HANOI – Quan Ganh Day cake is characterized by its plasticity, aroma, and has two types of sweet and salty fillings, which can only be preserved during the day.
On National Highway 1A connecting Hanoi with the southern provinces, at km 16, stalls with the sign “Quan Ganh cake” appear a lot. For a long time, this specialty cake has become a familiar choice of drivers when passing here, or of Hanoians on every occasion of festivals and weddings. The craft village of this cake is Thuong Dinh village, with Quan Ganh street, in Nhi Khe commune, Thuong Tin district.
Quan Ganh’s thick rice cake has a shell made from sticky rice with yellow flowers, high flexibility, and aroma. Before making the cake, the rice is carefully screened, the rice grains are even, not mixed with grit. From about 3-4 hours a day, the artisan baker had to wake up the sticky rice, wash the rice and beans clean to put them in the pounding machine, in time to make a batch of cakes to sell in the day. When the sticky rice is almost cooked, the cook sprinkles a little warm water to cook the sticky rice evenly and give off a fragrant aroma. After that, sticky rice is poured into a mortar and pounded by a machine or manually pounded into a smooth, white mass. The baker has to use his hands to mold. The interesting thing about Quan Ganh’s thick cake is that it is not round but slightly flat. Those who buy it for the first time will think that a package of cakes has only one big cake, but 6 small cakes are arranged side by side, wrapped in dong leaves, and tied. “For rural people, 6 is the right number for a pack of cakes, because traditionally,
The cake looks simple, rustic, but to make it delicious, it needs meticulousness, care and cleanliness of the maker. In particular, this cake has absolutely no additives. If you are not careful and do not clean it, it will be immediately exposed due to the white crust. In addition, Quan Ganh’s day cake can only be preserved during the day, from 5am to 10pm. If the refrigerator is kept overnight, the cake may not be damaged, but the shell will be dry, and the rice will no longer taste good.
Unlike ordinary Banh Day, which consists of two sticky rice cakes with a piece of spring rolls and spring rolls in the middle, Quan Ganh Banh Day has a sweet or savory filling inside. The sweet filling is cooked green beans, stir-fried with ant-colored sugar, often with sesame and coconut added. The salty filling is also made from green beans, but copra fibers, onions, and bacon have only the flavor of ca Cuong. The soft and sweet taste of the yellow-flowered sticky rice shell, served with the fatty taste of the salty filling, combined with each other seems to be more nutty, leaving a memorable impression for guests who have the opportunity to eat this unique type of thick cake.
From a good cake sold at the water stalls in the village, now Quan Ganh day cake has become a true specialty, known by many tourists from all over the world. Currently, it is estimated that there are about 20 households working in the village, according to artisan Nguyen Thi Hien. In order to easily identify a proper Quan Ganh thick cake, villagers often add a red stamp with the word “All things are good” sandwiched into the ladle. It is estimated that each household can sell about 60 packages/day. On holidays, Tet will sell better, but the epidemic situation also affects revenue significantly. A portion of thick cake consisting of 6 pieces usually costs from 20,000 to 25,000 VND. Follow vnexpress