What do Vietnamese eat during the Lunar New Year? “Square glutinous rice dumplings” take center stage on the table

Reporter Chen Tzu-yin / Taipei reporting

While Taiwan is bustling with Lunar New Year celebrations, what kinds of dishes grace the Vietnamese New Year table?


▲ Have you seen Vietnam’s square glutinous rice dumplings? (Photo / Reporter Chen Tzu-yin)

It turns out that the “zongzi” (glutinous rice dumplings), beloved in Taiwan during the Dragon Boat Festival, actually play the starring role on Vietnamese holiday tables. However, the meat dumplings made in Vietnam for the New Year look quite different from those in Taiwan—these square-shaped dumplings use locally common g室栋??? with ingredients including only... no toppings, sealed edges, and pork, and the wrapping method is also somewhat similar to Taiwan’s, with the fillings varying slightly. The dumplings are neatly arranged inside the large leaves, and can be wrapped either by folding the leaves into a square shape or by using bamboo leaves directly. They are then tied up and completed in just a few minutes by housewives.

 
 
▲ The three types of fillings are placed in the dumpling leaves in sequence. (Photo / Reporter Chen Tzu-yin)

 
▲ After wrapping, the dumplings need to be boiled for over 3 hours until the fillings are fully cooked. (Photo / Reporter Chen Tzu-yin)

Another very important aspect of celebrating the Lunar New Year in Vietnam is “ancestor worship.” To honor their ancestors, traditional Vietnamese New Year meals prepare a variety of delicacies, among which “rooster meat” is a must. In addition, there are dishes such as pork aspic made from pork, New Year cake, Vietnamese sticky rice with mung beans, as well as pastries made from wood ear mushrooms, pig ears, and pig skin, paired with pickled red onions for a refreshing and flavorful taste. There are also dishes like braised pork leg with bamboo shoots and pork trotter soup, all of which are common festive foods for ancestor worship.

Deng Fang-lan, who has been married to Taiwan for 10 years, said: “Actually, in Vietnam, the usual dumplings are also triangular like those in Taiwan, but the square ones are only prepared by housewives during the Lunar New Year.”


▲ Vietnamese New Year dishes differ greatly from those in Taiwan due to the need for ancestor worship, among which roosters and square glutinous rice dumplings are essential. (Photo / Reporter Chen Tzu-yin)