Vietnam, as well as many other countries in the world, each year have certain holidays, and each has its own meaning. Besides Lunar New Year, Vietnam also has some big holidays in the year such as Han Thuc festival (Cold Food Festival), Mid-Autumn Festival, etc.
Meaning of vegetarian cake drifting in the Han Thuc Festival
Originated from China, the Han Thuc festival – on the 3rd of the third lunar month, has become an indispensable Tet holiday of the Vietnamese people in accordance with traditional custom. On this day, the Vietnamese often make Floating cakes, vegetarian cake to worship the ancestor.
Unlike the festival in China, on this day the Vietnamese do not abstain from fire, still cook normally. What is special, the Vietnamese also create cake drift, vegetarian with symbolic meaning that the cold food – Hàn thực.
How to make Floating cakes
Vietnamese floating cakes are made from glutinous rice flour with sugar. Glutinous rice flour is added to the blender jar with fine groundwater, filtering the powder and squeezing it into fine, round, rounded pancakes. Pieces of cake are chewed cranberries. Without the mill, the powder can be crushed by the machine, however, the flour is ground by the mortar still brings the best taste, soft and smooth.
After being kneaded, the cake is dropped into a pot of boiling water on the stove. When the cake is cooked emerges, quickly take out and into the cold water bath to cool and bread from sticking together. The cake is laid out on a plate and presented to the altar to worship ancestors.
National tradition
The floating cake is a characteristic of Han Thuc festival. Since ancient times, the vegetarian cake has gone into folk poetry as typical Vietnamese food. On the days of the festival, with relatives enjoy a plate of floating cake, vegetarian as we feel the family feeling. Many people also told each other that eating vegetarian and floating cake on this day to review the old, the story was a long time ago of the Vietnamese people.
Han Thuc Festival with traditional floating cake is a chance for people to remember the nourishment of the deceased. And these traditions are ingrained in the Vietnamese subconscious so that on the Han Thuc festival, family members nourish the preparation of floating cake, vegetarian cake. With the aroma of green beans, bile, the festival atmosphere seems to be more exciting and meaningful.
Today, in order to enjoy the floating cake, you do not have to wait until the feast day, which is one of Hanoi traditional food so the floating cake is quite easy to find in the Hanoi street food area, or you can take a food walking tour to have a chance to explore the hidden charm of Hanoi cuisine!