Lunar New Year Festival in Vietnam Features U.S. Pork with Rice Cakes

USMEF shared the taste of U.S. pork with hundreds of young professionals in Vietnam at the Round Sticky Rice Cake Festival, a celebration of the Vietnamese Lunar New Year organized in partnership with the Saigon Tourist Hospitality College.

Funded by the National Pork Board, USMEF’s goal was to engage students in the hospitality industry and highlight U.S. pork, which was used as the main ingredient in dishes served during the festival in Ho Chi Minh City.

Lunar New Year Festival in Vietnam Features U.S. Pork with Rice CakesIn Vietnam, the celebration is formally referred to as “Tet,” a shortened Vietnamese reference to the “Festival of the First Morning of the First Day.

More than 400 people attended the Rice Cake Festival, which was livestreamed and shared on the college’s Facebook page. More than 8,000 users viewed the livestream. A recording of the livestream can be seen here.

“Each year as Tet arrives, Vietnamese people prepare traditional rice cakes as a way of recognizing ancestors during the first three days of the new lunar year. These cakes are one of the symbols for Tet and the main purpose is to wish for a prosperous and healthy year for Vietnamese families,” explained Sabrina Yin, USMEF director in the ASEAN region. “Along with sharing U.S. pork with those in attendance, the Round Sticky Rice Cake Festival included a cooking competition featuring U.S. pork with rice cakes. After the festival, we distributed the dishes from the competition to less fortunate households in and around Ho Chi Minh City.”

Megan Francis, USDA agricultural attaché of the Agricultural Trade Office in Ho Chi Minh City, delivered opening remarks at the festival.

SOURCE: USMEF