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Preparation
4 hours
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Processing
4 hours
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Difficulty
Easy
Sticky rice and young green rice are among the essence of Vietnam’s food resources. It would be truly special if sticky rice and young green rice came together in a distinctive bánh chưng during the Tết holiday. Let’s join TasteVN cooking to explore this special bánh chưng recipe.
Ingredients for Young Green Rice Bánh chưng For 10 pieces
Sticky rice 2 kg Young green rice 1 kg Pork belly 800 gr Mung beans 800 gr (peeled) Cooking oil 7 tablespoons Common spices a little (salt/ pepper/ monosodium glutamate)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose good sticky rice
- Sticky rice for wrapping bánh chưng should be ngỗng sticky rice, cái hoa vàng sticky rice, or Bắc sticky rice; each type has different stickiness depending on the rice characteristics. However, good sticky rice usually has round, plump, short grains, and a pearly white color.
- You should choose plump, even grains; if you press the sticky rice grain with your fingernail and it doesn’t break easily, then it’s good sticky rice; it should also be new and not old sticky rice, which is prone to spoilage.
- Fresh sticky rice typically has a distinctive fragrant smell, slightly sweet. Avoid buying sticky rice that has a musty, damp smell or any strange odors.
How to choose good green rice flakes
- When buying green rice flakes, you should choose those with a light green color because if the green rice flakes are slightly yellowish, then they are old, or if they are bright green, they may have been dyed with colors or chemicals.
- Fresh and delicious green rice flakes have a strong fragrant aroma, and the flakes are loose and not stuck together.
- To choose good green rice flakes, select those made from sticky rice grains that are firm, thin, and chewy. You can test the green rice flakes by lightly biting; if they are slightly chewy with a nutty and refreshing taste, then they are good green rice flakes.
How to choose good pork belly
- Fresh and delicious pork belly has a light red or bright pink color, a slight shine, and the layer of fat in between is bright white, looking firm and tight. You should choose pork belly where the meat and fat are tightly attached to each other; when picked up, it shouldn’t feel too loose. The layer of skin and fat on the outside should be moderately thick, about 1.5 – 2cm.
- You can check the freshness of the pork belly by pressing on the piece of meat; if it has elasticity when pressed and does not create a dent, then you should choose that piece of meat.
- You should not choose pieces of meat that are pale, turning greenish, or have an unpleasant or unusual smell.
- Additionally, to choose pork belly for wrapping bánh chưng that is delicious, you should select a piece with slightly more fat than lean meat to avoid dryness when eating.
How to choose good mung beans
- Mung beans for wrapping bánh chưng should be peeled mung beans. For peeled mung beans, you should choose bright, shiny beans that are bright yellow, with uniform size and color.
- You can check the plumpness of the beans by pressing your finger on a bean; if the bean is crunchy, breaks easily but does not create many small fragments, then it is good mung beans.
- Fresh mung beans usually have a light, characteristic aroma. Avoid choosing beans with a musty smell or any strange odors.
- Avoid choosing beans that have black spots, dull colors, or uneven sizes. Especially do not choose mung beans that show signs of being eaten by pests or have many black pebbles.
How to choose dong leaves for wrapping bánh chưng
- You should choose dong leaves that are oval-shaped, with large, wide leaf blades, and a deep green color. Fresh dong leaves should have good elasticity, not be brittle or easy to break. Choose dong leaves that are neither too old nor too young.
- Avoid choosing wilted leaves; if touched, they feel dry and hard, not soft and elastic like fresh leaves. Choose leaves that are intact, without any torn edges or rips in any part.
-800x450.jpg "How to Make Sticky and Fragrant Green Sticky Rice Cake for the Lunar New Year 2")
How to prepare Bánh chưng cốm
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Soak sticky rice and mung beans
Wash the sticky rice and mung beans clean with water 3 – 4 times, then pour water to cover the sticky rice and mung beans by 2 finger joints, let them sit and soak for 4 hours.
