Traveling Ha Long, to the land of Tien Yen, in addition to the famous specialties such as hill chicken, gat gu cake … you also enjoy a very special pastry cake, which is gio cake. If the South has Phu Yen gio cake, Binh Dinh, the central region has Quang Nam gio cake, Yen Lang gio cake (Thanh Hoa), the North has Tien Yen gio cake.
Gio Cake also is known as Tro Cake, is a folk gift, simple and familiar. This is Hanoi traditional food made from agricultural products.
Tien Yen gio cake in Ha Long is a favorite gift to many people who travel the sea Halong. Tien Yen cakes are made in the same way as the cake in other places but the ingredients used to make Tien Yen cakes are made from soaked rice water which is obtained from the ashes of sticky rice straw, pomelo peel along with the den gai trees (Amaranthus spinosus).
People do the gio cake by picking the soaked rice water and then filtering so smoothly and mix with the lime water in a certain proportion, the water will have amber color and subtle fragrance.
To make delicious gio cake, rice is the main ingredient, Tien Yen people choose the best glutinous rice, nep cai hoa vang sticky rice. The plump rice grains will be soaked into the ash water for one night until it soften out. Pickled rice is picked out, washed by rainwater or well water, then drain so that the cake is not too sticky when wrapped. The wrapping leaves are usually the dong leaves or banana leaves. Choosing the leaves also need to be careful, the maker must choose the leaves are not too big, because gio cake in Tien Yen is only small.
After the lovely cake is wrapped in “green coat”, it will start to be boiled. To make the cake cooked well and beautiful, the bottom of the boiled pot is usually lined with a layer of old dong leaves. The cakes cooked has a clear color, soft like soft jelly. The cake is not so bland, so the cake is usually dipped into molasses.
The cake is boiled, peeled in the outer shell to see a yellowish brown, in like amber, you do not need to enjoy but also seduced by the beautiful color and fragrance of the cake. Gio Cakes are usually dipped with honey or molasses. Biting a slice of cake, tourists of food walking tour will feel the cool and sweet aroma of rice grains mixed with the sweetness of the molasses, also feel the talent and skill of the baker.
In the town of Tien Yen, the cake shop of Mrs. Le Thi Do’s family, number 293, the new street area, Ly Thuong Kiet street is the most famous, you can enjoy this gio cake and remember to buy it as gifts to relatives, surely they will love it.
If visitors on night food tour hanoi would like to enjoy this specialty in Hanoi, they can find some well-known shops at Hom Market. Hom Market has many shops selling gio cake, but the most famous is probably Mrs. Hai’s cake. Located in a small corner at the gate of the market, Mrs. Hai’s cake is always a familiar destination of many people when they crave sweet gio cake.
Gio cake is brown yellow. When added more molasses, the cake is clear as amber. Biting a piece of gio cake soaked in molasses, you will feel the cool sweet spreading around the oral cavity.
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