Tết holiday – Vietnamese Lunar New Year or simply Tet Vietnam is the most significant festival in the S-shaped country. As a result of being calculated by the lunar calendar, the Tet festival often occurs at the end of January or the beginning of February, which is later than New Year’s Day.

Tết is about home cooking. When it comes to Tết, bánh Chưng (the cube-shaped rice cake) and bánh Tét (the cylindrical-shaped rice cake) are the must-have food. They are the soul of Tết, representing Vietnamese tradition and culture. Making Bánh Chưng is one of the important activities of Vietnamese people to prepare for the longest holiday of the year. 

Bánh Chưng are made with just a handful of ingredients and taste absolutely delicious – sticky from the sticky rice, rich from the pork and mung beans and fragrant from the leaves (lá dong). During Tết 2021, IU Buddy Club, a student club that support for international students coming to IU-VNU has organized a small workshop about Bánh Chưng making process. 

The first layer, sticky rice.

The second layer, mung beans. The third layer, pork