Tra Cuon Tet cake is one of Tra Vinh’s specialty cakes, possessing a rich and delicious taste, once eaten, you will remember it forever.
Tra Cuon Tet cake – Tra Vinh specialty
If anyone asks what is the specialty of the West during Tet, the answer is none other than banh tet. People in North and Central Vietnam welcome the new year with a pot of Banh chung, while people in the West have a pot of warm banh tet.
Tra Vinh has a famous specialty of banh tet. Photo: @ngocyenht98
When it comes to banh tet, there are many kinds of cakes in the West, including traditional banh tet, tet cakes with mixed leaves , and among them, there’s also banh tet Tra Cuon . This is the type of banh tet that you will see sold a lot on Highway 53 towards Tra Vinh town. Usually, cakes are sold at rest stops, where you can easily buy them as gifts for relatives and friends.
Going to the West on Highway 53, you will see a lot of Tra Cuon cakes sold. Photo: @hannahshoppingmall
The word Tra Cuon originally comes from the Khmer language (Tra Vinh has many Khmer people living). According to the tradition of Tra Vinh people, this banh tet dish is sold by a Khmer woman named Thach Thi Let in the Cau Ngang district. Up to now, this cake has a history of 80 years, becoming a Western specialty loved by locals and tourists everywhere.
Typical flavor of Tra Cuon Tet cake
If you have the opportunity to travel to Tra Vinh , you must once enjoy Tra Cuon Tet cake to feel the unique flavor of this specialty cake. The difference of banh tet lies in the selection of ingredients, wrapping and boiling the cake. To have a delicious cake, the workers use waxy sticky rice, fragrant marinated bacon and green beans.
Banh Tet has an eye-catching color and a delicious taste. Photo: @anhsausaigons
Depending on the processing facility, the waxy sticky rice is kept the quintessential white color, or gac juice is added to give it a red-orange color, and the rosemary leaves are added to make it purple, or botanic leaves are added for eye-catching green color. It is this natural ingredient that contributes to the cake with beautiful color and irresistible aroma.
Banh Tet is made from waxy glutinous rice, with the addition of Camellia leaves and Boot leaves to create a beautiful color. Photo: @phuc_viet_store
From the first time you cut Tra Cuon banh tet, you were mesmerized by the dark green sticky rice, wrapped in a yellow-green bean paste, inside with fatty meat, salted eggs and even dried shrimp. When you bring a piece of cake to your mouth and take a bite, the soft taste of glutinous rice blends with the fleshy taste of green beans and then the greasy taste of fatty meat creating a delicious taste that you just want to eat more and more. again.
The cake has green beans, fatty meat, salted eggs, dried shrimp,… Photo: @anhsausaigons
To have a finished product is a delicious banh tet as described above requires the baker to be very diligent and meticulous in the process of choosing ingredients, wrapping cakes and even cooking cakes. It can be said that the process of making Banh tet Tra Cuon is like the process of creating a work of art and the baker is a true artisan.
Tra Cuon Tet cake is carefully and meticulously packed. Photo: @inthemood2022
When choosing the best source of ingredients, the baker must pay attention to the process of wrapping the cake. The stringing operation must be moderate, if it is tied too tightly, it can cause the fat layer to ripen unevenly. And if the column is too loose, the cake will be soaked with water and not delicious, can not keep for long.
The cake is firmly held in hand, wrapped from green banana leaves. Photo: @inthemood2022
Fully complying with the principles of ingredient selection and cake packaging, you will have a finished Tra Cuon cake that is firm, heavy in the hand and full. The outer layer of leaves after 7-8 hours of cooking will fade. However, the cake still looks neat and beautiful, true to Tra Vinh’s scrumptious banh tet standards.
The recipe for making traditional Tra Cuon cake
Today, Tra Cuon Tet cake is a very popular Western delicacy . To make delicious cakes, artisans must follow the recipe for choosing ingredients, wrapping cakes and cooking cakes. Each stage requires careful preparation to produce a delicious and flavorful cake.
Delicious banh tet must be made from waxy sticky rice. Photo: @anhsausaigons
The longtime bakers said that the local waxy sticky rice is the best type of sticky rice to make this banh tet. The green beans for the filling are large, round beans that are cleaned, cooked, and smooth. Even the banana leaves used to pack the cake must be fresh banana leaves, wide, not torn and dried in the sun for a bit.
Circle the cake with eye-catching and attractive colors. Photo: @annie_vnkitchen
In addition to sticky rice and green beans, pork fat is also the raw material that creates the fat and attractiveness of Tra Cuon banh tet. Pieces of pork fat must be cut into long, square pieces and seasoned with salt, sugar, green onions, etc. Depending on the taste, many places will add salted eggs and dried shrimp to make the cake eye-catching.
Banh Tet needs to be cooked in a large pot, on a wood stove to taste delicious. Photo: @thanhphuong.nguyen.1970
After preparing the ingredients and wrapping the cake, the banh tet cakes are put in a large pot, cooked on a wood stove with high heat for 7-8 hours to cook evenly, with a distinctive, delicious taste . Tra Vinh is famous. A delicious, quality and clean banh tet can be preserved for 5-7 days under normal conditions.
Some ways to enjoy Tra Cuon Tet cake
Not only delicious and full of flavor, but Tra Cuon Tet cake is also a dish with many unique ways to enjoy. If you come to Tra Vinh to celebrate Tet, try eating Banh Tet and braised duck meat. Although this combination may make you gain weight, the rich, greasy taste will linger forever.
Tra Cuon Tet cake can be eaten with braised duck meat, palanquin, pickled cucumber. Photo: @sate.gastronomy
If you are afraid that braised duck meat will make you gain weight, try eating Banh Tet with tubers. This is a dish that both catches the taste, does not cause weight gain, and neutralizes the boredom of Banh Tet. In addition, you can also eat pickles to increase your appetite.
Eating with melon helps the cake to be less boring. Photo: @dhangng_
In addition, enjoying Banh Tet with spring rolls or frying in oil before eating is also a way for you to refresh this cake. And whether it is eaten individually, traditional or new, the taste of Tra Cuon Tet cake is still intact, as rich as the beauty of the culture and people of the West.
Going to the West, you should not miss the specialty of Tra Cuon Banh Tet. Photo: @thanhphuong.nguyen.1970
Today, Tra Cuon cake is a famous specialty of Tra Vinh in particular and of the West in general. This is a delicious dish that is not only sold during Tet but almost all year round. If you have the opportunity to travel to Tra Vinh, remember to buy some cakes as a gift or save to enjoy.
Today, Tra Cuon cake is a famous specialty of Tra Vinh in particular and of the West in general. This is a delicious dish that is not only sold during Tet but almost all year round. If you have the opportunity to travel to Tra Vinh, remember to buy some cakes as a gift or save to enjoy.