The San Diu ethnic community in Quang Ninh Province has a specialty cake often featured during Tet holidays, weddings, and festivals: banh bac dau, a rustic yet remarkably unique treat.
Banh Bac Dau – The “Make and Eat Fresh” Specialty of the San Diu People
Many people are curious about this cake due to its unique name, and anyone who has tasted it is sure to be impressed. Once finished, the cake is coated with an outer layer of fine white glutinous rice flour, which is where the name banh bac dau (white-headed cake) originates.
Banh bac dau. Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
Banh bac dau is made from glutinous rice, with an outer layer of white powder to prevent sticking. To make the cake, glutinous rice is first pounded or finely ground and shaped into rounds, filled with peanuts, sesame seeds, and more.
Banh bac dau is coated with a layer of fine flour. Photo: Ethnic and Development Newspaper.
While it sounds simple, preparing this dish requires great meticulousness and skill from the cake maker—from selecting ingredients and grinding flour to making the filling. After the harvest season, the finest and most fragrant glutinous rice is chosen to make the cake.
The dough-shaping process. Photo: Ethnic Newspaper.
The glutinous rice must not be mixed with ordinary rice; it is soaked in water for 10–15 minutes until the grains easily break in half, then drained and pounded in a stone mortar until it turns into a fine powder, which is then thoroughly sifted through a sieve to achieve an ultra-smooth texture.
Banh bac dau is used during Tet and festive occasions. Photo: Ethnic and Mountainous Pictorial.
After sifting, any flour that was not pounded thoroughly is pounded again, an elaborate process that can take up to half a day. Nowadays, rice milling has become easier thanks to electric grinders, and many households no longer pound by hand as they used to, but the flour must still remain fine, white, and clean.
Photo: Hien Anh.
The finished glutinous rice flour is mixed with warm water and beaten thoroughly and evenly, then shaped into thin, round dough sheets and dropped into a pot of boiling water. The dough is boiled until it floats evenly to the surface, signaling it is cooked, and is then scooped out. The hot, freshly removed dough dumplings are kneaded again with dry glutinous rice flour, flattened into thin, wide round wrappers, filled in the center, delicately shaped into uniform spheres, and rolled in a layer of fine flour...
Almost all San Diu women know how to make banh bac dau. Photo: Ethnic and Mountainous Pictorial.
Roasted sesame seeds and peanuts are crushed and thoroughly mixed with finely ground white sugar to make the filling. In many places, mung beans or bean paste are also added to make the filling richer and more appealing. A delicious banh bac dau usually reveals the faint silhouette of its filling beneath the translucent glutinous rice skin, offering a delicate sweetness and the fragrant aroma of peanuts, sesame, and newly harvested glutinous rice.
San Diu people's banh bac dau making contest. Photo: Tien Yen District.
Banh bac dau requires neither frying nor steaming; it only needs to be boiled to be enjoyed. The cake has a pleasant, mild sweetness, is not greasy, has a refreshing flavor, a gentle aroma, and never feels cloying. As a result, this rustic cake easily wins the hearts of visitors even on their very first bite.
Various types of fillings. Illustrative photo: thu.huyen.black.
Banh bac dau is also prepared as an engagement gift or sold as a local specialty. Visiting San Diu villages in Quang Ninh during festivals or Tet, travelers will find banh bac dau everywhere. Savoring this delicious treat while learning about the culture of the San Diu and other ethnic communities in the highlands of Quang Ninh promises to be a memorable experience on your journey!