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Prepare the filling for the green sticky rice cake
The soaked sticky rice should be drained, placed in a bowl, then add 1 spoon of salt and 1 spoon of cooking oil, and mix well. Next, wash the green sticky rice and mix it with the sticky rice.
The soaked mung beans should be taken out and placed in a steamer to cook. After that, mash them and mix well with 1.5 teaspoons of salt, 3 teaspoons of cooking oil, and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
The pork belly should be washed and cut into pieces about the thickness of a finger and about 5 – 7cm long. Then marinate the meat with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, and 3 tablespoons of cooking oil.
Divide each ingredient prepared into 10 equal parts for 10 cakes. Mix each portion of sticky rice with 100g of flattened green sticky rice for each cake.
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Prepare the leaves and arrange the filling
Wash the dong leaves thoroughly, then use a warm cloth to wipe both sides of the leaves clean. Next, trim away some of the tough, old stem at the back of the leaves.
For each cake, you need 3 pieces of dong leaves. Arrange the leaves in the order of 1 vertical leaf, 1 horizontal leaf, then 1 vertical leaf (with the green side facing down for the bottom leaf, and the other two leaves with the green side facing up).
To arrange the filling, you need to put 1/2 bowl (rice bowl) of sticky rice mixed with green rice flakes in the center of the leaves, followed by green beans and pork belly on top. Then, cover the meat with a little more green beans and sticky rice mixed with green rice flakes.
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Wrap the green rice cake
To wrap the cake, first gather the two edges of the dong leaves together and fold tightly. Then fold one end of the leaves down squarely, smooth it out to create a crease, and fold it tightly over the filling inside. At this point, stand the cake up, press down to compact the inside, and tightly fold the remaining leaf ends.
Then use string to wrap the cake, twisting it and tying it securely. For each cake, tie 4 strands of string in a crisscross pattern to create a checkerboard shape.
Tip: When boiling the green rice cake, the sticky rice will expand, so do not tie the cake too tightly to avoid the filling bursting out.
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Boiling bánh chưng and completing
You prepare a large pot of water, place banana leaves to cover the bottom of the pot, then add about 4 – 5 bánh chưng cốm (depending on the size of the pot). For the first 10 minutes, boil the bánh chưng on high heat, then reduce to low heat and cook for about 3 – 3.5 hours. After that, turn off the heat and let the bánh chưng sit in the pot for another 45 minutes to ensure they are fully cooked.
After that, you take the bánh out of the pot, wash them clean, dry them, and place them in a ventilated, dry area. Wait for the bánh to cool completely before peeling them off to enjoy.
Note: While boiling the bánh chưng, keep an eye on the water level in the pot. When the water reduces to half of the pot, add hot water to fill it up to continue boiling. Keep adding water like that until the bánh is cooked.
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Finished Product
The glutinous rice cake with green sticky rice has a fragrant smell of fresh green rice, and the cake has a naturally vibrant green color that looks very beautiful. When you bite into it, you can taste the sweetness and chewiness of the sticky rice combined with the green rice, the nutty flavor of the mung beans, and the juicy, fatty layer of the pork belly is a must. This wonderful combination will exceed your imagination.
Tips for preserving green sticky rice cake without spoiling
- To keep the sticky rice cake fresh for a long time, after boiling, let the cake dry completely or use a cloth to wipe off the excess water on the dong leaves.
- When not eating, keep the cake in a well-ventilated, dry place, away from other foods to avoid mold and fungus.
- If you use a knife to cut the cake, ensure the knife is clean, free from dust or other food residues.
- If you have leftover cake after unwrapping, use food wrap to seal it tightly and store it in the refrigerator’s cool compartment; when ready to eat, you can steam it again or fry it until crispy.
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So TasteVN has guided you to make green sticky rice cake that is chewy, sweet, and deliciously appealing. This Tet, let’s create a difference for your family’s Tet meal with green sticky rice cake. Wishing you success in your cooking!
