Thanh Tri village in Hoang Mai district is one of the oldest villages in Hanoi. In the 18^th Hung King dynasty, people reclaimed land and learned cultivation from Prince An Quoc. It is believed that steamed rice pancake making began in this period.

Thanh Tri villagers hold a festival every lunar March 1^st to worship their ancestors. Since 2008, a steamed rice pancake making contest has been included as a festival highlight.

At this year’s contest, 7 hamlets, the Women’s Association, and the Youth Union of Thanh Tri village are competing.

Each team is asked to make both sheet pancakes and rolled pancakes. Experienced and noted pancake makers comprise the jury, which evaluates entries according to the following criteria: traditional method, time, the quantity of pancakes (over 60 rolled pieces for 1 kg), the quality of the pancakes (thin, durable, smooth, and uniformly white), fish sauce, and presentation.

Here are some photos of this year’s contest taken by VOV5 reporters:

Thanh Tri villagers and festival-goers arrive early in advance of the opening.

Contestants are busy preparing their costumes and tools.

The traditional costume is one of the criteria: brown clothes, scarf to bind the hair, wooden clogs, ...

Each person takes charge of one preparation for entering the game.

Đình hamlet finishes its preparation. Its team includes elders, youngsters, men, and women, fulfilling the criterion of multiple generations.

At 14.30, Nguyen Van Luong, President of Thanh Tri ward’s Fatherland Front, beats a drum to start the competition.

Grinding rice is the first step.

The grinder is made of stone. It is placed on a bamboo or wooden pedestal.

Contestants are encouraged to use as many traditional tools as possible.

Mixing distilled rice water in the right proportion is an important step. Batter that is too thin or too thick can not produce an acceptable steamed rice pancake.

Medical staff check steamed pancakes of all teams to make sure borax is not used.

All team members hurry to make as much rice pancake as possible.

The mold is made of cotton, tightly stretched over a bamboo loop, and fits the pot containing boiled water.

Banana leaves, after being cleaned, are folded at 4 corners and oil is applied to keep the pancake from sticking to the container.

Each team is allowed to use only 2 pots.

Mrs. Lach, 92, makes some pancakes. There are several Thanh Tri elders who, like Trach, still make pancakes.

3 generations of this family are on one team.

Fish sauce contributes to making Thanh Tri steamed rice pancakes famous. The fish sauce is mixed with boiled water, chilis, peppers, vinegar, and notably belostomatid essence.

Pork-pies complete a stack of steamed rice pancakes.

Both sheet and rolled pancakes are displayed on this tray.

Judges work hard to select a winner.

Older villagers sit together to comment on entries and recall the time when they made pancakes for a living.

The winners are announced.

Though the prizes are just small amount of money, they bring great joy to the Thanh Tri villagers.