Chung cake is a cake dish that is indispensable during every Tet holiday. Besides traditional chung cake, there are many different types with various fillings. Today, TasteVN introduces you to 2 recipes for brown rice chung cake, which are not only delicious but also good for health. Let’s cook this special cake together!
1. Brown rice chung cake
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Preparation
4 hours
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Brown rice chung cake For 2 people
Brown glutinous rice 500 gr Brown rice 500 gr Mung beans 500 gr (peeled) Dried shiitake mushrooms 100 gr Snow fungus 100 gr Lotus seeds 100 gr Chestnuts 100 gr Ginger 15 gr Green onions 15 gr Five-spice powder 1/2 teaspoon Soy sauce 2 tablespoons Oyster sauce 2 tablespoons Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Salt/sugar a little
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose good dried shiitake mushrooms
- Choose mushrooms that have a dark brown color with a slight black tint, intact stems, and rounded caps without any chips.
- Good dried shiitake mushrooms feel chewy when pressed with a fingernail, not brittle, and do not break easily or crumble.
- Absolutely avoid mushrooms with a musty smell or any strange odors, and ensure there are no white mold spots on the mushrooms.
How to choose good snow fungus
- Good snow fungus usually has a light white, light yellow, or light brown color with a yellowish tint. It is best to choose those with a light yellow color because white snow fungus is often sulfur-dried, which is not good for health.
- Choose snow fungus that has a complete shape, is light, and spongy but not torn or has many small holes caused by insects.
- Do not choose snow fungus that has mold on the surface and is not mixed with insects or other impurities. Avoid mushrooms with unpleasant strange odors, especially sour smells, as they should not be purchased.
How to choose fresh lotus seeds
- For fresh lotus seeds, choose those that are round, uniform, about the size of half a finger joint, and have a white color with a slight yellow tint.
- You can check by pressing your finger into the lotus seed; if it still releases a bit of water when pressed, it is fresh lotus seed.
- Avoid choosing lotus seeds that are bruised, with wrinkled outer shells. Also, do not choose lotus seeds that are wet because they will bruise easily and wilt quickly.
-800x450.jpg "2 Ways to Make Fragrant Brown Sticky Rice Banh Chung with Low Calories, No Worries About Gaining Weight 3")
Tools to use
Pot, pan, steamer pot, dong leaves, lashing cord, mold for wrapping glutinous rice cakes…
How to prepare Brown Rice Sticky Cake
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Soak the ingredients
Soak 500g of brown sticky rice, 500g of brown rice, and 500g of mung beans in three large bowls, then pour enough water to submerge the ingredients by 2 finger lengths. Let it soak for at least 6 to 8 hours.
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Steam the mung beans
After soaking the mung beans until soft, add 1 teaspoon of salt and steam them in a water bath for about 30 minutes over medium-low heat until they are soft. Then take the bowl of mung beans out and gently mash them with a spoon.
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Prepare the ingredients
Soak shiitake mushrooms and snow mushrooms in warm water for about 10 minutes to rehydrate, then rinse them clean with cold water and let them drain. After that, cut the mushrooms into small, bite-sized pieces.
Remove the cores from the lotus seeds, wash them clean, and let them drain.
Peel the chestnuts, take the soft part, and chop them finely. Peel and finely chop 1/2 a ginger root.
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Making Chưng Cake Filling
First, add 100g of lotus seeds to a pot of boiling water, cover, and boil for about 40 minutes over medium-low heat.
Put a pan on the stove with a little cooking oil, when the oil is hot, add minced ginger and minced shallots to fry until fragrant, then add shiitake mushrooms and stir-fry briefly. When the shiitake mushrooms are soft, add snow mushrooms, chestnuts, and lotus seeds and stir-fry evenly.
Season the filling mixture with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, a little sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of five-spice powder, and continue to stir-fry for another 2 minutes until the filling is fully cooked and absorbs the seasoning.
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Cooking Brown Rice and Sticky Rice
In a large bowl, mix brown sticky rice and brown rice evenly, then add it to a pot with 500ml of water and cook until the rice and sticky rice expand.
Cook until the water is gradually reduced, then add another 200ml of water and stir well with a spoon to ensure the sticky rice is cooked and evenly expanded. When the sticky rice and brown rice are soft and sticky, turn off the heat.
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Arranging leaves in the mold
4 dong leaves, washed and dried, then you use a knife to trim the hard stem at the back of the leaf, and then heat them over fire to soften the leaves.
To wrap the cake, you fold the dong leaves in half horizontally, then fold them in half again vertically. You measure the dong leaves against the size of the mold and cut the tail of the leaves so that they fit the mold and have enough leaves to wrap the cake tightly. For the remaining 3 leaves, you do the same.
Then you unfold each leaf to form right angles and place them into the corresponding four sides of the mold. Make sure to arrange the leaves so that the bottom part is sealed to prevent the filling from spilling out when wrapping.
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Wrapping sticky rice cake
You layer cooked brown sticky rice, then a layer of mung beans, followed by the filling of mushrooms and lotus seeds, and add another layer of sticky rice on top. You spread the rice evenly and press it tightly to shape the cake filling.
Then you place a piece of dong leaf on top of the filling, fold the dong leaf over, and wrap it tightly. You remove the mold from the cake, and finally, use 6 strands of string to tie and twist tightly around the cake in a checkerboard pattern to finish.
