Delicious Trang Dinh traditional puffy pastry

Puffy pastry, also known as peng khua (laughing pastry) in Tay and Nung ethnic languages, is a traditional and unique delicious pastry of these two ethnic groups in Trang Dinh district. This is a pastry made from simple and rustic ingredients such as glutinous rice, taro, through the skillful hands of the people, it becomes a unique pastry with unforgettable flavors for those who have once had it as well as gift from the countryside every Tet. Currently, puffy pastry is not only sold in the province but also very popular with people in other provinces and cities.

In mid-December 2022, we had the opportunity to visit Mr. Mo Phuong Nhia’s family, zone 4, That Khe town, Trang Dinh district while his family was urgently making pastry for in time delivery to customers. Mr. Nhia shared: “Puffy pastry is my family’s traditional pastry, previously my family only made it to serve the our own needs for Tet. However, about 6 years ago, we realized that many people want to buy it, then we started to make it for sale. Every year in November, my family is busy making puffy pastry. Within 2 months (November and December), my family produced about 1.5 to 2 tons of raw puffy pastry (not yet fried), earning about 60 million VND. Currently, my family’s products are not only consumed in the district but also in other districts in the province and some provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Bac Giang…”

In the past, in Trang Dinh, almost every house knew how to make puffy pastry. When Lunar New Year was about to come, families are busy preparing ingredients for making pastry to offer it on the ancestral altar and trays at long tong festivals in beginning of the year to express gratitude to heaven and earth, ancestors, and pray for favorable weather, bountiful crops, and prosperous life. Ones offer their guests this pastry to show their respect and affection, which is also a way to “show off” the dexterity of the owner. This is also an indispensable gift when a daughter visits their parents at Lunar New Year. At the end of Tet, this is also the food brought along Trang Dinh people when they go to work and farm.

According to the people who make puffy pastry in Trang Dinh district, in order to make delicious puffy pastry, it is necessary to go through many stages and it requires the maker to be very skillful and meticulous. As soon as the 10th lunar month, people went to the market to choose delicious, round-grain sticky rice to make pastry. The rice is soaked in water with the ash of jute plant leaves, banana leaves or dried loofah leaves to make the pastry soft and delicious, creating a puffy texture when it is fried. After soaking, the rice is made into sticky rice and pounded with taro t powder, mixed with a little alcohol. At this stage, the people of Trang Dinh often pound by hand to make the dough soft and flexible, easy to roll and cut into thin, round pieces, like rice paper. After pounding and rolling, the pastry flour is cut into pieces as small as two fingers and then dried for about 5 to 6 days. The last step is to fry the pastry until it is puffy and stir the pastry with the sugar cane molasses until the golden brown sugar layer is evenly coated on the surface of each pastry.

Finished puffy pastry products

Mrs. Lam Thi Hai, area 4, That Khe town said: “Puffy pastry in Trang Dinh has been around for a long time, since I was a child, my mother and grandmother taught me how to make it. Every year, when Tet is coming, my family makes puffy pastry by hand to eat and offer to our ancestors.”

Currently, puffy pastry has become a commodity product, in Trang Dinh district, there are more than 40 households producing puffy pastry to sell for Tet with prices ranging from 10 to 15 thousand VND/bag of finished pastry; from 80 to 90 thousand VND/kg of raw pastry (not fried).

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngan, Dong Quang ward, Thai Nguyen city, Thai Nguyen province said: “When I come to Lang Son to visit relatives, I had a chance to try puffy pastry. This is a quite special pastry. When eating, I can feel the aroma of glutinous rice and the sweetness of sugar cane molasses. On Tet holiday every year, I also order Trang Dinh puffy pastry to eat and treat guests”

Ms. Nong Hai Ly, Deputy Head of the Culture and Information Division of Trang Dinh district, said: “Puffy pastry is a traditional dish handed down from one generation to another of Trang Dinh people. Over the long history, puffy pastry is not only an indispensable dish on Tet holiday but also a traditional pastry showing a unique culture of Trang Dinh people. Therefore, besides the traditional Vietnamese banh chung, puffy pastry is Tet, the warm atmosphere, the sweetness, the connection of the sacred family affection of the people in the district.