Celebrating the Legacy of Hai Thuong Lan Ong

On February 10, residents of Huong Son District came together to create a gigantic cake to honor the 234th anniversary of the death of famed physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong.

This celebration is part of various events recognizing the legacy of Le Huu Trac, particularly with the designation of his tomb and memorial house as a national special cultural site.

Pham Quang Thiet, a local from Son Bang Commune, shared that he and fellow community members worked tirelessly to prepare a 300kg banh chung, marking the upcoming 300th anniversary of the physician’s birth (1724-2024).

Banh chung is a beloved traditional Vietnamese sticky rice cake made with glutinous rice, mung beans, and pork, all enveloped in dong leaves and boiled for several hours. This cake is a staple during the Lunar New Year (Tet) and symbolizes respect for ancestors as well as the significance of rice in Vietnamese culture.

Thiet detailed, “The cake’s ingredients included 270kg of sticky rice and 30kg of mung beans, wrapped in over 600 dong leaves. The cooking took 30 hours. Once it was cooked, we took the banh chung to the tomb as an offering.”

Preparing the cake took more than a day, which involved washing the leaves and soaking the rice. Wrapping the cake consumed another full day, followed by the lengthy cooking process. “We paid close attention to every detail to ensure the banh chung was cooked properly,” he noted.

On the morning of February 9, after wrapping the cake, a crane was employed to transfer the banh chung to the cooking location.

According to local authorities, after cooking, the cake was moved from the Hai Thuong Ecotourism Area for a ceremonial procession to the Hai Thuong memorial site and temple in Quang Diem Commune, Huong Son District.

After the offering ceremony, the banh chung will be displayed in front of Hai Thuong Lan Ong’s tomb and statue on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year, allowing locals and visitors to come and receive blessings.