The distinctive festivals, landmarks and other features also open a door to the Mekong Delta province’s unique culinary specialties influenced by its cultural diversity.
For hundreds of years, the Pia cake (a cake filled with durian, shredded lard, salted egg yolk and mung bean paste), originally of the Hoa people, has been served and given as gifts by Soc Trang residents.
The Pia cake is served on special occasions during the year, including weddings and the Full Moon Festival. This round cake is seen as a symbol of fullness and family reunion.
The cake has a thin crust made of flour and a filling of durian, mung beans and taro with or without salted duck egg. The outer part can be uncovered layer by layer. As the cake is cut, the aroma of the filling is appetizing.
It’s said that the Pia cake first appeared in Soc Trang in the 17th century when Hoa people migrated to the south of Vietnam. Over the years, Pia cake was adjusted to match the taste buds of other people and it developed into a provincial specialty.
Traditionally, the Pia cake was made only for the Full Moon Festival and Tet (Lunar New Year). As with other such food items, the cake is now made and sold all year round. It has a shelf life of up to two months, instead of a fortnight.
In order to make an attractive, tasty Pia cake, bakers have to exercise sophisticated skills at several stages.
To make the crust, they mix the flour with sugar and finely mill the mixture into very thin layers.
The filling of durian, mung bean, taro and salted duck egg, or durian, steamed mung bean, taro and sugar is ground into fine paste and added with a bit of pork fat before being used to cover salted duck egg.
The baker then applies a layer of oil to the cake before putting it in the oven at an average of about 270 degrees Celsius. After 5-7 minutes, it is turned over, and baked for another 10 minutes until it turns yellow.
The Soc Trang Pia cake is special because the aroma of fresh durian is irreplaceable.
Soc Trang now has more than 50 Pia bakeries. Currently, with improved quality and promotion, many enterprises have started selling their product not only in other areas of Vietnam, but also in foreign countries like the US and Cambodia.
Today’s Pia cake varies a lot from the traditional version. It fillings now include not only mung bean, taro, durian, salted egg, but also lotus seeds and pineapple.
Source: VNA