Food trays on Tet Holidays in three regions in our country are characterized by culinary traditions of each region. On the first day of spring when is the time when grandparents, parents, and children gather happily together, celebrate a new spring, a new year. Therefore, Tet food trays are carefully cared for by each family. Let’s go with food walking tour to points through traditional Tet dishes appearing on food trays throughout the three regions.
The North
In the North, the green of chung cake (green glutinous rice cake) is the soul of the traditional New Year, expressing the earth and sky essence through the skilful hands of man. For many years now, on the altar of the ancestors of the Northern people, there cannot be missing a pair of chung cake. Banh chung is stick and fatty, so it is easy to make people bored. Therefore, it is necessary to have a crispy, crunchy dua hành plate (pickled shallots or onion), making people enjoy more and more delicious food. Some other delicious New Year dishes – Hanoi traditional food – include: Canh Mang Luoi Heo (bamboo shoots soup with pork ribs), lean pork paste, gio thu (lean pork paste from pig’s head), fried spring rolls, che kho (the cake made from green beans), etc.
In addition, a dish that the housewives of the North often prepare during Tet is a braised fish with galangal pot. Braised fish pot during Tet holiday often is carp or grass carp. Pieces of fish aromatic with galangal flavor are fragrant, firm, served with banh chung and pickled onions.
Northwest
Mong people
Mong ethnic people enjoy Tet when the harvest is finished and usually at the end of the calendar year. In the Lunar New Year food tray, it is indispensable to have a banh day because Mong people conceive of banh day representing the moon, the sun, the origin of the universe and humanity. Raw materials for thick cakes with the most delicious taste must be new seasoned sticky rice, the best type of rice.
Rice is cooked, pounded until it is so sticky. At that time, the mothers and sisters cleverly mold the rice into the lovely, round cakes like the moon in the ancient story. The homeowner always offers a new pair of cakes on the altar, invites the gods to give their ancestors and bless the family for the new year to be healthy, warm and happy.
Thai people
Tet holiday of the Northwest Thai people cannot be without traditional cakes of Thai peple such as “khau tum hih”, “khau tum dam” and “khau cop”. These are traditional cakes, not only delicious and nutritious but also packed with both essence and deep-rooted love. These types of cakes all have in common the use of deliciously selected sticky rice, with beans, bacon and spices, and one of the indispensable nuts is “mák khén” a kind of spicy and fragrant pepper. The cake is wrapped in green dong leaves.
In addition to banh chung, sticky rice is also popular with Thai people during the Tet season. This is a spring gift to welcome tourists on Vietnam food tour on the pilgrimage.
Central region
Central eagerly greet Spring with the scent of banh tet, pickled onion, fermented pork meat, nem bi, and beef with fish sauce., etc. next to the bright yellow of apricot blossoms. On Tet holiday in Central Vietnam, although the food trays are full of high-quality and luxury food, it is still indispensable for these rustic dishes.
On the Tet holiday tray of the people of Hue, besides these dishes, there is always a cup (small bowl) of sour shrimp.
South
The main dish of the countryside in the South of Vietnam on Tet is banh tet. Tet cake has many types such as vegetarian cakes, savory cake, sweet tet cake and mixed tet cake. The cleverly packed cake can be preserved last up to half a month in the hot climate of the South. Families with many people often make a lot of tet cake and cook them together with other families, when Tet comes, they often give a pair of tet cake to relatives with the intention to wish them a happy couple. Tét cake with meat and braised meat, accompanied by pickled onion.
In addition, there are many other garden specialties such as bitter melon soup, stir-fried cowpea, fried Chinese sausage served with sauerkraut and so on.
For more information/details: Hanoi food tasting tours, Hanoi cooking class