Tip: You should not tie the cake too tightly because it will expand while boiling, which can tear the leaf and burst the filling out.
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Boiling the cake
Prepare a large pot, then line the bottom with dong leaves and place the cakes inside. Next, you pour boiling water over the sticky rice cakes until they are submerged, cover tightly, and boil for about 2 hours.
When the dong leaves wrapping the cakes turn a dull green color, you take the sticky rice cakes out and let them drain.
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Final Product
The peeled sticky rice cake has a beautiful purple-red color, the sticky rice is chewy and fragrant, and the filling of mushrooms, mung beans, and lotus seeds is soft and creamy, with a nutty flavor.
It will be very delicious when you eat the sticky rice cake with a bit of sweet and sour pickled onions or pickled vegetables that are salty and flavorful.
2. Sticky Rice Cake (low calorie)
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
12 hours
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Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for Sticky Rice Cake (low calorie) For 4 people
Chicken breast 60 gr Brown sticky rice 100 gr Mung beans without skin 60 gr Dong leaves 1 few Common spices 1 few (salt/ MSG/ seasoning powder/ ground pepper)
How to choose fresh and delicious chicken breast
- To prepare delicious dishes, you should choose chicken breast pieces with white skin, as these come from larger chickens, which have tastier and firmer meat, while young chickens tend to have softer meat.
- If you buy skinless chicken breast, observe the layer of fat on the chicken. You should choose the fat that is white in color as it indicates better quality meat.
- Choose breast pieces with fewer streaks in the meat fibers. The more streaks there are, the less fat and protein there will be, and these streaks will make it harder for the chicken to absorb flavors and sauces during cooking.
How to prepare Sticky Brown Rice Cake (low calorie)
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Prepare brown sticky rice and mung beans
First, rinse the brown sticky rice thoroughly, then soak it in warm water with 1/3 spoon of salt for 10 – 12 hours or overnight. After soaking, mix the brown sticky rice with 1/3 spoon of salt.
Tip: To cook the cake faster, soak the brown sticky rice for a longer time or overnight, as brown sticky rice is harder than regular rice.Green beans with the skin washed clean, soak in warm water for 1 – 2 hours until they expand. Then steam them steamed for about 20 minutes over medium heat until the beans are soft.
Place a pan on the stove, add the steamed green beans, 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1/3 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, and 1/3 teaspoon of ground pepper.
Stir the green beans until they become fluffy and no longer clump together, then taste and adjust seasoning as needed before turning off the heat.
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Prepare chicken breast
Rub the chicken breast with salt water for about 1 minute, then rinse with water. Next, cut the meat into long pieces about the width of a hand.
Then, marinate the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1/3 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, and let it sit for 10 minutes to absorb the spices.
Tips for cleaning chicken properly
- To eliminate the smell of chicken, dilute water with vinegar and salt, then soak the chicken for about 3 – 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with water.
- Use your hands to rub the mixture of salt and ginger on the chicken, then rinse with clean water to finish.
See more: How to clean chicken simply without odor
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Wrapping the cake
Before wrapping the cake, use a cloth to clean the dong leaves.
Next, layer the ingredients on the leaf in the following order: 1 layer of brown rice, 1 layer of mung beans, 1 layer of chicken, 1 layer of mung beans, and 1 layer of brown rice.
Each layer should be about 1/2 of a small finger’s thickness; if it’s too thick, the cake will take longer to cook and can be overwhelming to eat.
Then, wrap the cake tightly and use string to secure it; you can wrap it square or long, as you prefer. Once finished, soak the cake in clean water for about 6 – 8 more hours.
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Final product
When cut, the brown rice cake has a light aroma of dong leaves, and the glutinous rice is extremely soft and chewy, with a rich filling that is just right for the palate.
Eating this cake with pickled onions makes it incredibly delicious and you don’t have to worry about gaining weight.
How to choose quality glutinous rice
- Good glutinous rice usually has round, plump, short grains, and a cloudy white color. Choose grains that are full and uniform; if you press them with your fingernail and they are hard to break, then it’s good rice, shiny and fresh, not old rice that is prone to spoilage.
- Fresh glutinous rice often has a characteristic fragrant smell, slightly sweet. Avoid buying rice that smells musty, damp, or has strange odors.
How to choose dong leaves for wrapping bánh chưng
- Choose dong leaves with large, wide leaf blades, and a bright green color. Fresh dong leaves have good elasticity, not brittle or easy to break. You should select medium-aged dong leaves, not too old or too young.
- Avoid choosing wilted leaves that feel dry and stiff to the touch, not soft and elastic like fresh leaves. Choose leaves that are intact, without any tears or frayed edges.
Tips for preserving bánh chưng for a long time
- To preserve bánh chưng for a long time, after boiling, let the bánh chưng dry completely or use a cloth to wipe off any excess water on the dong leaves.
- If you haven’t eaten the bánh yet, store it in a well-ventilated, dry place, away from other foods to prevent mold growth.
- If you use a knife to cut the bánh, make sure the knife is clean, free from dust or other food residues.
- If you have leftover bánh chưng after unwrapping, cover it tightly with cling film and place it in the refrigerator to preserve it. When you want to eat it, re-steam or fry it until crispy.
See more:
Brown rice bánh chưng is delicious, nutritious, and good for health, so you can enjoy it during Tet without worrying about weight issues. Save these 2 recipes and get into the kitchen to show off your skills, wishing you success!
