By Alain Ha
Is there always a significant meaning or myth behind everything we eat? Not always, but in the Vietnamese culture, around the time of “Tet”, aka New Years, each family prepares a specific delight. It's known as “banh chung” (sticky rice cake), which is only eaten once a year.
The story behind this “cake” begins centuries ago, when emperor Hung Vuong was reigning over Vietnam. He had many sons, some of which he preferred more than others, but every year around the time of “Tet”, the emperor and all his sons would get together and each son would present him with unusual and unique foods. One year, emperor Hung Vuong decided that the son who prepared him the most unique food would reign next over his throne.
The challenge had begun. Some scaled mountains to pick some rare herbs and fruits. Some sailed the oceans to catch rare fish and seaweed. Some set traps in the open jungle to catch exotic animals. There was one son in particular who didn't follow in his brothers' footsteps. Being the youngest son, named Tiet Lieu, he was a farmer who grew wheat. Tiet Lieu tried finding long stalks with golden grains with a strong and delightful aroma. The reason why Tiet Lieu chose to use his own rice to prepare a cake was because he thought it'd be much more meaningful if he made a creation from his own farm.
Spring was now here, and it was time for all the sons to gather up and present their delights to their father, the emperor. Tiet Lieu was the last to present, and he offered his two creations called “banh chung” (sticky rice cake) and “banh day” (budding cake). He was mocked and laughed at by his brothers because they had all gathered up some sort of exotic food. However, after tasting all these unique foods, the emperor concluded that Tiet's simple but rather meaningful food was the prizewinner. The emperor then explained that his youngest son's cake was pure and that he mainly used the basic food source of his people. In the end, Tiet Lieu was declared the new emperor of Vietnam.
Until this very day, these two cakes are still enjoyed by me and my family once a year around the time of New Years. The significant meaning behind each cake is as follows: “banh chung” symbolizes earth and “banh day” symbolizes heaven, because in the olden days, earth was believed to be in the shape of a square and heaven (sky) was believed to be a round shape.
Is there always a significant meaning or myth behind everything we eat? Not always, but in the Vietnamese culture, around the time of “Tet”, aka New Years, each family prepares a specific delight. It's known as “banh chung” (sticky rice cake), which is only eaten once a year.
The story behind this “cake” begins centuries ago, when emperor Hung Vuong was reigning over Vietnam. He had many sons, some of which he preferred more than others, but every year around the time of “Tet”, the emperor and all his sons would get together and each son would present him with unusual and unique foods. One year, emperor Hung Vuong decided that the son who prepared him the most unique food would reign next over his throne.
The challenge had begun. Some scaled mountains to pick some rare herbs and fruits. Some sailed the oceans to catch rare fish and seaweed. Some set traps in the open jungle to catch exotic animals. There was one son in particular who didn't follow in his brothers' footsteps. Being the youngest son, named Tiet Lieu, he was a farmer who grew wheat. Tiet Lieu tried finding long stalks with golden grains with a strong and delightful aroma. The reason why Tiet Lieu chose to use his own rice to prepare a cake was because he thought it'd be much more meaningful if he made a creation from his own farm.
Spring was now here, and it was time for all the sons to gather up and present their delights to their father, the emperor. Tiet Lieu was the last to present, and he offered his two creations called “banh chung” (sticky rice cake) and “banh day” (budding cake). He was mocked and laughed at by his brothers because they had all gathered up some sort of exotic food. However, after tasting all these unique foods, the emperor concluded that Tiet's simple but rather meaningful food was the prizewinner. The emperor then explained that his youngest son's cake was pure and that he mainly used the basic food source of his people. In the end, Tiet Lieu was declared the new emperor of Vietnam.
Until this very day, these two cakes are still enjoyed by me and my family once a year around the time of New Years. The significant meaning behind each cake is as follows: “banh chung” symbolizes earth and “banh day” symbolizes heaven, because in the olden days, earth was believed to be in the shape of a square and heaven (sky) was believed to be a round shape.
Recipe
Ingredients
– 5¼ cups sticky rice
– 3½ tbsp salt
– 14 oz coconut milk
– 2⅔ cups mung beans, dried and cut
– ¼ lbs pork chop
– 1 onion
– 3 tbsp black pepper
– 1 tbsp sugar
– 1 tbsp canola oil
– water
– bamboo or banana leaves
– 5¼ cups sticky rice
– 3½ tbsp salt
– 14 oz coconut milk
– 2⅔ cups mung beans, dried and cut
– ¼ lbs pork chop
– 1 onion
– 3 tbsp black pepper
– 1 tbsp sugar
– 1 tbsp canola oil
– water
– bamboo or banana leaves
Procedure
- Soak the bamboo or banana leaves in a pan submerged underwater.
- Cut the pork chops into fine pieces (about 3 inches long, 2 inches wide, ½ inch thick). Add pepper and onion and mix well. Leave overnight.
- Soak rice in coconut milk for 30 minutes. Once done, place rice into water and let soak overnight.
- Wash mung beans and let them soak overnight.
- Drain mung beans and spread them out evenly on a tray. Place them into a steaming machine.
- Grind the mung beans so that it has a fine texture like flour, but should stick when taking a pinch-full.
- Drain rice in a filter and mix with salt. Mix well.
- Drain bamboo or banana leaves and place them aside.
- Cut the leaves into sheets of 5 inches by 12 inches.
- Place a 12 inch by 18 inch piece of aluminium foil. Create a square-shaped form using 4 bamboo leaves. Place the shiny side of the leaf facing towards you so that the dye mixes in with the rice.
- Once the square frame has been assembled, place 1 scoop of sticky rice into the frame, using the backside of a spoon to smooth the top and make sure it's pressed along the sides.
- Place the pork mix on top of the rice.
- Close the frame as if wrapping a Christmas present. Tie the frame so that it doesn't break open while boiling.
- Place the wrapping into a pot of boiling water. At first, it will float, so add something heavy to keep it down.
- After 3 hours into the boiling process, it will remain at the bottom of the pot. At this point, remove any added weight and let it boil for another 7 hours.
- Once everything is done, remove the delight from the pot. Enjoy your “banh chung”.
Photo source: http://www.saigonjp.com/Japan/images/Image/banh%20chung,tet.jpg
