Wrapping rice cakes with Trang Cat dong leaves will help the cake have a natural green color and a very specific aroma. In recent years, the leaves have been exported abroad to serve overseas Vietnamese to welcome Tet.
Different from the normal normal scene, from the beginning of December, the village of Trang Cat dong (Thanh Oai, Hanoi) is bustling, busy entering the main harvest season, people go to the garden, the house cuts the leaves to serve. for the Lunar New Year.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh (84 years old), a Trang Cat village elder, said: “The history of this village since the communal house and pagoda is nearly 600 years, but the leaves are more than 450 years old”.
This is considered to be the largest “basket” of leaves in Hanoi. The leaves here are favored for their green as jade, chewy leaves, big plates, bright green stalks, not dark green, dark green like wild leaves.
Trang Cat dong leaves are oval shape, not as long as the forest leaves, so they are easy to pack. People in the village tell, just looking from the surface can easily distinguish what is the leaf of Trang Cat village and what is the leaf of the forest.
Planting the leaves does not take much effort, just branching and then planting, tending, weeding waiting for the harvest date. Planted once but harvested year round and many years later, helping people have more income during leisure time.
The special thing that makes Trang Cat dong leaf brand is because, Trang Cat is located in the alluvial area of Day river, fertile soil, beautiful big leaves, evenly. Besides the temperate climate, the leaves grow very well.
The underside of Trang Cat dong leaf is young green, the leaf stalk is long and the same color as the leaf veins. If used to wrap the banh chung, it will give the cake a very beautiful natural green color and an attractive flavor after boiling.
Mr. Dinh expressed pride that the Trang Cat dong leaf is not only famous domestically but also abroad: “In recent years, my hometown leaves have been exported abroad to serve the needs of Vietnamese Tet Asian and European countries, my brother collects thousands of dong leaves every year to Germany, and shares them with the people over there to pack the banh chung for Tet.
The people said that this year is a good season with beautiful leaves and more expensive price than 2 years ago. Currently, grade 1 leaves are being sold at a wholesale price of 100,000 VND / 100 leaves. Villagers usually arrange each bundle of 50 leaves, most of which are wholesaled for daily traders at home rather than for long trips.
Dong leaf is considered the “soul” of Trang Cat village, the cultural essence of the nation. This leaf has become a trademark and pride when talking about the homeland. The people here always hope that the green of the leaves will never disappear when Tet comes and spring comes.
Ha Hien/Dân trí