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For thousands of Vietnamese Minnesotans celebrating Lunar New Year, an elaborate feast is a must.

At the center of it all: Bánh chưng and bánh tét, the humble sticky rice cake filled with meaning.

Trần Thị Minh Phước, an author, storyteller and Minnesota’s first Vietnamese librarian, said the cakes are offerings to ancestors during the holiday to show respect.

Each of the ingredients also symbolize certain things.

The bamboo string and green ‘dong’ leaves wrapping the cake embody “the protection and safety of family and home,” Trần told MPR News host Tom Crann. “The yellow mung beans and marinated meat stuffing represent the animals and plants on Earth and the food they provide to us.”

While both cakes are made with very similar ingredients, people in northern Vietnam eat the square bánh chưng while people in central and southern Vietnam eat the cylindrical bánh tét.

No matter which one they eat, Vietnamese people across the state will be starting off the Year of the Snake with a piece of these cakes.

To hear more about bánh chưng and bánh tét, click play on the player above.

Tom Crann

Host

Ngoc Bui

Author

For thousands of Vietnamese Minnesotans celebrating Lunar New Year, an elaborate feast is a must. At the center of it all: bánh chưng and bánh tét, the humble sticky rice cake filled with meaning.

For thousands of Vietnamese Minnesotans celebrating Lunar New Year, an elaborate feast is a must. At the center of it all: banh chung and bánh tét, the humble sticky rice cake filled with meaning.

The sticky rice cake at the center of Lunar New Year

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