Vietnam's Traditional Bánh chưng: Its Roots and the Uniqueness of Its Food Culture

About Bánh chưng

Bánh chưng is a traditional rice cake that is indispensable for the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, holding deep cultural and historical significance. Its origins date back to the era of the Hùng Kings, the first dynasty of Vietnam.

1. The Legend of Bánh chưng

The origin of Bánh chưng is based on a legend from the time of the 18th king of the Hùng King (Hùng Vương) dynasty. When the king grew old and struggled with which son to name as his successor, he declared, "Whoever makes the most meaningful dish shall be my successor."

While other princes competed to create rare ingredients or luxurious dishes, the youngest son, Lang Liêu, devised a simple rice cake that symbolized the bounty of the earth. These were Bánh chưng and Bánh giầy.

• Bánh chưng: The square shape represents the "Earth," while ingredients like glutinous rice, mung beans, and pork represent the "products of the earth."

• Bánh giầy: The round shape symbolizes the "Heaven."

The king was deeply impressed by these rice cakes and passed the throne to Lang Liêu. This anecdote conveys that Bánh chưng is not merely food, but holds a sacred meaning symbolizing agricultural culture, gratitude to ancestors, and family bonds.

2. Observations on the Wrapping Leaves

The Dong leaf (scientific name: Stachyphrynium placentarium) used to wrap Bánh chưng is essential for its flavor and color. This plant grows wild in regions from northern Vietnam to southern China.

Scientifically, this leaf is classified in the Marantaceae family, Stachyphrynium genus, and its leaves are known to have antibacterial and preservative properties. Therefore, it is suitable for preserving the rice cakes for long periods.

From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, this plant is considered a type of herbal medicine and is known in Chinese as jiānbāo zhōngyè, and has been used medicinally. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, this leaf is referred to as "Jiānbāo zhōngyè leaf." However, in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the root is generally valued more for medicinal use than the leaf.

Considering the properties of this leaf and its native range, it is strongly suggested that the roots of Bánh chưng may be a cultural influx from China. Ethnic minorities living in the Sino-Vietnamese border region, such as the Zhuang people (Chinese: Zhuangzu, Vietnamese: Tày-Nùng) and the Yao people (Chinese: Yaozu, Vietnamese: Dao), have long had the custom of using these leaves to make zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). It is highly plausible that their culture became the prototype for Bánh chưng and was passed down to the Kinh people, the majority ethnic group in Vietnam.

Lang Liêu's anecdote, in which he was the "youngest son" who devised a simple rice cake different from the other princes, allows for the interpretation that he may have been an immigrant from outside the existing cultural sphere, or someone with a different cultural background.

3. Other Rice Dumplings Similar to Bánh chưng

In Vietnam, there are various types of rice cakes other than Bánh chưng, each thought to have different historical backgrounds and ethnic roots.

• Bánh khúc: Bánh khúc is a traditional Vietnamese rice cake. It consists of a dough made by mixing glutinous rice with cudweed (Gnaphalium affine), filled with a mixture of mung beans, pork, and pepper. It is a rice cake that retains the texture of glutinous rice grains, sharing many similarities with Bánh chưng. This cake is thought to be connected to the Chinese 'Qīngtuán' (green sticky rice ball). Qīngtuán is also considered the root of Japanese kusamochi, which was traditionally made using cudweed. It is believed that initially, it had a shape where the glutinous rice grains remained visible, similar to Vietnam's Bánh khúc, but over time, it evolved into a pounded mochi-like texture, and mugwort began to be used instead of cudweed. From this perspective, it is possible that Bánh khúc, like Bánh chưng, was introduced from abroad, and that these two types of cakes have been maintained in Vietnam to this day without changing their ancient forms.

• Bánh tro: Bánh tro means 'lye water cake' and is made by mixing the ash (lye) of specific plants into glutinous rice. The production method for this cake is considered to certainly have its roots in the Chinese huīshuǐ zòng or jiǎnshǐ zòng. By adding lye, the glutinous rice gains a unique transparent color, elasticity, and a subtle bitterness, while also increasing its shelf life. While bamboo leaves are often used in China and Japan, a distinctive feature in Northern Vietnam is that they are wrapped in Dong leaves, which are also used for Bánh chưng.

• Bánh tét: This is a rice cake very similar to Bánh chưng, but it is widely eaten mainly from Central to Southern Vietnam. The ingredients are almost the same as Bánh chưng (glutinous rice, mung beans, pork, etc.), but it is shaped into a cylindrical form and is mainly wrapped in banana leaves. The cylindrical shape of Bánh tét is widely believed to have its roots in the zongzi culture brought by Chinese immigrants (particularly those from Guangdong Province). This also suggests that Bánh chưng may have been introduced from abroad. Furthermore, while it is common in China to use bamboo leaves or reed leaves for zongzi, banana leaves are used here.

The above points strongly demonstrate the uniqueness of Dong leaves in Vietnamese food culture and the success of their localization. Because the vegetation of this plant is limited to specific regions from Northern Vietnam to Southern China, it is considered highly likely that banana leaves, which grow abundantly in the wild, are used as a substitute in Central and Southern Vietnam. However, as seen in the example of lye water cakes, even though bamboo leaves are abundant in Northern Vietnam, it became common to intentionally wrap them in Dong leaves. This can be evaluated as evidence that the excellent properties of Dong leaves, such as their flavor, color, and preservative qualities, were essential to the formation of Vietnam's unique rice cake culture.

4. Shelf Life of Bánh chưng

Bánh chưng is made by boiling it for a long time, which provides a sterilization effect and prevents the entry of microorganisms as the rice starch gelatinizes and hardens, allowing it to be stored at room temperature for several days to about a week (depending on climate and humidity). This high level of shelf life is a very important element in the Vietnamese culture of making large quantities during the Lunar New Year to share with relatives and friends.

This characteristic is also similar to the traditional preserved food I introduced the other day, nishime. Nishime also involves simmering ingredients in soy sauce and sugar for a long time, which allows the flavors to soak in while increasing shelf life through sterilization and moisture reduction.

What both have in common is that they are packed with the wisdom of our ancestors who, in an era when refrigeration technology was underdeveloped, enabled long-term storage while maintaining flavor through the cooking method of simmering ingredients. Although the regions and ingredients used differ, it is interesting to see common ingenuity in meeting the needs for 'meal prep' and 'preservation' within food culture.

5. Conclusion

While Bánh chưng is an iconic food deeply intertwined with Vietnamese ethnic culture, its roots show strong influences from the food culture of ethnic minorities in southern China, particularly in the Sino-Vietnamese border region.Lang Lieu The anecdote of may be a mythological representation of this cultural influx.

Furthermore, just as Bánh tét inherits the culture of Chinese immigrants and Bánh khúc inherits the tradition of the Chinese 'Qingtuan,' it can be said that Vietnam's diverse rice cake culture has been shaped by region-specific development and interactions with multiple external cultures. These rice cakes are not merely food, but valuable cultural assets that convey the history, beliefs, and lifestyles of each ethnic group.

Considering this perspective, the advanced agricultural techniques, wisdom regarding food processing, and influence within a broad cultural sphere that China possessed since ancient times clearly contributed significantly to the spread and development of these rice cakes. In particular, the techniques of wrapping food in leaves to enhance preservation and flavor, the wisdom of combining glutinous rice, beans, and meat, and the cultural authority that links these to festivals and rituals demonstrate how superior the civilization of China was at that time.

This summary was created through a dialogue with Google's free AI assistant, 'Gemini'.