Home Dining Harvesting Dong leaves for delicious Tet holiday treats

Harvesting Dong leaves for delicious Tet holiday treats

As the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet) is quickly approaching, residents of Trang Cat in Thanh Oai district, Hanoi, are in a hurry to collect Dong leaves, which are traditionally used to wrap a variety of food items, such as Chung cake (a type of glutinous square rice cake), during Tet.

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19 January, 2024

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Situated around 30km from the center of Hanoi, this village supplies Dong leaves to other localities nationwide for the festive season.

The local people have been farming Dong leaves for centuries and have passed down this tradition from generation to generation.

Thanks to the fertile soil next to the Day river, Trang Cat is the ideal location for planting a variety of fruit trees, vegetables, and especially Dong trees.

According to local villagers, Dong leaves are not only sold during Tet but also throughout the year.

The leaves are used for wrapping traditional cakes, including Banh Day (round cake made of sticky rice flour) and Chung cake (glutinous square rice cake), on special occasions.

Villagers often sell Dong leaves wholesale as local restaurants are major purchasers of the product.

Each Dong leave is worth between VND800 and VND1,000, and the price often rises to between VND1,500 and VND1,700 in the last lunar month ahead of the Lunar New Year.

Dong leaves from Trang Cat village are highly sought-after as they are soft, have an eye-catching color, and a pleasant odor.

Using these leaves to wrap Chung cake adds an attractive green color to the cake.

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