Ngũ (五) - 5 is the number representing Five basic elements of Eastern philosophy, which implies the concept of constant mobilization in the development and harmonization of favorability and incompatibility. 

Moreover, Ngũ (五) also appears in the “Five senses” associated with Huế culinary art, as artisan Mai Thị Trà once said: “Huế people not only eat food with the mouth, but they also use all five senses”, including sight-eating, smell-eating, taste-eating, hearing-eating, and finally, enjoy eating with the whole heart.

Ngũ Bính - 5 types of confections selected from imperial votive offerings to emperors and ancestors in Huế royal cuisine, respectively, are Chẩm Bính, Sâm Bính - Hoài Bính, Cộ Bính, Liên Tử Bính, Pháp Lam Bính. Those served in the palace must meet the severe requirements of a fine dish that is pleasing for the glance and satisfying for the flavors. The sweets are not only for dessert or accompaniments to the tea, but also convey the meticulousness of artisans in processing and decorating stuff in order to encapsulate all the quintessence of contemporary Huế cuisine and aesthetics.

At that time, the Huế natives actively refined shades and temperatures of colors to help identify the country through visuals, hence, setting it apart from Western influence, simultaneously resonating with Oriental culture. As mentioned, Huế’s painting colors are incredibly distinctive, splendid but not glaring, lively but still elegant, alluring, and haughty. 

The art of producing sweet delicacies incorporates Huế’s colors, which stands for an enduring strength of the previous era and a profound source of energy that connects individuals to their ancestors spiritually. The thurified dishes, which resemble a palette, soften the solemnity of the place of worship while spreading warmth and boundless reverence.

For the time being, those choice viands are only treated on special occasions and Tết holidays because of their sophistication in terms of popularizing and passing down to following generations. Few people have adequate patience, most fundamentally, the mind - heart - feelings dedicated enough to making these. In that way, the sweets signify vitality, reunion, and happiness. The palm-sized treats with a vibrant hue, like the gold and silver bars that were given as gifts, communicate true devotion.

In daily life, sweets are not only a blessing or manna once incense has been offered, but they are also a joy for children. They collect the colorful glass wrapping paper after eating to utilize them as toys. Their transparent effect turns into a prism that alters everything's color and originates undemanding pleasures. The glass pieces are now like a miracle, keeping memories alive and framing them so that when people see them, they are taken back to a simple yet proud childhood where they held a priceless treat. 

Bánh Hoài - Bánh Sâm are mainly made from fresh lotus seed or mung bean, roasted Bình Tinh powder with pandan leaves as a floured coat. Lotus seeds or mung beans are ground into a well-kneaded powder and then stirred with white granulated sugar on the stove until the combination is dry and sticky. Next, the combination is hand-shaped into ginseng roots and tubers. Sâm (ginseng), hoài (yam) in traditional medicine are healthful. After the king enjoyed the main course with many nourishing dishes, the dessert was required to be "tender" concerning nutritional values to ensure good digestion. The use of the image of ginseng and yam helps elevate the simplicity and purity of the afters' ingredients, in line with the criteria of making the perfect ending for royal banquets.

In the final touch, the cakes are dried up for three days and nights to be completely dry. After that, pieces of colored paper are cut out and wrapped around the body of the cakes to adorn them with royal patterns.

Bánh Cộ can be made from glutinous rice flour, or Bình Tinh flour, mung bean flour, bare lotus seeds, and granulated sugar. The ingredients are simmered on low heat for 12 hours. Afterward, the dough is put into the mold. Depending on the needs and purposes of use, people will use different molds to print a word on the cakes accordingly, such as “longevity” (寿), “blessing” (福), “happiness” (喜), or lotus flower (Lian Zi). Next, the cakes are desiccated on a charcoal stove for another 10 hours to achieve the desired level of dryness and crispness. Lastly, the cakes are wrapped in iridescent mirror paper and constructed as a tower.

The cake tower is carefully wrapped in a layer of translucent paper so that it appears more exquisite. The tower has many sizes, tiers, and shapes, but the common point among towers is that it has the largest section at the bottom and gradually decreases towards the top. In some Buddhist traditional confectionery firms, the cake tower will be arranged on an octagonal scale like the Phước Duyên pagoda tower to symbolize the Buddhist spirit. 

