To celibrate the coming of the year of the cat in Vietnam, Thai made some
Bánh chưng, a delicious New Year's treat.
Legend has it that a Vietnamese King was getting old and didn't know which of his sons he wanted to pass the Kingdom onto. So he gave them the challenge to go and find a delicious delicacy, the son who brought him the best bite would inherit the Kingdom. So the sons searched far and wide for the perfect gift with which to impress the King and win the Kingdom. But the youngest son, who was poorer that the other sons, decided instead to make something special using everyday ingredients that the average person could afford. The product was
Bánh chưng. The king was so impressed that he made his youngest son his heir, knowing that the son would take care of the ordinary Vietnamese people.
Thai was kind enough to let me take part in making this food fit for a king.
The basic ingredients are: dong leaves, soaked strips of young bamboo (not
me ole bamboo), soaked and salted uncooked sticky rice, mung beans, fried shallots, and marinated pork.
You need a small box to with dong leaves. This is the trickiest part and requires wicked origami skills.
When you have lined the box with six leaves, fill the box with layers of rice, beans, pork and shallots.
Then, fold over the excess leafage, and press down to make sure the cake is nice and compact.
Remove the package from the box.
Tie up the package with the bamboo, twisting the ends together to make sure everything stays in place.
The finished product should look something like this:
After boiling for 6-8 hours, you can unwrap.
Enjoy hot cold, or (my favourite) fried. Serve with pickles to some one you want to impress.
Add everything into a put and cook under pressure for 30 minutes, and then allow to stand for 15 minutes. The juice should be quite clear.
