As the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival is a few days away, Quang Nam Province’s An Lac Village – known for its delicious banh in (snow-flaked cake) – bustles as locals work tirelessly to fulfill orders for the upcoming holiday.

While the number of households in An Lac that make banh in has dwindled from dozens down to just 10, the village is still abuzz as vehicles rush up and down its streets, transporting the delicious pastry to eager customers.

At Tuong Vi shop, a team of four work hard to make, package, and deliver cakes to wholesalers. 

According to Huynh Quang Trung, the 62-year-old owner of the shop, production started in the middle of the 11th lunar month.

They now work until 8:00 pm or 9:00 pm each night to meet the high demand.

“Our village produces cakes around Tet so that people can use them for their ancestral offerings. We’re working at full capacity to deliver the cakes on time. We produce more than 100 kilograms of cakes each day,” said Trung.

On average, Trung's family produces three to four metric tons of banh in per year, with the selling price ranging from VND20,000 (US$0.8) to VND30,000 ($1.2) per pack and turning a profit of VND20-30 million ($797.5-1,196) in total. 

The ingredients of banh in include glutinous rice flour, mung beans, sugar, and vanilla. 

The glutinous rice is roasted and turned into a powder. It is then mixed with mung bean flour and sugar before being put into a mold for baking. Most of the mixing is done with machines.

“Machines help us double the number of cakes we can produce compared to making them by hand,” said Nguyen Mat, the 63-year-old owner of Thanh Van shop.

Among the many varieties of banh in, the most popular is made with mung beans, cherished for their sweet and fragrant flavor.

The banh in crafted in An Lac Village are sold across Quang Nam and neighboring Da Nang, offering a simple, rustic treat that evokes memories of childhood Tet celebrations.

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