hangers, following the hawkers to every corner of Hanoi streets.

A Brief Introduction of The Fried sweet potato cake (Bánh Khoai)

Fried sweet potato cake (Bánh Khoai) is an interesting choice for the youths in cold winter days. In chilly evenings, on the crowded streets in the rush time, charming aroma of banh khoai, banh chuoi spreads to every corners, making the passers ravenous.

Sweet potato to make Fried sweet potato cake (Bánh Khoai) is saffron sweet potato which is grown in Red river bank. Potato is washed, crated the skin then cut into thin slices. Potato slices are mix with batter which is made the same way as banh chuoi’s batter. The seller arrange some potato slices in a ladle, sprinkle a little viscous batter over, then slowly drop in boiling cooking oil. Just for a short while, the cake turns golden brown, and has charming smell. Taking a bite of the steaming hot crispy cake, we can fully enjoy the greasy taste of dough blending with sweetness of potato.

Just made from simple and rustic ingredients, banh khoai has come a favourite nosh of many student generations in winter days.

A Brief Introduction of The Vietnamese donut (Bánh Rán)

Vietnamese donut (Bánh Rán) are sold on streets or in suburban markets. There are two kinds of donut including fried salty donuts and fried sweet donuts. Sweet donut is as big as a ping-pong ball. The dough is a smooth mixture of sticky rice and ordinary rice starch in the ratio 3:4 with water. The soft green bean stuffing is mixed with sugar and the crisp fried skin is sprinkled with roasted sesames.

Sweet donut have some varieties like fried sesame donut, sugar donut and fried treacle donut. All these kinds have sweet and fragrant green bean stuffing. A combination of sweetness and aromatic green bean makes a deliciously buttery treat of donut. The fried crust is aromatic, lightly sweetish, which makes diners desire for more than one, even when the cake is hot or cold. Every time appreciating donuts, people’s happy childhood memories come flooding back.

A Brief Introduction of The Fried banana cake (Bánh Chuối)

Hanoi street corners or on the pavement, we can easily catch the image of roadside vendors selling fried banana, fried sweet potatoes cakes, charcoal grilled corns, ect. These tasty nosh spread extremely charming aroma, soliciting the passers.

Ingredients for this stunning dish are so simple: well-ripe banana, flour, cooking oil, sugar, and some other additives. Banana is lengthwise scliced. Flour is mixed with water and sugar in a large bowl to create thick and viscous batter. We dip sliced banana into the batter, then arrange some batter coated banana slices in a ladle and slowly drop it into deep hot oil. In the sizzle sound of boiling fat, the cakes gradually turn golden yellow and emit attractive aroma. The sellers quickly flip the cakes, while the diners sitting around inhales its tasty flavor.