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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
1 hour
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Difficulty
Medium
Beautiful purple sticky rice cake, fragrant sticky rice, with rich and delicious mung bean and kidney bean filling, which is very easy to make. Let’s get cooking this Tet season to showcase your skills to the family.
Ingredients for Vegetarian Purple Sticky Rice Cake with Mung Bean Filling For 4 pieces
Sticky rice 2 cups Mung beans 150 gr Kidney beans 1 can (400gr) Purple leaves 200 gr Coconut oil 2 tablespoons Coconut milk 300 ml Potato starch 1 tablespoon Salt/sugar a little
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose good sticky rice
- You should choose large, round sticky rice grains that are opaque white and not broken or crushed.
- It’s best to buy freshly milled sticky rice, which has a light natural aroma of sticky rice when smelled.
- You should avoid buying sticky rice that has been finely milled as it has lost many nutrients.
- Avoid buying sticky rice that has unusual colors or has a musty smell due to being stored for too long.
How to choose good green beans
- You can use both peeled and unpeeled green beans.
- If you choose unpeeled green beans, make sure to select beans that have a shiny, taut skin, are plump and uniform, and are not infested or shriveled.
- If choosing peeled green beans, select those with a beautiful yellow color, the beans should be firm and not infested, and have the aroma of green beans.
How to choose good kidney beans
- Kidney beans are also known as red western beans, so be careful to buy the correct type.
- If you choose to buy fresh beans, look for beans with beautiful red skins that are shiny, plump, and uniform. The beans should not be moldy or mixed with shriveled ones.
- If buying canned beans, you should choose cans that are still within the expiration date and are not bulging or deformed.
Tools needed
Steamer, pot, rice cooker, pan, sieve, banana leaves, tying string,…
How to make vegetarian green sticky rice cake with mung bean filling
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Soak the sticky rice
First, wash 2 cups of sticky rice thoroughly, then soak the rice in a bowl of water with a little salt for 6 hours, then drain it in a colander.
Tip: You can soak the sticky rice overnight to save time.
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Make the green leaf juice and cook the sticky rice
Wash 200g of green leaves and put them in a pot to boil. Once the green leaf juice boils and turns a deep purple color, strain out the leaves.
Tip:- If you cannot find fresh green leaves, you can use green leaf powder as a substitute.
- Avoid using dried green leaves for making the cake, as the color of the cake will not be appealing.
Add the drained sticky rice into the rice cooker and pour the green leaf juice in until it slightly covers the surface of the rice.
Next, add 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 teaspoon of coconut salt to enhance the fragrance of the rice.
Turn on the cooking button, and when the pot switches to the keep warm mode, open the lid and fluff the rice evenly, cover it again and let it sit for an additional 10 minutes before pressing the cook button again.
When the pot switches back to keep warm mode, fluff the rice again and cover it, leaving it in the pot until you are ready to wrap the cake.
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Prepare mung beans and kidney beans
Soak 150gr of mung beans in warm water for 3 – 4 hours, then rinse thoroughly and place in a steamer. Once the beans are soft, pour them out. Put the beans in a nylon bag to mash them with a pestle or rolling pin.
Tip: You can use a blender to blend the mung beans.In a bowl containing 300ml of coconut milk, add 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of potato flour, and mix well together.
Tip: You can use tapioca flour or cornstarch as well.Then, add the mashed mung beans and the coconut milk mixture into a non-stick pan. Stir the mung beans constantly for about 15 minutes until they form a soft and sticky mass.
For canned kidney beans, pour them into a strainer to drain.
Tip: For fresh kidney beans, you need to soak them in water for 6 – 8 hours or overnight, then boil the beans for 15 – 20 minutes before using them to make the cake. At this time, the beans will be softer and more fragrant.
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Wrap the cake
First, shape the mung bean filling into a round tube with a diameter of about 2 fingers.
Next, use a cloth to clean the banana leaves thoroughly, tear the banana leaves into pieces about 30cm long (approximately 2 hand spans) and smaller pieces about 1 finger wide to cover both ends of the cake.
Lay one piece of banana leaf with the green side facing down and another piece with the green side facing up, brush cooking oil on the surface of the leaves. Spread the sticky rice on the banana leaves, then place the kidney beans on top of the sticky rice, and finally add the mung bean filling.
Fold the two edges of the banana leaf together and roll tightly, then roll evenly and tie a string securely in the middle.
For the two ends of the bánh tét, fold one end down first, then stand the cake up, use a spoon to press the sticky rice down and cut off the excess leaf with scissors. Fold the edges of the leaves back, then use 2 small pieces of banana leaf to cross over the top of the cake and tie it tightly.
Do the same for the other end.
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Steaming the cake
Set a pot of boiling water on the stove, place the cake in the steamer, and steam for 40 minutes until the cake is done. After that, take the cake out and let it drain well before enjoying it.
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Final product
So we have completed the vegetarian sticky rice cake with mung bean filling. The finished vegetarian sticky rice cake is very delicious with a soft and chewy rice shell, and the rich flavor of the mung bean filling inside. This sticky rice cake will definitely enhance the deliciousness of your traditional Lunar New Year menu.
How to store sticky rice cake
- You should consume the sticky rice cake within 3 – 5 days at room temperature.
- If you want to keep it longer, place the cake in the refrigerator; when ready to eat, just steam it hot or re-fry it.
See more:
So you have learned how to make bánh tét lá cẩm chay nhân đậu that is visually appealing, rich, delicious, and extremely easy to make. Wishing you success in making it this Tet!
