Why do Western people often pour pancakes to celebrate the Lunar New Year, what does it mean?

Pancake is one of the indispensable foods on the occasion of the Lunar New Year on May 5 of the people of the Southwest. This is a dish that means family reunion and convergence.

The Lunar New Year on the 5th of May has existed for a very long time and has quite a special significance in the culture of Orientals in general and Vietnamese people in particular. On this day, families often prepare offerings to offer to the high steps to pray for a warm harvest and smooth sailing.

Southern people celebrate the Lunar New Year quite simply, very simply like many other regions, but for them, this New Year also has a special meaning. Southern people call the Doan Ngo New Year the half-year Tet to pray for favorable work, good seasons, and fruitful trees. This is also an opportunity for them to gather with their families after half a year of hard work and equip them with traditional food to offer to their grandparents and ancestors.

In particular, pancakes are a typical folk cake of the South, often indispensable in many families on the 5th day of the 5th lunar calendar - Lunar New Year. On this day, many families in the West often get up early, prepare ingredients, pour pancakes, and make offerings to grandparents for the day of family reunion.

Author Nham Hung (73 years old), a historical researcher in the Southwest, said that the custom of eating pancakes on the Lunar New Year has been around for a long time, about 40 years ago. If on the Lunar New Year, every house has braised meat and tacos, then the Lunar New Year cannot be without pancakes, besides a tray of offerings to their grandparents. "This is a unique culinary culture, associated with rituals, family affection and associated with local culinary ingredients," he shared.

The author explained that there are many reasons for Western people to eat pancakes on this occasion, such as pancakes are a convergent dish, a dish that must be made by many people and eaten by many people, bringing the spirit of cohesion and sharing joy. Secondly, it is a dish that replaces rice for a whole year, both filling and delicious and strange.

Thirdly, on the occasion of the 5th day of the 5th lunar calendar, the sky began to "fall into thunderstorms", there was heavy rain accompanied by lightning, signaling that the rainy season had arrived. At this time, the plants are good and fresh, wild vegetables grow a lot, all kinds such as young mango leaves, convex sand leaves, cach leaves, lentils, mausoleums... very suitable for eating pancakes. According to composer Nham Hung, raw vegetables in the West are not only a delicious dish but also a medicine to prevent and treat diseases, served with other dishes to help stimulate digestion.

"Every May 5th, the children and grandchildren in the house gather, people go to pick vegetables, people go to grind flour to pour cakes, people chop meat, experienced elders pour pancakes for the whole family, one thing for each person. The pancakes are cooked, served on a tray to offer to the grandparents, then the whole family gathers together, eats pancakes instead of rice, eats and talks happily," the composer added.

According to many people, the name pancake originates from the sound when processing this cake. The dough when poured into the pan has a sizzle sound, so people use it to give it a name to make it easy to remember. Depending on conditions and preferences, Western people can make pancakes with different fillings, simply with minced meat filling, river shrimp, more specially, with minced Siamese duck meat, then seasoned and stir-fried.

Also according to composer Nham Hung, Western pancakes are usually large in size, a cake must be eaten by 2 people. To have a delicious pancake, mixing flour is an important step. The basic ingredients are rice flour, coconut milk, turmeric, and green onions. Experienced people when pouring cakes, the crust is beautiful, fragrant, crispy, with a fatty, sweet taste. Western pancakes are delicious, the crust must be thin, the rim is crispy, not crushed and round, and the filling is evenly spread after being folded in half.

There are about 20 different types of vegetables such as fish lettuce, basil, lettuce, broccoli, convex sand, sand convex with sand and sand and sand and vegetables such as fish lettuce and lettuce and green vegetables such as fish lettuce and basil and green vegetables such as fish lettuce and vegetables to eat with pancakes. When eating vegetables, add the crust, roll up the filling, dip in sweet and sour fish sauce mixed with sugar, lemon, minced chili, red radish, white radish cut into thin strips.

Besides, there may also be some opinions that May 5 is also the time when bamboo shoots and termite mushrooms are in season. These are 2 special fuels to make delicious pancakes, so they choose to eat pancakes on this day.

Many people in the South shared: "In the ancestral offering tray on the day of the Lunar New Year in the South, there must be a plate of pancakes. The fun of this cake is to be able to enjoy and talk while waiting for the new cakes to be on the plate. Country pancakes are crispy, the taste is sweet and warm, the love of the countryside of gentle and sincere people".

And every year, every early morning on the 5th of the 5th lunar month, the people of the South are busy preparing fuel to wait for the traditional cake to be poured to offer to their ancestors and enjoy it together.