The soul of the coconut country through folk cakes

Through ups and downs, people of the Coconut Land have been constantly exploring, creating more and more delicious, delicate dishes. The formation of its own eating style is always associated with history, geography, and climate. Therefore, the cuisine of the Coconut Land mostly comes from the casual, brings the country-flavor. The typical dishes is the unique folk cakes. For the people of the coconut land, the cake is not only for eating but also for exchange the culture. Ben Tre is known as the land of "the spirit land", which is to absorb and preserve cultural quintessence from the reclaiming time of the ancestor, so the folk cakes in Coconut Land cuisine always reflect the rustic soul. It also shows up the love of grandmothers, mothers, and sisters, blends with the soul of local plants and flowers into each cake.

(Photo: Tuong Vi)

In memory of the Coconut Country people, no one does not remember the image of a woman who sits beside a flour store mill, watches the fire by the red stove all night to process delicious and beautiful cakes. Whether it is salt cakes or pastries, the folk cakes are made through the woman's skillful hands. They can be ordinary housewives, but sometimes they also can be skilled craftsmen and whoever they are, all folk cakes always exude the valuable love from people of Coconut Land.

Currently, Ben Tre has many kinds of folk cakes, which are made from very simple ingredients, especially those with mostly coconut materials: rice, glutinous one, beans, cereals, coconut meat, coconut milk, also known as coconut cream, .... In addition, these cakes also have many different forms of processing, with various shapes: sweat or salt cakes, cakes with staff or not; wrapped or bare cakes and cakes in round shape, flat, square, tower, pillar,… There are many kinds of cakes such as: for full eating, work eating, between meals, or serving as desserts. Some cakes have used forgiving, offering.

Ben Tre Coconut Cake (Photo: Phuong Thy)

Recently, Coconut Land folk cakes are increasingly plentiful but it still retains the rustic, simple features and inherent country soul, such as some kinds of coconut cake in Vietnamese words: bánh tét nhân chuối; bánh tét nhân đậu; bánh bò nước cốt dừa; "bánh bèo ngọt"; "bánh dừa"; "bánh cuốn ngọt nhân dừa"; "xôi mít dừa nạo"; "xôi lá cẩm"; "xôi lá dứa"; "bánh ít nhân dừa"; "bánh lá rau mơ nước cốt dừa"; "bánh da lợn"; "bánh đúc"; "bánh đuông"; "bánh tằm khoai mì"; "bánh chuối"; "bánh ú nước tro". Above all, it is also the creativity of bringing ingredients from coconut into the processing stage to increase the fatness, flavor of the cake and contribute to enhancing the distinctive flavor of the Coconut Land in folk cakes.

"Bánh da lợn", "bánh lá rau mơ", "bánh bò", "bánh chuối" mix with coconut cream (Photo: Tuong Vi)

At the same time, it is prouder and prouder when the Coconut Land folk cake is also famous in nationwide with "My Long" rice paper and Son Doc glutinous rice chapatty at the traditional craft villages "My Long rice paper" (My Thanh commune) and Hung Nhuong commune in Giong Trom district. The cakes were recognized to be included in the list of "National Intangible Cultural Heritage" in 2018. These two traditional trade villages have had over 100 years old and preserved and passed down through the generations. So they can make delicious cakes, which attract many tourists coming from far and near places

(Photo: Tuong Vi)

Coconut folk cakes always make visitors satisfied and excite so they can enjoy the cakes which are introduced in Ben Tre Traditional Culture Festival (July 1) every year; Ben Tre Coconut Festival; The Southern Folk Cake Festival taking place every year in Can Tho at the booth of artisans Ben Tre,…. However, visitors can also buy and enjoy those cakes at some markets in Ben Tre province.

The cakes here as like the gifts from the countryside bringing childhood memories back to life. Not only does the substance contain inherent traditional flavors, but also has been improved in both appearance and quality, so it is increasingly enhanced in terms of the Coconut land cultural value. Hopefully, in this globalized world, indigenous traditional values such as Coconut Land folk cakes will always be preserved and promoted.

Author: Tuong Vi

Translator: Phuong Thy