Up to now, in three villages of Canh (Huong Canh town today), has passed by tradition two popular but very famous dishes – soup and porridge and cake. They have rustic name but always leave the unforgettable impression for those who have ever enjoyed it.
There are many anecdotes about these two unique dishes. Up to now, the custom of selling the soup and cake for the elderly and children on the yard of Huong Canh communal house on the 25th of lunar December every year is still still retained. Many weddings in the countryside there only had these dishes but the couples still lived happily ever after. It is common to have them in ceremonies as birthday, full-month party... There are old people having them for breakfast in a half century. The elders always affirm that: Soup and roll cake of t Ngoc Canh village and Tien Huong village are the best in the region! It is not easy to make fine soup and cake. Ladies in those two villages can prove their culinary talent through making the two dishes.
The rice to make soup and roll cake must be the best non-glutinous rice saved from the previous season to reduce the stickiness. Rice is washed, drained, crushed and sifted for fine flour, sprinkled with enough moisture and poured into the steaming pot. Ten chopsticks are gathered in the center of the pot, another ten are scattered around. Boil the water. Pull out the chopsticks for the steam to rise on the dough for fifteen minutes. When you see the dough swell, the sponge is spongy, pour the dough into a clean tray, scoop the bottom of the pot water, scoop a little bit into the dough, stir the dough to soak it evenly, then stir well. At this point, the dough is only slightly hot, knead the dough with your hand, and then practice it until the whole dough blends together. Pinch a dough out without sticking to your hand, it can be extended without breaking. It is the dough to make the cake.
Each ball is made of small guava fruit; the filling is made from green onion, mushroom, lean pork; then squeezed and sealed the mouth like a ping-pong ball. Each layer of cake is gradually folded into a hot steam bath. Cover the pot to place the bottom layer of cake on the young skin, and place another layer of cake on top. Simmer until the aroma fills away, open it and see that the cakes have turned white, and the inside is ripe. Put the cake on a tray, plate or keep in a basket lined with banana leaves to keep the heat for a long time. The cooking soup pot also need a feat. Lean pork, boneless chicken or pigeon, are chopped with delicious fish sauce and stir-fried before put in a pot of boiling water. Then the dough is put inside the pot and squeezed firmly. When all the flour is floating, the pot of soup is finished.
The way to eat the cake also shows a cultural beauty. Have to hold the cake in hand, to check the heat, feel the cake filling as moving inside and the attractive aroma of fat onion. You can just eat it immediately or soak it lightly in a bowl of sauce. You can also eat cake rolls with the soup.
Also eat porridge, should not eat with a spoon but chopsticks. The aroma of spices, the chewy feeling and the sweetness of the meat all blend together, leaving an unforgettable impression for the eater.
Collected by Vinh Phuc Portal
