With simple and rustic ingredients, each mung bean cube, banh dau xanh, is considered a representative of the country’s flavour, showing the delicacy and ingenuity of industrious workers.

Located in the Hanoi-Hai Phong-Quang Ninh tourist triangle, Hai Duong city is an ideal destination for tourists from all directions. Its mung bean product is therefore one of the most chosen gifts for family and friends after a trip here.

Pham Le Giang, a Vietnamese student living in Leeds (UK), said: “When I was in Vietnam, at every holiday like Tet, there is always a box of banh dau xanh on my family's altar. When I study abroad, I bring these cakes to international students. Everyone loves them. Looking at them, I remember the homeland and the unique characteristics of our country."

Currently, most of the preparation steps such as preliminary treatment, roasting, grinding, mixing of fats... have been mechanized. However, in the past, the cake was made entirely by hand. The manufacturing process is not too complicated, but requires secret recipes from each family.

Banh dau xanh Hai Duong is indeed attractive for its sweet and rustic taste. Over the generations, these cubes are still packaged in small portions, on the box often printed the words: "Enjoy with good friends with delicious tea". It is a "charm" of the delicate way to taste this Vietnamese dessert. The tea has a slightly pungent taste. Everything mixes together to create a sweet, fragrant and lingering flavour.

After almost 100 years of maintaining a traditional profession, the people of Hai Duong are proud to have a production system with more than 50 brands, which are favoured by consumers nationwide and exported to many international markets.

Mr Tang Ba Hoanh, historical researcher, former director of Hai Duong Provincial Museum, said, “At the beginning there were only a few manufacturing establishments and this product from the region won the prize at the World Expo. From the unification of the country, production has been in full swing. The ingredients for the baking are only sugar, fat, mung beans and grapefruit flower essential oils."

In today's diverse and rich confectionery market, Hai Duong mung bean cake asserts a certain position as it is not just a type of cake or gift, but also a part of oriental culture.

Recipe for 4 people:

Ingredients

- 200g mung beans

- 150-200g of sugar

- 1 spoon of glutinous rice flour

- 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil

- 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla or grapefruit flower essential oils

Preparation

- Soak the beans for a few hours and steam until tender.

- Crush the beans and mix them with the sugar. Simmer the beans over medium heat for about 20 minutes.

- Add the flour and oil mixture to the pot for another 10 minutes, then add the vanilla.

- Allow the final product to cool to be seared and divided into small pieces. Enjoy with tea.

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