The northern province of Phu Tho held its first Chung cake and Giay cake
making contest on March 31, beginning a wide range of activities to
commemorate the death anniversary of the Hung Kings and celebrate the
2013 Hung Kings Temple Festival.
Ten competing
teams came from Viet Tri city, Phu Tho town and eight districts of Ha
Hoa, Cam Khe, Lam Thao, Thanh Son, Yen Lap, Phu Ninh, Tam Nong and Thanh
Ba.
Four top-list teams will compete with others
from cities and provinces nationwide at a contest during the Hung Kings
Temple Festival (the tenth day of the third lunar month).
According to the legend, Chung cake was first made by Prince Lang Lieu,
a son of Hung King, who is said to have worn the crown some 3,000 to
4,000 years ago.
The Prince made Chung cakes (glutinous rice
cakes) in square shape and Giay cakes (glutinous rice dumpling) in round
shape to symbolise the earth and the sky respectively, and offered them
to the king to express his respect and gratitude for parents, as well
as to thank the Gods for the year’s good harvest.
The
tradition has been well preserved by the Vietnamese people nationwide,
especially in the lunar New Year festival although the way they make the
cakes differ from region to region.
Northern Vietnamese make the
Chung cake in square shape, while the southerners or ethnic people in
mountainous areas wrap the cakes in a round shape.
Making Chung cake requires simple materials and ingredients which can be
found in every market in Vietnam: glutinous rice, green bean, fatty
pork spiced with salt, onion, and pepper, which are all wrapped in
phrynium leaves before being boiled for at least 10 hours.-VNA