Tet dishes have special significance as they reflect the Vietnamesetradition of each family member expressing their personal progress,happiness and professional prosperity through the tray of dishes.
Butmore importantly, children and grandchildren get a chance to sit withtheir parents and grandparents, no matter which part of the world theyhave returned from, and reminisce about old stories from their childhoodand greet each other a Happy New Year.
Despite the festival ofTet (Lunar New Year) and its dishes holding such beautiful significance,its significance has somehow gotten lost in the modern times becausemany people, particularly the youth, have lost either their confidenceor are too lazy to cook. They claim that everything is available in themarket or can be delivered at their doorstep.
Nguyen Thi My, 72, in Hanoi's Old Quarter of Hang Dao Street, said "theTet festival now is quite different from the one celebrated in the past.I am still unable to forget the old timey Tet. All families would bebusy preparing dishes, particularly a tray of food for worshipping theirancestors."
"Except buying beef and pork piesand ingredients, such as green bean and pork meat to make banh chung(square cake), we cooked almost all the other dishes very carefullyourselves," My pointed out.
At present, very fewpeople cook banh chung and traditional dishes, such as frozen meat orche kho sweetened porridge made from green beans and sugar and insteadthey buy these dishes in the market or supermarkets, she said.
"Although,I have tried to keep up with traditional cooking, it has been lost withthe passage of time as all three of my married children buy many of thedishes, including banh chung from the supermarket for our Tet party,"she added.
Bui Thi Hang, 68, in Hanoi's Hai BaTrung District, agreed with My, saying she also liked preparing dishesfor the New Year holidays and her family in the past because apart fromenjoying the dishes, family members, some of whom visited from foreigncountries, came closer to each other and understood theirflesh-and-blood relationships and the values of life better.
Hangexpressed her pity for the youth, who do not have a chance of seeingtheir parents or grandparents wrap banh chung or anxiously wait for abit of leftover sticky rice to get the chance to wrap a small onethemselves.
"These days it is so different fromthe past. My female friends and I were often asked by our parents tolearn how to wrap and cook banh chung. Young girls now seem to forget tolearn any domestic skills (housework, cooking or needle work). In fact,many of them do not know how to even to cook a traditional dish," Hangsaid.
Nguyen Phuong Hai, a food expert said he prepared Tetdishes very carefully, right from choosing the ingredients a month ormore before Tet comes, and cooked real traditional dishes, served ineight bowls and six plates.
"I always try myutmost to teach and urge my students to keep traditional Tet dishesalive by cooking at home," said Hai.
Meanwhile, agroup of five from Switzerland, led by expat Vietnamese Duong Le Tinh,who arrived in Vietnam this week to tour the northern provinces of CaoBang, Lang Son, Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang, had another choice.
They planned to welcome the New Year with traditional Tet dishes at Quan An Ngon in the capital.
Tinh revealed that immediately after their arrival, the group visiteda shop, where they witnessed an artisan wrapping banh chung.
"The shop offered us six traditional Tet dishes served in six bowls.We enjoyed the cake, served with pickled onions very much," Tinh toldViet Nam News.
The traditional six "plates" ordishes are banh chung; pickled welsh onions; boiled chicken; pork paste;nem (fried meat rolls); and roasted pork with cinnamon.
The six big bowls, meanwhile, contain pig's trotters stewed withdried bamboo shoots; dried pig's skin; vermicelli with chicken tribe;chicken broth with mushroom and pork pie dumpling with spring onion;kohlrabi cut into pieces of 5cm with slice of griskin (pig fillet); andchicken simmered with lotus seeds.
Apart fromthese dishes, Tinh and her friends were also interested in differentkinds of mut, or preserves, such as sugared ginger, durian flavouredcoconut, peanuts and lotus seeds.
She said shewould buy several boxes of sugar-coated coconut with durian flavour totake home for her mother and friends.
Her Swissfriend Andreas Palmieri said that he has travelled all over the world,but found Vietnamese food, particularly traditional Tet dishes,especially tasty and delicious.
