Bánh dày (Thick rice cake)

Bánh dày with giò lụa

Bánh dày is a white, flat, round glutinous rice cake with a chewy texture. They are usually filled with mung bean or served with giò lụa (Vietnamese sausage)
Its origin is told by the legend of Lang Liêu, a prince of the sixth Hung king, who became Hung King's successor thanks to his creation of Bánh chưng and Bánh dày, which symbolized respectively the Earth and the Sky.

Bánh dày in Vietnamese Lunar New Year Festival

According to the book Extraordinary stories of Lĩnh Nam published in 1695, the creation of Bánh dày was credited by Lang Liêu, a prince of Hung King the sixth. It was said that after the victory against the army of Shang Dynasty, in choosing a successor among his sons, Hung King decided to carry out a competition in which each prince brought a delicacy representing the sincerity for the ancestors on the occasion of the Tết (or Vietnamese Lunar New Year Festival, is the most important celebration of Vietnamese culture), whoever could introduce the most delicious dish for the altar would become the next ruler of the country. While other princes tried to find the rare and delicious foods from forest and sea, the eighteenth prince Lang Liêu, who was the poorest son of Hùng Vương, could not afford those luxury dishes and had to content with the everyday ingredients such as rice or pork.

Bánh chưng in Vietnamese Lunar New Year Festival

Finally, he created one cake in the square form of earth called Bánh chưng and one in the round form of sky called Bánh dày from these simple ingredients. In tasting the dishes offered by his son, Hung King found Bánh chưng and Bánh dày not only delicious but also a fine respresentation of the respect for ancestors. Therefore he decided to cede the throne to Lang Liêu and Bánh chưng, Bánh dày became traditional foods during the Vietnamese Tet holiday.

Contact information by travel Vietnam