Vietnamese family makes 15,000 ‘banh chung’ for Tet celebrations

Nguyen Thi Lan’s family in Nghia Trung Ward under Gia Nghia City is making some 1,000 banh chung each day. Lan, the owner of a secret family recipe, is in charge of preparing the fillings of banh chung. Meanwhile, Ngo Thi Phuong, Lan’s daughter, is tasked with preparing stachyphrynium placentarium leaves, known as la dong in Vietnamese, which are used for wrapping banh chung. She brought the secret recipe of making banh chung with her to the Central Highlands region. Lan and her family were set to make 15,000 banh chung to suit the need during the 2024 Lunar New Year festival.