It is not an exaggeration to say that you can find banh chung at almost every family in Vietnam, poor or rich, modern or traditional, during Tet, the most important festival of Vietnamese people when they celebrate the new lunar year. And for families in Tranh Khuc Village in Hanoi, that saying is literal because up to 90 out of 300 families here have been making banh chung for a living on this occasion for generations.

Dang Thi Thao has filled up her house will green leaves for days to wrap banh chung.

She cuts the leaves to make them fit the cake.

Sticky rice makes the skin of banh chung.

Mung bean and pork make its stuffing.

Normally people need a wooden square mold to wrap banh chung but those with skillful hands can wrap the cake without using the mold.

The cake will be boiled in 8-10 hours.

In recent years, Tranh Khuc villagers have switched from wood-fired oven to electric stove.

Many families in this village of Duyen Ha Commune, Thanh Tri District even have a vacuum sealer to preserve their products for shipments that may take several days to reach customers.

In days leading up to Tet, one family in Tranh Khuc may receive orders of 500 cakes on average and sometimes up to 1,000 cakes. Each costs VND30,000-50,000 ($1.3-$2.2).