Chung cake making season in Ban Tuy Village

Arriving in Ban Tuy Village, Ngoc Duong Commune, Tuyen Quang Province in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year of Binh Ngo, the aroma of chung cake drifts through every alley. Numerous production facilities and households specializing in chung cakes are working at full capacity to fulfill Tet orders. As a result, kitchen fires burn around the clock, and giant pots bubble continuously to produce batches of Ban Tuy’s signature fragrant cakes. The Tet chung cake season is bustling and vibrant, as it brings significant income to both producers and local workers.

Chung cake production facilities in Ban Tuy employ many workers, with some workshops hiring more than 20 laborers.

Local people make various types of chung cakes to meet diverse customer demands.

However, the humpback-shaped chung cake remains the village’s most renowned specialty.

Ban Tuy has between seven and eight facilities and households specializing in commercial chung cake production.

Among them, the workshop owned by Nguyen Thi Dung, whose product has been recognized as a three-star OCOP (One Commune One Product) item, is the most prominent.

Since mid of the twelfth lunar month, Ms. Dung’s facility has used more than 500 kilograms of glutinous rice per day to make cakes.

At production sites, chung cakes are cooked over wood fires in large pots to meet customer demand.

The cake-cooking fires never go out during Tet, bringing both warmth and joy to Ban Tuy people.

As soon as the cakes are finished, they are packaged promptly to ensure timely delivery according to customer orders.

Delivery drivers also make frequent trips to Ban Tuy to transport chung cake orders to various destinations.

Ban Tuy’s chung cakes, especially the humpback variety, are highly favored not only for their distinctive shape but also for their flavor and appealing colors.

Notably, Ban Tuy’s humpback chung cakes have been exported to Canada, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

PV