US Ambassador tries hand at Banh Chung making
US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink has got his first taste of making “Banh Chung”—Vietnam’s traditional cake for the Lunar New Year (what Vietnamese call Tet).
The US Ambassador has been wrapping Chung cakes (square glutinous rice cake) with the guidance of experts at his home in Hanoi, to make his first celebration of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival in Vietnam truly special.
The ambassador himself made the cake under the instruction of Vietnamese artist An Tuyet. “Honestly, It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be,” the US diplomat said. “I was impressed by how much preparation goes into making the cake. But it’s fun.”
Chung Cake is one of the indispensable parts of a traditional Vietnamese Tet celebration. “He did an impressive job considering it was his first time making Chung cake,” Anh Tuyet said on Daniel’s first Chung cake. She helped the ambassador to wrap the cake, from arranging the bamboo leaves (La Dong) for the cake’s cover to preparing the ingredients of beans, rice, pork, and then putting them all in.
“You have a 1000-year-long culture and making Chung cake reflects many features of the Vietnamese culture,” Daniel said. This is the first Tet of the US diplomat in Vietnam. “It is my honor to celebrate the Tet in Vietnam,” he noted.
On this occasion, the ambassador also sends his best wishes to Vietnamese people to have a happy, healthy, and dynamic year. “I wait for new co-operation between Vietnam and US in 2018,” he said.
The ambassador himself made the cake under the instruction of Vietnamese artist An Tuyet. “Honestly, It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be,” the US diplomat said. “I was impressed by how much preparation goes into making the cake. But it’s fun.”
Chung Cake is one of the indispensable parts of a traditional Vietnamese Tet celebration. “He did an impressive job considering it was his first time making Chung cake,” Anh Tuyet said on Daniel’s first Chung cake. She helped the ambassador to wrap the cake, from arranging the bamboo leaves (La Dong) for the cake’s cover to preparing the ingredients of beans, rice, pork, and then putting them all in.
“You have a 1000-year-long culture and making Chung cake reflects many features of the Vietnamese culture,” Daniel said. This is the first Tet of the US diplomat in Vietnam. “It is my honor to celebrate the Tet in Vietnam,” he noted.
On this occasion, the ambassador also sends his best wishes to Vietnamese people to have a happy, healthy, and dynamic year. “I wait for new co-operation between Vietnam and US in 2018,” he said.
The ambassador gets so excited with wrapping his first Chung cake.
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The ambassador himself makes the cake under the instruction of Vietnamese artist An Tuyet.
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He uses “lat” – bamboo string to cut the cake for the first time.
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The US diplomat satisfies with his first handmade Chung cake.
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