Bánh Chưng Hùng Lô – Culinary Tradition and Cultural Symbol

The land of Phu Tho is not only the ancestral land where the Hung Kings, from ancient times, chose to build the Van Lang state – the first state of the Vietnamese people, but it is also the origin of many distinctive local dishes. The cuisine of the ancestral land Phu Tho is rich in diverse dishes, reflecting the regional characteristics and unique preparation methods. When exploring the culinary traditions of the Ancestral Land, there are three distinctive types of dishes: those associated with festivals and spiritual culture, local specialties, and everyday dishes of the people. Among them, one cannot overlook “Bánh Chưng Hùng Lô” – a familiar type of cake for many visitors to this region.

The ancient name of Hùng Lô was Khả Lãm Trang, later changed to the An Lão village. Hùng Lô commune is located 9km east of the Hung Temple, with a total area of ​​nearly 2km2 and a population of over 6,000 people. To the east, it is bordered by the Lo River, to the west by Kim Duc, to the south by Phuong Lau (Viet Tri City), and to the north by Vinh Phu (Phu Ninh district). With its favorable geographical location, Hùng Lô has become a trading center and a region with a long history. This place preserves and promotes cultural beauty, contributing to the construction of the Homeland, deserving to be the cradle of the Vietnamese people. Hùng Lô commune is known for many traditional craft villages, including the famous village specializing in making chưng cakes.

Chưng cakes, the signature product of the chưng cake-making village in Xom, are symbols of the homeland, representing the “Round Sky – Square Earth” concept tied to the worship of ancestors by the Vietnamese people, with the peak being the tradition of worshiping the Hung Kings. These cakes are associated with the legendary story of the filial piety of Prince Lang Lieu during the reign of the sixth Hung King. Despite thousands of years of history, chưng and giầy cakes are still preserved in their original form, flavor, and offered in ancestral worship.

Traditional Chưng Cake Making Process in Hùng Lô (Photo: Quang Bằng)

The chưng cakes in Hùng Lô are known for their delicious taste, carefully selected ingredients such as rice, green beans, and pork; meticulous preparation (soaking rice, beans, peeling rice, preparing meat, etc.), and most importantly, the technique of wrapping the cakes to be square and firm. The boiling process is also crucial, taking about 6 to 7 hours. The secret to quickly cooking the cakes is to add a little warm water to the boiling pot every hour. The chưng cakes in Hùng Lô are also appealing due to the sincerity of the locals, who are deeply connected to the ancient Hùng Lô temple that has been standing for over 300 years. When visiting Hùng Lô, tourists not only get to explore the historical temple but also experience the cake-making process.

International tourists experiencing chưng cake making in Hùng Lô village (Photo: Lã Thị Hồng Thùy)

Today, Hùng Lô has nearly 200 households involved in making chưng cakes throughout the year. The chưng cake-making craft village in Xom-Hùng Lô has about 200 households, including 48 households directly producing chưng and giầy cakes (accounting for 25% of the total households) and 110 laborers participating in the craft village (accounting for 44% of the total labor force in the village). The people of Hùng Lô take great pride in their ancestral craft, as chưng cakes represent the descendants from all corners of the country offering gifts in worship of the Hung Kings every spring.

The craft of making chưng cakes has created jobs for many local workers, contributing to stable incomes for the people. Hùng Lô commune has developed its craft village tourism activities into a unique cultural tourism product. In particular, chưng cakes from Hùng Lô have been chosen by the province to serve the tourism industry. This will be a breakthrough to bring Hùng Lô into comprehensive development in terms of economy, society, and national security.