It is not difficult to see images of mothers and grandmothers selling the Quang land ’s traditional cakes at some Da Nang’s markets. Although a few hundred ‘banh nam’, ‘banh chung’, ‘banh it’ or ‘xoa xoa’, ‘suong sam’ sold every day cannot help them to become rich, they can live fully with the traditional craft instead.

Ms Huynh Thi Le (right) sells cakes to customers at the market. Photo: TIEU YEN

Traditional cakes bearing childhood memories

For over 40 years, around 4 a.m on a daily basis, 62-year-old Mrs Nguyen Thi Nguyet, residing in Hoa Minh Ward, Lien Chieu District has woken up, tied more than a dozen big bowls of ‘xoa xoa’ ( a kind of jelly cooked from seaweed) and ‘suong sam’ (a kind of jelly cooked from Tiliacora triandra) - popular snacks of Quang Nam's people - on a motorbike and then gone with her husband to the ‘Da Nang Supermarket’ market to sell to some regular wholesalers and then gone back home to pick up more bowls to bring to Con market to retail.

As shared by Ms Nguyet, decades ago, ‘xoa xoa’ cooked by her mother became a familiar snack for the family. In addition to the milky, chewy, crunchy xoa xoa, her mother added some teaspoon of cane sugar cooked with a few pieces of pounded ginger, and ice cubes to form a sweet, fragrant cup of ‘xoa xoa’ to cool off on a summer day. Now, Ms Nguyet has also planted dozens of Tiliacora triandra to pick leaves for making cool ‘suong sam’.

Thanks to ‘xoa xoa’ made from seaweed with a natural sweetness mixed in with the taste of the sea instead of cooking with a ready-made crunchy, chewy powder, Ms Nguyet's stall has always attracted many people. For the time being, Ms Nguyet has a lot of wholesale customers at some markets in Da Nang, which can bring Ms Nguyet's family a stable income.

However, every day, she still chooses a corner in the Con market to retail since she wants to keep the traditional method of cooking ‘xoa xoa’ and ‘suong sam’ so that guests can have a venue to enjoy the authentic taste of the dish.

According to Ms Nguyet, although numerous places in Viet Nam have xoa xoa, the way it is processed and enjoyed by Quang Nam people is somewhat different with the thinly sliced rectangular shape of ‘xoa xoa’, and a little cane sugar cooked with ginger.

Older people often like to eat original 'xoa xoa' with only a little sugar added to feel the distinctive flavour of seaweed, while young people like to enjoy it with cane sugar cooked with ginger, ice, and coconut milk to bring a fresh feeling.

Mrs Nguyet and the dish of xoa xoa and suong sam cooked according to the traditional recipe of the Quang Nam people. Photo: TIEU YEN

The happiness of keeping traditional jobs

In the early morning, Ms Tran Thi Thanh, residing in An Hai Dong Ward, Son Tra District, went to Huynh Thi Le's stall of traditional cakes located on the side of An Hai Dong market to buy dozens of ‘banh nam’ and a tray of sweet sticky rice to put on her mother’s altar to worship the mother's death anniversary.

When her mother was still alive, she walked to the market to buy some ‘banh nam’ from Ms Le for breakfast every morning. For the time being, it has been nearly 5 years since her mother's death, Ms. Thanh has still kept the habit of buying a plate of banh nam and sweet sticky rice from Ms Le's stall to place on her mother's altar whenever there is an anniversary.

Ms Huynh Thi Le, residing in Ngoc Vinh Village, Dien Ngoc Commune, Dien Ban Town, Quang Nam Province, has had a stall of traditional cakes such as banh it, banh nam, banh chung, sweet sticky rice at An Hai Dong market for nearly 30 years. Her regular customers are mainly Quang Nam’s people living and working in Da Nang.

Despite the far distance or hectic weather, Ms Le has still travelled dozens of kilometres to Da Nang on a daily basis. She said that selling those cakes could not help her family become rich, but in return, she could live fully with the profession passed down by her parents.

'Banh nam', a familiar dish of Quang Nam’s people. Photo: TIEU YEN

At another small corner in Con market, Mrs Hoang Thi Lai's stall of traditional cakes such as ‘banh to’,’ banh it’, ‘banh dau xanh’, ‘banh tet’, ‘banh chung’, ‘banh xu xe’ has already a  familiar venue to Da Nang people for over 40 years.

“Currently, the demand for these cakes is not much, but people have still come to buy a little of each kind when their family has a party or an anniversary. Banh it, ‘banh nam’, ‘banh xeo’ or ‘banh hoc’ are still familiar dishes among Quang Nam locals. That’s also the reason why I am present at the market every day,” explained Mrs Lai.

Although Mrs Lai’s family advised her to rest and give the stall to others as she has been in her elderly years, she still wanted to commit to her stall because it is not easy to quit the career that has followed her for more than 40 years.

Sometimes, she had to take a few days off from the market but she missed the smell of banana leaves, the sweet taste around the stall, and regular customers who came to the counter every day and then shoved the money into her hand without asking the price. It seems that space and taste have become a part of her life.

" I will definitely sell these traditional cakes until I'm not healthy anymore", Mrs Lai smiled and confided.

Reporting by TIEU YEN- Translating by T.VY