IELTS Speaking part 2: A dish eaten in special occasion

Topic cue card:

Describe a traditional meal that you prepare in your country on special occasions.

You should say:

When you eat that meal
How you prepare it
What ingredients are used to prepare it

and explain why you enjoy it.

Answer:

I would like to talk about the Banh chung. It is a special dish that is never absent on the table on the Tet holiday – the lunar new year in Vietnam.

Tet holiday is the most important occasion in a year to Vietnamese people, similar to the Christmas time in Eastern countries. On this occasion, people will return home and enjoy the time with their family after a long year of hard work. They will have great time enjoying the traditional dishes like red sticky rice, candied fruit, red pumpkin seeds, and of course, banh chung.

Banh chung is made with glutinous rice, stuffed with mung bean and pork, and wrapped into a square shape with a special leaf called the la dong. People often make many banh chung at the same time because they take a long time to be cooked. Normally, the banh chung is boiled overnight for at least 12 hours in a big pot full of water.

Boiling banh chung is also a nice time for the young, because this is the only time in the year they are allowed to stay up late to watch the pot. They often gather around the fire, playing cards or talking throughout the night.

When the banh chung is well cooked, it has a distinct green color and tasty flavor that can make you drool. Banh chung is often eaten with pickled shallots and is extremely delicious. However, you will gain lots of weight eating too much banh chung because it is high in calories and carbohydrates. Many people complain that they have to go on a diet after the Tet holiday because of this special dish.

I love banh chung not only because it is delicious but also because it reminds me of my childhood when I was living with my parents. At that time we prepared banh chung for ourselves, but now we are so busy that we could only buy them from the stores, and the taste is so much different from what I had in the past – maybe because I used to put a lot of love and care to the banh chung that I made with my family.

Comment:

You can use the answer for this topics (with proper adjustments) in similar topics as follows:

1.    Describe a traditional food item in your country.
2.    Describe a meal you know how to prepare.
3.    Describe a national festival in your country.
4.    Describe a meal you enjoy eating.
5.    Describe a widely celebrated occasion in your country.
6.    Describe an occasion that you celebrated recently.