Unique Herbal Chung Cake of the Muong Ethnicity in Yen Lap District

Anyone who has set foot in the land of Yen Lap will immediately remember the place name Ho Ly – the “gem” of Phu Tho with its picturesque scenery of overlapping mountains and poetic rivers. They’ll also recall the charming Muong boys and girls with their graceful singing, seductive dances, and drum performances that captivate the hearts of the people. However, Yen Lap has many other interesting things, especially the culinary delights of the ethnic people, which anyone who has tasted once will forever remember. Among them, the herbal chung cake stands out—a dish rich in ethnic cultural nuances, carrying the emotions of the people and the land in this region.

During festivals and Tet (Lunar New Year), the Muong people in Yen Lap district, Phu Tho province, are busy preparing familiar ingredients to make herbal chung cakes (also known as black chung cakes). The ingredients for this dish are carefully selected. Banana leaves for wrapping the cakes must be washed and dried; glutinous rice must be fragrant My Lung rooster glutinous rice; green beans for the filling are peeled and cleaned; pork meat is chosen as thinly sliced pork belly, marinated with spices, pepper, and shallots. Especially, to create the black color for the cake, the Muong people in Yen Lap go to the forest to pick gùn leaves, thorn leaves, and cầm leaves, sun-dry them, then burn and grind them into a fine powder. After that, mix the powder with water, blend it with glutinous rice, stirring until the rice is blended with the herbal powder, resulting in a black color. The forest leaves not only give the cake a unique flavor and color but also have a cooling effect on the body.

The herbal chung cakes are hand-wrapped by the Muong people, about 30cm long and 6 to 7cm in diameter. When wrapping the cake, they use two banana leaves placed head-to-tail, spread a bowl of rice on the bottom, then add green beans and pork meat. After that, add another layer of green beans and finally cover the top with a layer of black rice and wrap it again.

Cooking the cakes also requires meticulousness, from preparing the water to adjusting the fire. When the cake pot has not boiled, use high heat, and when the pot has reached a certain boiling point, maintain an even and sufficient heat for the cakes to cook evenly and thoroughly, for about 7 to 8 hours. When cooked, the cakes are taken out to cool, then hung in pairs to let the leaves dry, preventing them from becoming moldy. Enjoying a piece of cake, you can feel the unique taste— the aroma of fragrant My Lung glutinous rice, the richness of local pork belly, the nutty flavor of green beans, the unique herbal flavor from the charcoal powder of gùn and thorn leaves, and the refreshing taste of banana leaves.

The process of making chung cakes is also a family bonding activity, where all family members participate. Young children strip leaves, wash them, older ones husk rice, cut meat, and the skilled adults wrap the cakes. This is an opportunity for grandparents to tell stories, educate the younger generation about the cultural traditions of the ethnic group, family, and homeland. In addition to appearing in ancestral worship meals, this dish is also used in Tet meals to invite relatives and neighbors in the village, with the belief that the black color of the cake represents the harmony of mountains, forests, land, and people, expressing gratitude to ancestors.

The specialties in the cuisine of Yen Lap are not only colorful sticky rice, bamboo-cooked rice, ant egg rice cakes, corn banana with ribs… but also the unique flavor of herbal chung cakes. Now, it has become a unique dish for many tourists visiting Muong villages in Yen Lap, and it is also a fragrant and meaningful gift for tourists to buy for their relatives and friends.