Banh com from “heavenly pearls”
The green color of young buds shifting into spring
The origin of the specialty Hanoi banh com
Although the exact time and creator of the dish are unclear bánh cốm, but according to many recorded documents, banh com originated from Hang Than Street, also known as “Banh Com Street”.
Hang Than is an ancient street in Hanoi that has existed for a long time, since the days when the Cai and Nhi Ha rivers still flowed close to the foot of the Yen Hoa and Yen Phu dikes. At that time, there were northern boats and southern sails docking at the wharf, with heavy footsteps, burdened by the double baskets on shoulders carrying charcoal and coal, still bearing the black, shiny original grain of the wood (the name Hang Than also originated from there). Perhaps also because Hang Than is considered “elderly” in age, it is assumed to be the place where banh com originated.
“Banh Com Street” – Old Hang Than through the lens of a French photographer
The trade of making banh com on Hang Than Street today has also changed. In the past, only a few scattered houses in the street made banh com, but now there are about 50 shops. Previously, the stirring of com was done by hand over charcoal, but now it is replaced by machines and gas stoves. However, the ingredients and the way of making the cake remain unchanged.
In the time of our ancestors, the ingredients for com were prepared very simply, by stirring the com with granulated sugar, wrapped skillfully in green banana leaves to keep the cake for a long time. Later generations created the innovation of adding green bean paste and shredded coconut, which gradually evolved into the banh com of today.
By standard, a perfect banh com must have a coat of young green color, eye-catching and delicate like a talented painter skillfully mixing colors; when held in hand, one must feel the softness and elasticity with a certain stickiness, like the golden, honey-colored malt candy that in childhood someone would exchange for tin cans, chicken feathers, or duck feathers. The green bean filling must have a bright yellow color, finely mashed, with shredded coconut dotted inside.
Taking a bite, we feel the indescribable light sweetness blended with the nutty taste of green beans, and the crunchy texture of shredded coconut, slowly melting in the mouth, intoxicating. The moment of fully enjoying that “absolutely delicious” cake makes us dare to eat it very slowly, tentatively, as if fearing that if we eat too fast, we will not be able to savor the sweet aftertaste of banh com.
No one says banh com is fussy in appearance, but it is fussy in the selection of ingredients and processing. From the sticky rice that must reach the perfect fragrant softness, how plump the green beans must be, the ratio of sugar to com, to the temperature and how to stir the com? All stages are extremely meticulous and elaborate; whether the cake is delicious or not, beautiful or not, will tell us if the person who made that cake is truly dedicated, whether they put their whole heart into that cake or not. Each “green pearl of the earth” contains the scent of the countryside, embracing the “autumn lingering through the alley” of Do Thinh, gathering all the love for Hanoi into a sweet banh com...
The meaning of banh com
Banh com in wedding ceremonies
Speaking of the meaning of banh com, we cannot fail to mention its importance in the wedding ceremonies of the Vietnamese people.
If the husband-and-wife cake (banh phu the) has a round shape likened to the sky, then banh com has a square shape likened to fertile green land, which both has the meaning of “heaven and earth in harmony”, “favorable timing, favorable location, and harmonious people”, and is also a wish for the couple's future life to be prosperous, warm, happy, and to give birth to their first child “safe and sound”.
In terms of aesthetics, although today's wedding cakes are more elaborate in shape and ingredients, traditional cultural values are irreplaceable. On the wedding day, banh com is wrapped in cellophane, placed in a square box, and when arranged into a tray, it creates beauty for the betrothal gift offerings.
Banh com is placed in a square box, and when arranged into a tray, it creates beauty for the betrothal gift offerings
Banh com is also used as a gift for relatives and friends
What could be better than a green, soft, sweet, and nutty banh com that is imbued with the soul of Hanoi's autumn given as a gift. Parents enjoy banh com with a cup of faintly fragrant jasmine tea, feeling relaxed and light in heart, feeling the filial piety of their children for their parents.
Friends enjoy banh com and find it interesting, loving the “specialty of the Kinh Ky land” more, knowing how to appreciate the efforts of those who make the “fragrant grain, bitter toil many times over” rice. Especially for foreigners, banh com will be a gift that impresses them, creating affection for a Vietnam that has a diverse and rich culinary background.
Banh com as a snack
Banh com that grandparents save for their grandchildren, whether going far or near, to eat a piece of soft, fragrant cake, with a smile lingering on the corners of their eyes. Grandchildren buy banh com, sit together with grandparents and parents
after the evening meal, chatting animatedly, drinking a cup of green tea, and biting into a piece of banh com. Happiness is right here, what else do we need to search for far away?
Bao Minh Banh Com – Technology preserving tradition
Applying modern technology but still fully preserving the traditional flavor, Bao Minh Confectionery Company has done something wonderful with the Vietnamese banh com, helping the Hanoi flavor spread across all regions of the country.
What is special is that Bao Minh's banh com has a “shelf life” much longer than other banh com lines on the market, lasting longer while still ensuring softness, full flavor, and the scent of new com, blended with the green color of the countryside, creating an attraction not only for Vietnamese people but also for foreign tourists.
Bao Minh Banh Com applies modern technology but still fully retains the traditional flavor
Proud to be a brand loved by many customers on Hang Than Street – “Banh Com Street” for many years, Bao Minh always strives every day to bring customers the most delicious, cleanest, and highest quality banh com products. Thanks to that, Bao Minh's banh com is not only limited to Hanoi, but also distributed to all major supermarkets nationwide, receiving the welcome of customers across the 3 regions.
If you want to buy banh com as a gift for your grandparents, parents, as a gift for friends, or simply want to buy it for yourself to enjoy. Bao Minh Banh Com will be the product you are looking for – a brand that always focuses on preserving traditional flavors, preserving the most quintessence of Hanoi cuisine in particular and Vietnamese cuisine in general.
BAO MINH CONFECTIONERY JOINT STOCK COMPANY
Address: Lot B2-3-3a, Nam Thang Long Industrial Zone, Thuy Phuong Ward, Bac Tu Liem District, Hanoi
Hotline: 0906 874 464
Phone number: 0243 719 2355
Email: banhkeobaominh@gmail.com
Website: banhbaominh.com
