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Up close of a sliced Vietnamese sticky rice cake for tet sitting on a banana leaf on a plate.
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Banh Chung (Vietnamese Sticky Rice Cake)

Celebrate Tết or Lunar New Year in style with this recipe! These Vietnamese sticky rice cakes are wrapped with banana leaves and filled with savory yellow mung beans and umami flavored fatty pork belly.
Course Lunch & Dinner Recipes
Cuisine Vietnamese
Keyword authentic vietnamese recipe, banh chung, banh tet, lunar new year, traditional vietnamese recipe, vietnamese food recipe, vietnamese pork belly
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 7 hours
Soaking Time 8 hours
Total Time 16 hours
Servings 5 People
Calories 863kcal
Author Megan

Equipment

Ingredients

Sticky Rice

  • 3 cups (687 g) dry sticky rice
  • 2 teaspoon salt

Pork Belly

Mung Beans

  • 1 cup (240 g) peeled split mung beans
  • 1 ½ teaspoon salt divided (1/4 teaspoon for soaking and 1 1/4 for cooking)
  • ¼ teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon chicken powder
  • 6 shallots sliced

Assembly Materials

  • 2 packs of banana leaves 1 for assembly and 1 for the pot
  • 4x4x2 inch molds
  • Tape
  • String

Instructions

Day Before

  • Make a square cardboard mold. You can make them different sizes depending on your preference. I made mine about 4x4 inches wide and 2 inches high.
  • Soak sticky rice. Wash the sticky rice until the water turns clear. Soak the rice in salted water overnight.
  • Marinate the pork belly. Slice the pork belly into about 1/4 inch thick slices. Marinate the pork with salt, sugar, chicken powder, pepper, fish sauce, and shallots in the refrigerator overnight.
  • Soak the mung beans. Wash the mung beans until the water turns clear. Soak the mung beans with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and enough water to cover the rice in the refrigerator overnight.

Day Of

  • Strain the rice. Strain the water from the rice. Set aside.
  • Boil the mung beans. Strain the mung beans. In a medium pot, fill halfway with water, add 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt, and the soaked mung beans. Heat on high until it boils. When the water boils, turn the heat down to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes or until softened. Then strain the water and mash the mung beans.
  • Sauté the shallots. In a large skillet or wok, heat 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil on high heat. Add the shallots and saute for 2 minutes on high and then reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until caramelized and tender, about 10 minutes.
  • Mix. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the sugar, pepper, chicken powder, caramelized shallots, and mashed mung beans. Set aside.

Assembly

  • Line the mold with banana leaves. Line the mold with at least 4-6 strips of banana leaves (~4x 12 inches), layering them in alternative directions like a cross. Make sure to leave 2 inches of banana leaf above the mold so it can be sealed later. Then, using 4 thinner strips (~2x10 inches), line the inside of the mold to seal the corners.
  • Add the rice. Add an even layer of sticky rice, about 1/2 of an inch.
  • Layer the mung beans and meat. Layer an even 1/4 inch layer of mung beans. Make sure to leave 1/4 inch of space around the edges for the rice. Layer the pork belly on top of the mung bean layer. Lastly, layer another even 1/4 inch layer of mung beans.
  • Fill with rice. Fill in the edges and the top 1/2 inch with sticky rice.
  • Fold the leaves over and wrap. Using alternating strips, fold the leaves over tightly. Seal with tape, then tightly wrap with a string like a present. Make sure to wrap the string along the edges as well to keep it all together. See video.

Cook

  • In a large pot, if possible, place a small wire rack at the bottom, then line the rack with 3-4 layers of banana leaves, covering the entire rack. Add the sticky rice cakes, and then fill the pot with enough water to cover. Cover the pot with a lid and bring it to a boil on high heat. Once it boils, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for about 7 hours. If the water level is too low, add more boiling water to cover.
  • Serve after 30 minutes. Take them out of the pot and let them cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Then serve with chả lụa (Vietnamese cold cuts) and pickled vegetables. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Please see the Expert Tips section above for more detailed, helpful notes.

Nutrition

Serving: 5g | Calories: 863kcal | Carbohydrates: 132g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 1955mg | Potassium: 366mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 93IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 4mg