The components for making Pháp Lam cakes are very opulent and sophisticated. The filling is made from sugar-preserved stuff such as lotus seed jam, papaya jam, raisins, dried cucumber, tomato jam, squash jam, tangerine peel jam, pineapple jam, ginger jam, carrot jam, glutinous rice flour, and sugar syrup. Ripe fruits and vegetables are cut into small pieces and poached with sugar syrup to make them candied fruits. The candied fruits are mixed and kneaded with glutinous rice flour to turn into a sticky mass, which is rolled into a square cylinder. It will be cut into slices of moderate thickness to be packaged.

Each outer box comprises 6 different colored pieces of craft paper corresponding to Pháp Lam's color scheme principles. The folding technique of the box is very elaborate, requiring certain ingenuity. The pieces of paper are cut into standard sizes, precisely folded, and then interlocked to create a square box. This is also an item reflecting the beauty of culture and tradition in Huế royal cuisine.

This nosh is made by roasting glutinous rice flour with pandan leaves on low heat until the combination starts smelling, and pandan leaves are breakable. Then, cooked sugar water is added to the combination, and it will be shaped by the mold.

Chẩm Bính has a similar shape to the imperial pillow sham (or folding pillow, back pillow). In the palace at that time, pillows were used to rest hands, lean back, and prop head depending on habits when enjoying drinking tea, reading books, or resting. Chẩm Bính is assembled from several “leaves”, which are in the form of square prisms, to build a large block of small ones. In each “leaf” of the block, there are about 7 to 10 miniature pieces. Those square-prism parts are wrapped in colorful craft papers, attached with hand-cut flowers at both ends, and then tied with colored strings.

Lotus seed cake has the main ingredients of mung bean, roasted glutinous flour, and sugar.  Pod-peeled mung beans are soaked in water the day before so that the beans will rise. Then, the beans are stirred in the pan with sugar until the mixture is mushy. When the beans are cooked, wait for the lower heat before dividing them into equal parts and rolling them into the size of a lotus seed. The bean balls are covered with glutinous rice flour. After that, they are dehydrated in the oven for 6-8 hours on a coal fire while constantly stirring to ensure the cakes are dry on all sides. The outcome has a robust crust that does not fracture yet is soft and spongy on the inside.

When the cakes are completely cooled, artisans proceed to wrap the cakes with colorful glass paper, twist the 2 ends, and even cut tassels sometimes to create sparkling candies. Lotus seed cakes have a rounder and softer look as compared to square, angular cakes. They seemingly appear to be in conflict, yet they showcase both aspects of each other, producing a cohesive and vivid whole.

In general, the aforementioned dainty sweetmeats are made from vegetable flour, beans, and candied fruits. The ingredients go through stages of being stirred slowly, formed, and dried from 8 to 12 hours on a charcoal stove. The finished products are aromatic, crispy, and ensure a long preservation duration without specific conditions required. Those confections have a crumbly texture, it is best to eat them leisurely to fully appreciate the essence. 

So to speak, when ingesting, people have to 'silence to listen'. Silence means to close the mouth while eating, first, to prevent powder from scattering, second, to allow the cake to melt in the tongue, blended with a little bit of hot tea. More metaphorically, listening implies perceiving the ancient incense reverberating, listening to the flowing rhythm of life, the sounds of , and the talented hands of the artisans putting their love into this romantic gift.

This 5-piece postcard comes from the inspiration of 5 kinds of Hue’s imperial confections, entitled Ngũ Bính. The container’s dieline is identical to the “Pháp Lam”- based accordion fold - the heritage of the Nguyễn dynasty. Each component portrays a royal sweet victual and the information of each is displayed on the inner packaging of the container. A flower pin of Hue’s defined pattern is also attached to increase applicability for multi-purposes of this set.

Here, we cherish tangible things. Ngũ Bính will perform as a collectible artifact, not only to give and keep but also to physically foster the quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine through Huế specialities' imagery.

A project by @aisq.delia

Copy & assisted by @klnt238

Concept art / Graphic design / 3D visualization / Rendering

Spring 2023

Font used: Times New Roman, Finesse from @behalf_studio

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