‘Bánh tét’ and ‘bánh ít’ a common offering at death anniversaries in southern Vietnam
Monday, December 09, 2024, 11:04 GMT+7
Bánh tét is widely enjoyed by southern Vietnamese people during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, but alongside bánh ít, it is also a staple at a death anniversary in the Mekong Delta.
If you are ever invited to join a đám giỗ (death anniversary) gathering in the Mekong Delta region, you will surely witness relatives and neighbors coming together to wrap the traditional delicacies the day before the main ceremony.
On that day, family members will wake up early to prepare bánh tét and bánh ít.
To prepare bánh tét, a cylindrical glutinous rice roll, banana leaves are picked two to three days in advance and sun-dried to soften. Once ready, the leaves are separated from their stems.
Instead of being washed, the leaves are carefully wiped clean on both sides with a cloth, then torn into various sizes for wrapping.
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| A group of women are pictured preparing banana leaves for wrapping ‘bánh tét’ in southern Vietnam. Photo: Tong Doanh / Tuoi Tre |
The stems are split into thin strips, further dried, and used as ties for securing the bánh tét.
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| A ‘bánh tét’ is tied with banana strips before being cooked in southern Vietnam. Photo: Tong Doanh / Tuoi Tre |
Ingredients to make bánh tét on this occasion include glutinous rice, beans, and dried coconut.
The rice is soaked overnight, then washed thoroughly the next morning and drained. After that, it is mixed with black beans, dried coconut, and pandan leaf juice to give the bánh tét its green color and fragrant aroma.
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| The sticky rice used to make ‘bánh tét’ is mixed with pandan leaves to create a green color and a light aroma. Photo: Tong Doanh / Tuoi Tre |
The mixture is seasoned with a little salt and sugar.
At memorial ceremonies in the Mekong Delta, bánh tét is typically offered with two traditional fillings: banana or mung beans.
Other variations include sweet fillings, such as mung beans mixed with palm sugar, or savory options like pork and mung beans, or a combination of pork fat and mung beans.
Wrapping requires efforts
The most important step is wrapping the bánh tét, usually done by experienced aunts in the family, while the younger children and grandchildren are often assigned to boil it.
It can take the whole family to work from early morning to mid-noon to finish the wrapping part, depending on the amount needed and people involved.
After being cooked for around 6-8 hours, bánh tét is good to be taken out and offered on the ancestral altar along with other flowers and fruits.
Besides bánh tét, people in the Mekong Delta also prepare bánh ít at đám giỗ, which takes simpler effort to be done.
Still, the process of making bánh ít involves many steps, including mixing flour to make the outer layer, cooking mung beans or coconut meat to create the filling, wrapping the mixture in banana leaves, and steaming.
Bánh ít is quicker to make, so families that have small anniversaries usually choose this specialty.
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| Two women are shown steaming ‘bánh ít’. Photo: Tong Doanh / Tuoi Tre |
An offering to ancestors, a gift to neighbors
Early in the morning of the main anniversary day, the offering tray is placed on the ancestral altar with diverse and elaborate dishes such as curry, braised pork with duck eggs, hot pot, bánh xèo (Vietnam's savory sizzling crepes), bánh tét, and bánh ít.
Bánh tét and bánh ít are considered indispensable traditional dishes in the death anniversary ceremonies in the Mekong Delta.
After the anniversary meal, the host will present guests with bánh tét and bánh ít to take home.
This has become a unique cultural tradition in the region.
Whenever children come home from school and see bánh tét and bánh ít, they immediately understand that there was a đám giỗ in the neighborhood.
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