One more Lunar Year is ending. The Tet holiday is near coming. The weather is also coming to Spring. My surroundings is transforming to welcome a new spring. It makes me be excited to welcome a new spring being full warm, full colorful, especially, it is filled feelings.

The Tet holidays is the chance for us, Vietnamese, to show our gratitude, our Filial Piety; This is the chance for us, all of members in the family to get together, to tell each other, to share each other many things in our life during a year - joy and sadness . On this vocation, we will make many kinds of traditional food. Such as jams, sweet cakes, and main disks for lunch, dinner, ...

"Thịt mỡ, dưa hành, câu đối đỏ,

Cây nêu, tràng pháo, bánh chưng xanh"

Today, I would like to introduce to all of you one of those traditional foods called "Bánh Chưng" shaped square and made from sticky rice, green bean and fat meat being simple and essential foodstuffs in our daily meal. We make and present it to our ancestor to present our gratitude and filial piety on the special holidays.

The legend is said that the first "Bánh Chưng" was made by Lang Liêu, the eighteenth Prince of King Hung VI to worship the ancestor on the Tet holidays. His conception was that the earth was square and the greatest. He wanted to admire that the Grace of our ancestor is as immense and beautiful as the earth. "Bánh Chưng" be symbolic of the earth. Green of leaves covered Sticky Rice is symbolic of the green of the earth's surface covered by immense Rice fields. Sticky Rice encloses Green Bean and Fat Meat shows the protection for all species of the earth.

"Bánh Chưng" is boiled during 12h make fat meat melt then blend into sticky rice and green bean. At this time sticky rice looks glossier and covered by green. Flavor of sticky rice, green bean, fat meat mingle with flavor of leaves, a little pepper taste and rather salty to form a specific flavor and fragrance. 

Today, making "Bánh Chưng" becomes our traditional activity. It influences a part of forming our personality, our love for our homeland, our country. 

For my large family, 14 years ago and many years before, on the 2 days before the Tet, I, my father, my brother and my sister used to help my mother to make "Bánh Chưng". During 5 years later, after my mother departed this world, my father and my siblings were helping me to make "Bánh Chưng". During 9 years later, every the Tet, since I got married, I have made "Bánh Chưng" to present my ancestor, my mother and my father. We, each member of this large family have never forgotten such happy instant. The instant when all members in family have a chance to cluster round each other. Adult make the cake, children shout for joy. Especially, the time during the night we cook it. All members are over night to boil "Bánh Chưng". My parents used to tell us life's stories, past thing, tell us what happened with their life, how they enjoyed the life, ... It makes the family sentiment be more steadfast. 

(picture for reference: https://www.google.com.vn/search?q=n%E1%BA%A5u+b%C3%A1nh+ch%C6%B0ng+ng%C3%A0y+t%E1%BA%BFt&bih=890&biw=1280&tbm=isch&imgil=N0bjKaZxY2QQeM%253A%253Bzk7DDprPMs-kQM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fnews.zing.vn%25252FTeen-Ha-Thanh-nau-banh-chung-ngay-Tet-post44345.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=N0bjKaZxY2QQeM%253A%252Czk7DDprPMs-kQM%252C_&usg=__2iUUmGjmkSR6em08d4qMI2hrvvI%3D&ved=0CCkQyjc&ei=QpqnVK7RGNaVuASZxoGgBg#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=N0bjKaZxY2QQeM%253A%3Bzk7DDprPMs-kQM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimg.news.zing.vn%252Fimg%252F167%252Ft167241.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fnews.zing.vn%252FTeen-Ha-Thanh-nau-banh-chung-ngay-Tet-post44345.html%3B400%3B300)

After here, I would like to share with you the ingredients and direction how to make it

A) Ingredients: for of 8 pieces (weight: 0.8kg/piece well done)

1) Sticky Rice: 3kgs

2) Green Bean peeled: 1kg

3) Fat Meat:1kg

4) Green leaves such as banana leaves or arrowroot leaves: 50 leaves (20x30cm)

(link refer to the picture http://www.prosperitywithnature.com.au/legumes-and-vegetables/26-queensland-arrowroot.html)

5) Bamboo string: 32 strings (length: 120cm)

6) Salt: 6 tsp

7) Pepper: 1 tsp

B) Direction:

I. Preparation: 1.5hours

1) Bamboo strings: soak in water 1h so that they can be soft

2) Leaves: soak in water 30' so that they can be soft, wash, dry

3) Fat meat: wash, cut into 8 equal pieces then mix with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper

4) Sticky Rice: wash, mix 5 tsp of salt then soak it in water for 1h

5) Green Bean: wash, soak in water for 15', cook (same was as cook rice), pound, divide into 8 equal parts

6) knead green bean powder into square so that fat meat in the middle of it

II. Wrap: 1hour

7) fold leaves so that each one has shape of one of corners of cube like pyramid

8) join 4 pyramids together like basket has a square bottom and height 10cm

9) put sticky rice into the basket (step 8) so that its height 1cm then put the square of  step 6 above sticky rice layer of step 9 then continue cover by a layer of sticky rice (more 1cm)

==> total height of sticky rice, green bean and fat meat is about 5cm

11) fold down the remainder of basket to wrap sticky rice, green bean and fat meat in leaves

