The Sán Dìu ethnic community in Quảng Ninh Province has a traditional specialty cake that often appears during holidays, Tết celebrations, weddings, and other occasions… It is bánh bạc đầu, a rustic yet remarkably unique dish.
Bánh bạc đầu – The Sán Dìu People’s Specialty “Made and Eaten as It Is Shaped”
Many people are curious about this cake because of its unusual name, and anyone who has tasted it is sure to be impressed. Once made, the cake is coated on the outside with a fine layer of white glutinous rice flour; this is where the name bánh bạc đầu comes from.
Bánh bạc đầu. Photo: Quảng Ninh Newspaper.
Bánh bạc đầu is made from glutinous rice, with a layer of white flour on the outside to prevent sticking. To make the cake, the glutinous rice is first pounded or finely ground and then shaped into rounds, with a filling of peanuts, sesame seeds, and more inside…
Bánh bạc đầu is coated with a layer of fine flour. Photo: Ethnicities and Development Newspaper.
It sounds simple, but preparing this dish requires considerable effort and skill from the cake makers. This applies to every stage, from selecting the ingredients and grinding the flour to preparing the filling… Once the harvest season is over, people select the best-quality and most fragrant glutinous rice to make the cakes.
Shaping the cakes. Photo: Ethnicities Newspaper.
The glutinous rice must not be mixed with ordinary rice. It is soaked in water for 10-15 minutes, until the grains can be easily broken in half, then drained and pounded in a stone mortar until it becomes fine flour. The flour is then carefully sifted so that the finished product is exceptionally smooth.
Bánh bạc đầu is used during Tết celebrations. Photo: Ethnicities and Mountainous Areas Photo Newspaper.
After sifting, any pieces of rice that have not been pounded thoroughly are pounded again. This painstaking step can sometimes take up to half a day. Today, rice pounding is easier thanks to grinding machines, and many households no longer pound it by hand as they once did, but the flour must still be smooth, white, and clean.
Photo: Hiền Anh.
The finished glutinous rice flour is then mixed with warm water and beaten thoroughly by hand. It is then shaped into thin, round leaves and dropped into a pot of boiling water. The cakes are boiled until they all float to the surface, indicating that they are cooked, and are then removed. The freshly boiled dough pieces, still hot, are mixed with more glutinous rice flour and shaped again into thin, wide, round sheets. The filling is placed in the center, and the sheets are skillfully shaped into evenly round cakes before being rolled in a layer of fine flour…
Every Sán Dìu woman knows how to make bánh bạc đầu. Photo: Ethnicities and Mountainous Areas Photo Newspaper.
Finely pounded roasted sesame seeds and peanuts are mixed thoroughly with finely ground white sugar to make the filling. In many places, mung beans are also added, or bean flour is used to create a richer and more appealing filling. A delicious bánh bạc đầu usually has a filling that can be seen faintly through its glutinous rice flour coating. When eaten, the cake has a delicate sweetness and the fragrant flavors of peanuts, sesame seeds, and freshly harvested glutinous rice.
A bánh bạc đầu-making competition held by the Sán Dìu people. Photo: Tiên Yên District.
Bánh bạc đầu does not need to be fried or steamed; it only needs to be boiled before it can be enjoyed. The cake is moderately sweet, not greasy, with a delicate taste, a gentle fragrance, and no cloying richness. For this reason, this rustic cake is very popular with visitors trying it for the first time.
Various cake fillings. Illustrative photo: thu.huyen.black.
Bánh bạc đầu is also ordered as an engagement ceremony gift or made for sale, becoming a local specialty. Visitors exploring Sán Dìu villages in Quảng Ninh during holidays and Tết celebrations will find bánh bạc đầu everywhere. Enjoying this delicious cake and learning about the culture of the Sán Dìu people, as well as other communities in the highlands of Quảng Ninh, will be a meaningful experience during the trip!
