Directions: |
Directions:Soak the rice and green beans overnight. Cut pork into chunks and season with salt and pepper. Steam or boil beans with half a teaspoon of salt until soft. Leave them for 45 minutes. Smash the beans thoroughly. Place 2 banana leaves in one direction, slightly overlapping, then 2 perpendicular, also overlapping, the last layer is the same as the first layer. Place half the rice on the leaves, topped with half of the green beans. Lay the pork on top of the beans, then add the last of beans follow the last of rice. Fold the leaves over the cake very tightly into a square and use string to secure or to tie. Place the cake in large pot, cover with water and boil for 6 hours. Add water every hour if necessary. Finally, remove the cake after 6 hours and submerge it into cold water for few minutes. Unwrap the leaves. The rice cake now can be eaten with soy sauce or pickled onions. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: When the Spring comes with cool breezes and winds, the Vietnamese New Year also comes and I know it's the perfect time to have the rice cake. Eating the fresh-made rice cake, makes my body warm from love and appreciation. My soul and spirit fly back to villages in Vietnam where the rice cake is made by a prince from the King Hung dynasty. I can taste the simple lives and tradition as I eat the soft rice cake. It is not only tradition, but a bond between my family members.
|
This recipe for Rice Cake (Banh Chung) is from