The culinary culture of the Cham people has its own unique features with a variety of cakes. Among them, ginger cake (ginrong laya) is an important cake present during holidays and New Year of the Cham people. The cake is not only special in shape but also has a delicious taste.
Ms. Dan Thi Son (Binh Hieu village, Phan Hiep commune, Bac Binh district, Binh Thuan province) is an artisan with more than 50 years of making traditional cakes of the Cham people, said: "In Cham language, ginrong means " "laya", laya is "ginger", the cake is shaped like ginger root, and has ginger flavor. This type of cake often appears in Cham festivals, especially Kate Tet. Ginger cake is considered an important offering to ancestors with the wish for a prosperous and happy life.
In fact, during festivals, Cham people often make ginger root cakes pinned to bamboo sticks, placed around a round wooden or clay pillar decorated with colorful patterns made of colored paper, and then steamed on the altar with them. with banh tet and banh gang.
It is not difficult to make gingerbread, but the baker must be meticulous and skillful. To make gingerbread, Cham people use the main ingredients: glutinous rice flour, fresh ginger, eggs, sugar and a little wine yeast. The rice must be fragrant sticky rice, with large, opaque white grains, pounded into powder, then dried. The flour will be mixed with duck eggs and boiling water to achieve a smooth, flexible consistency. At this time, the baker will put the flour into a small mortar and grind it, then take out small handfuls of dough and start kneading.
The cake making stage shows the meticulousness and ingenuity of the baker. The gingerbread is completely hand-shaped, shaped almost exactly like a real ginger root. Ms. Dan Thi Son said: "Making gingerbread must be done by hand, so it must be skillful and meticulous. Sometimes sharp knives or small spoons are used to assist in shaping. Nowadays, depending on each person's creativity, the cake will have different shapes.
When eaten, ginger cake will be very crunchy, sweet and fragrant from the ginger flavor
Cakes are created in patterns depicting the life of the Cham people or in the shape of fish, coral... very diverse. After molding, the cake will be deep fried in oil. This step seems simple, but in reality it requires a lot of care.
When fried, cakes must always be moderately flat. At that time, the worker must press the two cakes together tightly with chopsticks and grit. Only then will the cake retain its original shape. When the cake is golden brown, it will be dipped directly into sugar water and the ginger has won the candy. Finally, put each piece on a drying tray to dry to increase the crispness and hardness. This method helps the gingerbread keep longer after processing.
Ginger cakes often appear at Cham weddings
When enjoying gingerbread, visitors will often be told by artisans the story of Nai Chrao Cho Pho, a story similar to the story of Hon Vong phu. It is a story about a woman waiting for her husband to go to war at sea. Every day, the woman who makes ginrong laya cakes goes down to the beach and throws fish to her husband with a message that they hope to return soon to reunite. Over time, the cakes turned into coral at the bottom of the Ca Na sea. Ginger cake is therefore called water cake, often appearing at weddings of the Cham people.
(Source: Can Tho Electronic Newspaper)
Original link: https://baocantho.com.vn/banh-gung-cua-nguoi-cham-a161107.html