12) tie (neither tight nor loose) bamboo strings around square shape

(picture for reference: https://www.google.com.vn/search?q=g%C3%B3i+b%C3%A1nh+ch%C6%B0ng&biw=1280&bih=890&tbm=isch&imgil=zwDsYN1g0AcvBM%253A%253BwPwnhCebV8-WLM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.lamsao.com%25252Fhuong-dan-y-nghia-cua-chiec-banh-chung-ngay-tet-p214a32164.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=zwDsYN1g0AcvBM%253A%252CwPwnhCebV8-WLM%252C_&usg=__WufFEo2Q3oWYrVpQLVmzVulouas%3D&ved=0CCkQyjc&ei=8GerVOatJsOquQTamoDwBw#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=zwDsYN1g0AcvBM%253A%3BwPwnhCebV8-WLM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmedia.lamsao.com%252FResources%252FData%252FNews%252FAuto%252Foanhntk%252F201112%252Foanhntk20111216142519912_0.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.lamsao.com%252Fhuong-dan-y-nghia-cua-chiec-banh-chung-ngay-tet-p214a32164.html%3B2816%3B1880)

III. Boil: 12hours

13) boil during 12h

IV. Preserve

14) take out then wash paste around cover, dry

15) squeeze the cake by laying it on flat then weigh down on it

Keep in normal condition during 7 days

Ham Nhon is one of commune of Ham Thuan Bac District in Binh Thuan province located in the east of Southern Vietnam, far away from Ho Chi Minh City about 200kms from the East North.

I was born, left there when I was 3 and came back every summer holidays and the Tet holidays when I was a child

By the vision of a child, that is the place where the fields were lengthened infinitely. It was blue and transparent. The ground was covered by green. The green was mixed from rice-fields, sugar-cane fields, manioc-fields, corn-fields, rows of coconut trees. The fields of rice were waving in the wind like waves in the ocean.

At that place, a new day was began by the Cock-crow "Ò Ó Oooooooooooooo". The Cocks were responsible for waking up the Sun, Farmers, all living beings while the Hens cackled "Cục tác cục cục cục tác" to announce their mistress to pick their eggs. Then "Cạp cạp cạp cạp cạp" from herd of ducks rowdily. The next is a voice of a man resound "Tèo lé ởi Tèo lé! Dắt tâu đi ăn" to call his herdsman to feed his buffaloes. Ending of a hardy day was a concert when it was late in the evening. That is a harmony of sounds in countryside from sound of insect and amphibian.

At that place, there were hardy women, hardy grandmothers, hardy mothers hardy sisters including my mother and sisters. They toil and moil day by day without entertainment except the Tet holidays. They were meek and honest. I remember my mother told me that when I was a newborn, my mother did not have enough milk for me (at those days the mothers breast-fed their babies), I suckled another baby's mother. When I was a infant, my mother worked far away from my house, I suckled more 4 neighboring baby's mothers.

At that place, in my memory, there are few men, young men. Nobody was drunk. There was no bar, no pub, no cafeteria. The life was pleasant, undisturbed and happy. We live in a kind neighborhood.

However, at that place, the people had low academic standard. They were only able to read and write. We had a school with 1 class-room and 1 teacher for all pupils of all levels (from 1 to 3). The pupils had to go to other school far away from it few kms if they want to continue higher level. Although far away from modern city, its inhabitant kept personal hygiene, and public hygiene.

20 years later,

when I came back I found everybody was healthy and special thing is my neighborhoods looked not come to older, they were still as young as when the last time I came back. The oldest here still alive. More than 20 years, she still looked healthy, still worked.

And there are some changes:

The first thing was the green of rice-fields, sugar-cane fields, manioc-fields, corn-fields, rows of coconut trees was replaced by Dragon-fruit fields. There was no longer the fields of rice waving in the wind. It made the standard of living is leveled up. The second thing was the education was focused. It made academic standard was leveled up.

They are the things make me happy when I think about my native land. Somewhere in the corner of my soul still resounds crow in the morning, cackle of hens, the sound "cạp cạp" of ducks, the voice of farmer called shepherds and country music every dusk including the green of fields, flavor of rice, flavor of mud, flavor of soil and flavor of straw from my remote native land.

    I am missing my mother extremely. She has left me, left this world forever. I can only meet her in my dream.

    Suddenly, EC suggested to write about a special dinner.
If it is possible, I would like to invite my mother to this special dinner, of course, together my father and all my siblings. It would be an extremely special dinner for my large family. If my mother could come back from the dead, of course, every member would be glad to move to tear due to happiness.
When I was a child, my family was a poor family but harmonious. It engraved in my mind those successions of happy days.

     Now is July. It is summer in Vietnam. In such summer days, my siblings caught field crabs while my mother picked up vegetables around my house. July is at once summer and rainy season in the Southern. And vegetables grow naturally around the house. Thus, dinner menu included field crab fried with salt and vegetables soup with field crab. The soup was sweet with my mother love presenting to her husband and her children beside field crab fried with salt was passionate with our family sentiment which each member share with each other.
     On this vacation,  I would serve everybody crab vegetables soup and salted fried field crab too. Though in this industrial age, field crab and vegetables will be bought in the super market, the dishes would be full of my love for all my family members and this would be a golden chance for us to go back our childhood. That is the happiest term in our life.