Authentic Banh Chung – Vietnamese Sticky Rice Cake

On February the 12th this year, Vietnamese New Year ‘Tet’ takes place. On this special day the Vietnamese traditionally eat Banh Chung, which is a type of sticky rice cake. We wanted to share a recipe for this delicious dish so everyone can experience a bit of Vietnam at home!

What you’ll need for Banh Chung:

• 1,5 cups of Mung Beans washed and soaked in water for 4 hours
• 5.5 cups of Kaijae sticky rice Washed and soaked in water for 4 hours
• 500 gr. Pork Belly Cut into cubes
• 2,5 table spoon Salt
• 3 table spoons Ground Black Pepper
• 1 table spoon vegetable oil
• 3 fried shallots
• 2 table spoons Thanh Ha fish sauce
• 1 kg Buenas Banana Leaves Defrost

Time to cook!

Place the mung beans in a pot and cover them with water. Then bring them to boil on medium heat and reduce to simmer for about 20-30 minutes until they become soft and mashable. Don’t forget to stir!

Mash into a paste with a spoon or potato masher. Add 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper and the fried shallot and vegetable oil.

Add 1 tsp salt to the sticky rice. Then add 0,5 tsp salt, 1.5 tsp pepper, the fish sauce, and shallots to the pork cubes.

Now layout 2 banana leaves on top of each other, one horizontally, one vertically. If you want a square shape you should use a square mold for this part, but it is not a must. The darker side of the leaves should be facing you.

Now add about a cup of rice to the middle of the leaves and distribute it evenly with the back of a spoon. Then add about a cup of the mung bean mash and a few pork cubes on top of the rice. After that, add another layer of sticky rice.

Now wrap up the leaves as a present. Add another layer of leaves to make sure no water can reach the rice during the cooking process. Wrap them with some rope so the leaves won’t fold open.

Bring a large stockpot of water to boil and add the cakes to them. Put a heavy object on top to make sure they stay submerged in the water. Let this simmer for 6-8 hours.

Unwrap the cakes to serve and cut them into slices. For that traditional Vietnamese experience, eat the cakes with pickled unions (Dua Hanh), enjoy!

This recipe is also available in our New Year Magazine, click here to download. 

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