The cake is like jelly, the name sounds strange, but it is the childhood of many people

Do you still remember this ‘muddy’, jelly-like cake? Suggestion, when eating with molasses is very suitable.
In the treasure trove of traditional cakes of Vietnam, there is a type of cake like jelly that is a specialty of the Tay people but is gradually becoming popular throughout the country. It is banh gio (also known as banh tro, banh ú ash, banh nang, and banh dai).

The name of banh gio comes from the key ingredient that makes this cake: ash water. (Illustration) The people who make gio cakes will burn herbs and medicinal herbs to ashes, grind them finely, then filter them to get the yellow-brown juice, soak the rice and boil the cakes. Rice to make banh gio must be delicious glutinous rice to achieve a certain plasticity. After being boiled, the finished product is a clear, moist dough, whose shape depends on the hands of the packer (in different localities). The cake is very pale at first, has a bright amber color, transparent like a block of jade. When cooled, the cake is smooth like jelly, fragrant with sesame. Banh Gio dotted with molasses or granulated sugar, becomes a snack that both young and old love. (Illustration) Summer is the time when banh gio is consumed the most. In addition, this “pure Vietnamese” cake is still loved by people all year round, especially parents and grandparents, because the cake is both fragrant, easy to eat, and easy to buy. City is also cheap. Banh gio is a dish loved by mothers and grandmothers and eaten all year round. (Illustration) However, in the era of modern social development, many people, especially young people, have “forgotten” this childhood gift, or when they eat it, they only eat it when they have a chance. However, for those who have tasted banh gio, it must be difficult to forget the fragrant taste of glutinous rice flour, mixed with sweet molasses. Only the previous generation remembers this cake. (Illustration)