Famous delicious cake specialty – Sesame crackers from Cam Le, Da Nang

Da Nang, Vietnam has a famous delicious cake specialty - Cam Le sesame crackers.

In October 2012, Cam Le sesame crackers were recognized by the Vietnam Record Organization and entered the Top 10 delicious cakes and famous gifts of Vietnam.
Sesame crackers have been around for a long time and have become a specialty of Quang Nam - Da Nang, but sesame crackers produced in Cam Le district are famous for their deliciousness.

Sesame crackers are made from rice flour, sticky rice, sesame, sugar, crushed fresh ginger, and cinnamon powder to create a fragrant aroma. The rice must be good quality, fragrant sticky rice, soaked in water for an hour to soften the rice and sticky rice, then washed, drained, and put into a mortar and ground into a fine powder. Soak the dough in water until it is just wet enough to create moisture, so that when the dough is poured into the mold it will be sticky.

To make a sesame cake, you have to go through many steps. In the past, sesame cake was also called seven-fire cake, because the processing stage had to go through the fire seven times, but today the process has been improved and simplified.

1. First is the steaming and baking stage:

Pour the batter into the cake mold to form thin slices of cake. The cake mold is pre-sealed, then steamed for about 5 minutes until the cake is cooked. The cake has been steamed, then moved to the baking stage. The uniqueness, the "soul" of sesame crackers lies in this baking stage.

The cake is baked twice. The first time, the charcoal fire is very hot, baking for about 10 minutes, turning the cake frequently to dry both sides evenly. The second time, the charcoal fire is medium hot, baking for about 10 to 15 minutes, giving the cake a crispy and spongy texture.

This is an important step, requiring the baker to time the cake properly and change the cake from high heat to medium heat so that the sesame crackers dry evenly and become crispy and spongy. If left for too long, the cake will burn and become hard and unappetizing.

2. The next step is to cook the sugar water and roast the sesame seeds:

The secret to making delicious cakes depends on the technique of caramelizing the sugar. If the sugar is not caramelized enough, the cake will not stick to the sesame, and if it is overcooked, the cake will be hard, bitter, dark, and not silky. The sesame must be white, round and plump, and must be roasted until it is just done, fragrant, but still retains its ivory color and must not be burnt.

The third step is to coat the cake with sugar and sesame: The cooked sugar water is placed on a warm charcoal stove, take each slice of dried cake and dip it in the sugar water until the cake is evenly soaked, then quickly roll it over the sesame tray placed right next to it so that the sesame is evenly coated.

The process of coating the cake with sugar and sesame also requires skill and gentleness so that the sugar and sesame blend together to create fragrant and crispy cakes. A special feature of Cam Le sesame crackers is that the cake only retains its original flavor when made by hand.

Nowadays, some steps such as pounding rice are replaced by milling, steaming flour with firewood instead of gas, but the cake drying steps must be completely done with charcoal (charcoal), if replaced by electric drying, coal drying or other fuels, the cake will not meet the requirements. Therefore, all cake making establishments must follow the manual cake making process.

A qualified sesame crackers must be spongy, crispy, with the sweetness of sugar, the richness of sesame, the spiciness of ginger and the strong aroma of Tra My cinnamon. When breaking the crackers in half, you will see the shimmering golden threads drawn out by the sugar.

3. The final step is packaging:

The freshly processed sesame crackers are transferred to the packaging stage. Each package is about 500g. The packaging is beautiful and eye-catching, the cake package fits in the hand, the square cake is small and easy to eat, the cake has an attractive color, the yellow color of roasted sesame, the apricot color of refined sugar and the fragrant smell of ginger.

The packaging process also requires proper technique. When putting the cake in a plastic bag, the cake must be dry and no longer hot, and the bag must be sealed tightly. This type of cake is especially "afraid" of wind. If the packaging and storage are not done carefully, the cake will become soft and watery immediately.

- In terms of eye-catching and taste, Cam Le sesame crackers are also considered excellent because they "awaken" all five senses of diners:

First, the eyes see many colors: ivory white of roasted sesame, apricot yellow of caramelized sugar.

Second, the nose can smell many scents: roasted sesame, Tra My cinnamon, the gentle aroma of ginger. The tongue can taste many flavors: the sweetness of sugar, the richness of sticky rice flour and the fatness of roasted sesame, the spicy aroma of ginger and cinnamon. The mouth can chew: soft, hard, spongy, crispy. The ears can hear the crackling sound of the cake.

- In terms of nutritional value, Cam Le sesame crackers meet the standards of a good food with very high nutritional value. It combines all the basic ingredients: sugar, starch, protein, fat and minerals and vitamins.

For Quang Nam - Da Nang, sesame crackers are an indispensable product in every family, especially on festivals, Lunar New Year, happy occasions, especially on the death anniversaries of grandparents and ancestors.

Today, the traditional profession of making sesame crackers is still being continued by descendants and people of Cam Le with famous brands. From a village product, sesame crackers have become famous in the market, have registered ownership and are present in many localities and rural areas across the country and are brought by overseas Vietnamese as gifts from their hometown to foreign lands.

Sesame crackers have become a beautiful product that contributes to diversifying the sophisticated and profound folk cuisine of Quang Nam - Da Nang and more than that, those small cakes also keep the fire of a craft village alive forever. Until now, Cam Le sesame crackers have become famous everywhere, especially sesame crackers are sold in all candy stores in Da Nang city.

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