During holidays and festivals, the H'Mong ethnic community often organise a contest of pounding 'Giay cake'. The contest attracts a large number of locals and visitors. |
To make 'Giay cake', the local people prepare sticky rice. |
The sticky rice is cooked into 'xoi' (sticky rice dish). |
People prepare the tools to pound the cake. |
The locals prepare banana leaves to wrap the cake. |
Instead of cooking oil or fat, they use egg yolks, to spread evenly on the tools, so that when pounding the cake, they are not sticky with powder. |
They have to constantly check the doneness of the sticky rice, which partly determines the deliciousness and elasticity of the cake. |
The cooked sticky rice will be put into a mortar to be pounded. |
People take turns pounding the sticky rice continuously while it's still hot, to ensure smoothness and elasticity. |
The finer and more flexible the sticky rice is pounded, the whiter, smoother and more delicious the cake will be. |
After being pounded, 'xoi' will be cut into parts. |
Then the sticky rice parts will be molded into cakes. |
The H'Mong people believe that Giay cake represents the moon and the sun, the rounder the cake is moulded, the more beautiful it is. |
Scoring is the most interesting phase of the contest. |
Of course, the audiences are indispensable. |