"I'll invite my parents to visit Vietnam during the next Tet," Palmieri affirmed.-VNA
Butmore importantly, children and grandchildren get a chance to sit withtheir parents and grandparents, no matter which part of the world theyhave returned from, and reminisce about old stories from their childhoodand greet each other a Happy New Year.
Despite the festival ofTet (Lunar New Year) and its dishes holding such beautiful significance,its significance has somehow gotten lost in the modern times becausemany people, particularly the youth, have lost either their confidenceor are too lazy to cook. They claim that everything is available in themarket or can be delivered at their doorstep.
Nguyen Thi My, 72, in Hanoi's Old Quarter of Hang Dao Street, said "theTet festival now is quite different from the one celebrated in the past.I am still unable to forget the old timey Tet. All families would bebusy preparing dishes, particularly a tray of food for worshipping theirancestors."
"Except buying beef and pork piesand ingredients, such as green bean and pork meat to make banh chung(square cake), we cooked almost all the other dishes very carefullyourselves," My pointed out.
At present, very fewpeople cook banh chung and traditional dishes, such as frozen meat orche kho sweetened porridge made from green beans and sugar and insteadthey buy these dishes in the market or supermarkets, she said.
"Although,I have tried to keep up with traditional cooking, it has been lost withthe passage of time as all three of my married children buy many of thedishes, including banh chung from the supermarket for our Tet party,"she added.
Bui Thi Hang, 68, in Hanoi's Hai BaTrung District, agreed with My, saying she also liked preparing dishesfor the New Year holidays and her family in the past because apart fromenjoying the dishes, family members, some of whom visited from foreigncountries, came closer to each other and understood theirflesh-and-blood relationships and the values of life better.
Hangexpressed her pity for the youth, who do not have a chance of seeingtheir parents or grandparents wrap banh chung or anxiously wait for abit of leftover sticky rice to get the chance to wrap a small onethemselves.
"These days it is so different fromthe past. My female friends and I were often asked by our parents tolearn how to wrap and cook banh chung. Young girls now seem to forget tolearn any domestic skills (housework, cooking or needle work). In fact,many of them do not know how to even to cook a traditional dish," Hangsaid.
Nguyen Phuong Hai, a food expert said he prepared Tetdishes very carefully, right from choosing the ingredients a month ormore before Tet comes, and cooked real traditional dishes, served ineight bowls and six plates.
"I always try myutmost to teach and urge my students to keep traditional Tet dishesalive by cooking at home," said Hai.
Meanwhile, agroup of five from Switzerland, led by expat Vietnamese Duong Le Tinh,who arrived in Vietnam this week to tour the northern provinces of CaoBang, Lang Son, Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang, had another choice.
They planned to welcome the New Year with traditional Tet dishes at Quan An Ngon in the capital.
Tinh revealed that immediately after their arrival, the group visiteda shop, where they witnessed an artisan wrapping banh chung.
"The shop offered us six traditional Tet dishes served in six bowls.We enjoyed the cake, served with pickled onions very much," Tinh toldViet Nam News.
The traditional six "plates" ordishes are banh chung; pickled welsh onions; boiled chicken; pork paste;nem (fried meat rolls); and roasted pork with cinnamon.
The six big bowls, meanwhile, contain pig's trotters stewed withdried bamboo shoots; dried pig's skin; vermicelli with chicken tribe;chicken broth with mushroom and pork pie dumpling with spring onion;kohlrabi cut into pieces of 5cm with slice of griskin (pig fillet); andchicken simmered with lotus seeds.
Apart fromthese dishes, Tinh and her friends were also interested in differentkinds of mut, or preserves, such as sugared ginger, durian flavouredcoconut, peanuts and lotus seeds.
She said shewould buy several boxes of sugar-coated coconut with durian flavour totake home for her mother and friends.
Her Swissfriend Andreas Palmieri said that he has travelled all over the world,but found Vietnamese food, particularly traditional Tet dishes,especially tasty and delicious.
"I'll invite my parents to visit Vietnam during the next Tet," Palmieri affirmed.-VNA
