Vietnam is famous for its several dishes that appear in holidays and festivals, especially the Tet holiday. This holiday takes place from the very first day of the lunar calendar until at least the third day. Although occurring in a short period, it is believed to be the most important and popular holiday in Vietnam. Because it was the beginning of spring, which was a perfect time for a brand new start, even colorful flowers were blooming, birds were singing on tall branches of trees and said hello to the new beginning of the year. It is a time when all family members who are working from different regions of Vietnam go back home and spend time together. Food is also the main factor that makes Tet become a memorable holiday, and a dish that is seen as a necessary part of this holiday is Banh Chung.  The dish, delicious and faithful,  made the Tet holiday more colorful.

 To prepare for the new year, I usually helped my parents with the housework and cooked dishes that they must have. I removed all the dust that covered the furniture and bookshelves, changed the bedsheets, and decorated the house. My hands holding the brush, slowly I wiped all the spider webs on the top of the closet that had been staying there during the year. Tiny dusty gentle fly into the air and disappear and start to stick on my black t-shirt. The night before the first day of the year, all the members would sit around and talk under the shining sky full of stars about what we did, what we regretted, missed, and had achieved. 

One of the dishes that I must mention is Banh Chung. It is a Savory sticky rice cake that was invented in the 18th century of Vietnam 4000 years ago. Banh Chung has a square shape representing the ground that wishes for rich harvests. Up to now, this has become the most famous and irreplaceable traditional Vietnamese food in Tet Holiday. The main ingredients of it are fresh pork with green beans covered by glutinous rice that shone like pearls and makes the cake more stunning. Wrapped in green banana leaves, the whole Banh Chung had the green color and the better favor. Rice cake is wrapped in a nice square shape, and the wrapping power must be neither tight nor loose which helps all the textures stick together. After that, the cake would be steamed in a huge pot and cooked overnight by wood. On the cool night, humid smoke from the pot sky brings all the love of our family to keep flying up to the high. The smell of Banh Chung made the Tet’s atmosphere more cozy and warm. 

On the first day of the year, my mom would cut the cake and share it with the family members. Slowly, every single layer of banana leaves was removed and under it, a hot and gorgeous green Banh Chung appeared. The cover, which is made of glutinous rice, is shiny and sticks to the leaves. The first cut revealed the juicy pork and green beans inside. Taking the first bite, I could feel the heat of the cake that just took out from the pot. The sticky rice, greasy from the pork, and the buttery taste from the green beans mixed made a tasty favor that I could not forget. The taste was a huge fill of love that our family spent together made it even more delicious. Because the cake was big so I was full with only one slide of it. 

This Tet holiday was full of Banh Chung’s flavors and enthusiasm for me because that was the last Tet I spent with my parents before I went to study abroad. The Tet holiday made people closer together and Tet would not be fulfilled if there was no Banh Chung