Image: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain / CC0)
TL;DR: Vietnam's Cold Foods Festival has been localized, shifting from its Chinese origins to a day honoring ancestors through Banh Troi and Banh Chay. Banh Troi symbolizes 50 children following mother Âu Cơ to the mountains, while Banh Chay represents 50 children following father to the sea. Vietnamese families make and offer these cakes without the fire-banning tradition.
What is the Cold Foods Festival in Vietnam?
The Cold Foods Festival (Tết Hàn Thực) falls on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month. While originating in China and associated with Jie Zitui, the festival has been deeply localized in Vietnam, taking on a completely different character.
Unlike the Chinese tradition of avoiding fire and eating pre-made fried cakes, Vietnamese people do not observe any cooking restrictions. Families gather to make Banh Troi and Banh Chay as offerings to ancestors. Researcher Phan Cẩm Thượng notes that scholar Lê Quý Đôn recorded fried cakes as the original food, but Vietnamese replaced them with these glutinous rice treats.
According to researcher Huỳnh Ngọc Trảng, the festival is part of the annual ceremonial cycle, though it is not widely observed in southern communal houses. Culinary artisan Hiền Minh notes the tradition is strongest in northern Vietnam, while southerners rarely observe it and central Vietnamese typically offer only fruits.
Comparison table of the characteristics of banh troi and banh chay according to the criteria in the article.
| Criteria | Banh troi | Banh chay |
|---|---|---|
| Wrapper ingredients | Glutinous rice flour | Glutinous rice flour |
| Filling | Palm sugar (brown sugar) | Mashed mung beans |
| Size | Small and dainty | Larger |
| Traditional color | Cloudy white | Cloudy white |
| Topping | Roasted sesame | Beans and grated coconut |
| Served with | Arrowroot starch water, pomelo flower essence | |
| Symbolic meaning | 50 eggs hatched into 50 children who followed the mother to the forest | 50 children who followed the father to the sea |
Roots in Wet-Rice Culture
Both Banh Troi and Banh Chay are made from glutinous rice flour, embodying Vietnam's ancient wet-rice civilization. Offering these rice-based cakes to ancestors expresses filial piety and gratitude.
These cakes also evoke the legend of mother Âu Cơ's hundred eggs. Banh Troi symbolizes the 50 children who followed their mother to the mountains, while Banh Chay represents the 50 who followed their father to the sea. Thus, the festival centers on ancestral remembrance rather than foreign historical figures.
What are banh troi and banh chay?
In the hot weather of the 3rd lunar month, Vietnamese ancestors created these cold, cooling dishes with a light sweetness.
Banh Troi
Banh Troi is made from glutinous rice flour with a brown sugar filling. After boiling, the small white cakes are rolled in toasted sesame seeds.
Banh Chay
Banh Chay is larger, with a mung bean paste filling. It is served in a light arrowroot starch syrup, subtly scented with grapefruit flower, topped with beans and grated coconut.
How are banh troi and banh chay made today?
Beyond the traditional white cakes, creative versions now feature five colors from natural ingredients like gac fruit (red), green tea (green), taro (purple), and butterfly pea flower (blue).
Some home cooks draw inspiration from Japanese nerikiri to shape Banh Troi into flowers. These handmade creations take 3 to 5 minutes each and help engage children in the tradition.
Despite visual innovations, the essence remains unchanged: glutinous rice, the fruit of labor, offered to ancestors. Many overseas Vietnamese, after experimenting with colorful versions, return to the simple white traditional cakes that never grow tiresome.
How do you make banh troi and banh chay?
- Knead dough with warm water: Cold water makes dough crack; too-hot water cooks it, making it sticky.
- Mix sweet potato into dough: This adds color and keeps cakes soft even the next day.
- Adjust water amount: Fresh rice flour absorbs less water than older flour.
- Boil properly: When cakes float, reduce heat and cook a bit more. High heat can break them.
- Cool and coat with sesame: Transfer boiled cakes to cold water, then coat each with sesame using a wet chopstick.
Why is the Cold Foods Festival a time for family reunion?
Tết Hàn Thực is also a time for those living far away to return home, visit ancestral graves, and share family meals. Many families still use freshly ground glutinous rice for an unmatched softness and subtle sour aroma.
This festival, with its round white cakes symbolizing completeness and unity, has become an inseparable cultural beauty, reflecting the Vietnamese principle of "remembering the source when drinking water" wherever Vietnamese people live in the world.
