Sponge cake of Giay people
The Giay people have a rich culinary treasure, in which many kinds of cakes are known to everyone such as to te cake, rom cake, black chung cake, bong cake, Khao cake... Less well known, Giay people also have sponge cake which is very unique, easy to eat.Ms. Vuong Thi Vui prepares a traditional sponge cake of the Giay people |
Black chung cake, to te cake, khao cake... are often made at important times or on holidays to offer to ancestors and gods, while sponge cake is a folk dish, prepared on free days, make daily snacks. Sponge cake is made from plain rice, the type of rice is not sticky, not sticky. The rice is soaked overnight and then ground with water into a powder. Before grinding the rice, the cook must use a little cooked rice to cool and grind to create air bubbles, creating the expansion of the cake. After the flour is milled to rest, the powder layer settles to the bottom, the maker decants the upper layer of water, mixes the flour with sugar according to the ratio of sugar - rice is 1 - 2, stirs until the sugar dissolves and then steams. Before steaming, the cake must be lined with a clean cloth under the steamer, heated on high heat, steam is very hot, then pour the flour into the steamer until cooked. After the big cake is cooked, it is cut into smaller pieces, just to eat.
According to Ms. Vuong Thi Vui from Na Ha village, Lung Vai commune (Muong Khuong), sponge cake is not too difficult to make, but requires experience. In the Giay ethnic group, there are not many people who know how to make this traditional cake. To make the cake puffy, spongy and dry, you must choose a very hard, non-sticky rice. When steaming the cake, you must maintain a very large fire, burn evenly, and the cake will bloom.
Because she has a lot of experience in making cakes, every time at the fair, Ms. Vui makes sponge cakes and a few other traditional cakes to sell to people in the area. These cakes help her have extra income outside of daily farming.
In the fairs of the Giay people in Muong Khuong and Bat Xat areas, sponge cakes are sold in small bags for only about 10 thousand VND/bag. The sponge cake is white, the dough is baking like a dumpling, the sweet and fragrant taste is similar to the beef cake of the clear provinces. Not too fussy, sponge cake is a simple and delicious gift. This type of cake is also associated with the poverty and hardship childhood of many people because it is made from cheap ingredients such as the hardest rice, most d, milled with cold rice. However, under skillful hands, a delicious cake was born, enriching the unique cuisine of the Giay ethnic group in Lao Cai.