Vietnam · Vietnam
Bánh Chưng (Vietnamese Square Sticky Rice Cake)
A traditional square sticky rice cake with mung bean and pork filling, wrapped in banana leaves.
Bánh chưng is made for the new year, and the square is not a stylistic choice but a practical one: the four corners of a square wrap easily with banana leaf and keep the rice and filling together through a long boil. Every family has its own method, and the balance between rice and filling varies widely. What everyone agrees on is the green of the leaf, the sweetness of the mung bean and the fat of the pork.
Ingredients
- sticky rice, soaked1000 g
- split mung beans, soaked400 g
- pork belly, cubed500 g
- banana leaves, wilted8 pieces
- fine salt12 g
- black pepper4 g
- fish sauce30 ml
- shallots, minced60 g
- sugar4 g
Directions
- 1
Toss sticky rice with 6 g salt; let stand 30 minutes.
- 2
Cook mung beans in water 25 minutes until soft; mash; season with 4 g salt.
mash holds together - 3
Marinate pork with fish sauce, shallots, sugar, pepper and remaining salt 30 minutes.
- 4
Place a layer of rice on banana leaf, add a layer of mung, then pork, then more rice; fold into a tight square; tie with twine.
- 5
Boil in a large pot of water 6 hours, replenishing water as needed.
rice is fully tender and greenish - 6
Press under a heavy weight 4 hours to form a firm square.
- 7
Unwrap; cut into wedges; serve warm or cold.
Source: WorldBite Editorial · WorldBite Proprietary Editorial Content