Vietnamese square sticky rice cake (bánh chưng) is a traditional cake often seen on the ancestor-worship altar during the Tet Holidays and King Hung’s anniversary (March 10 of the lunar calendar). For the Vietnamese, the cake is the ideal way to express gratitude to their ancestors, heaven, and earth. The process of making Vietnamese sticky rice cake is also a sacred and warm moment, a time of reunion for family members, reminding them of many beautiful stories from the year.
Origin and Symbolism of Vietnamese Square Sticky Rice Cake
The origin of Vietnamese square sticky rice cake can be traced to the Hung dynasty, when the 6th Hung King wanted to select a son to inherit his position. He held a competition; whoever could introduce the most delicious and meaningful dish for the altar would become the next king.
While other princesses tried to find the rare and delicious foods from the forest and the sea, Lang Lieu, the 18th princess, had a dream about the cakes. He created Square Sticky Rice Cake (Bánh Chưng), which symbolized the earth, and Square Sticky Rice Cake (Bánh Dày), which represented the sky.
The green leaves wrapped on the outside and the kernel inside the intestines symbolize gratitude for birth and the love of parents who always care for their children. Since the cakes had a special meaning and delicious taste, Lang Lieu was selected as a new ruler. And Bánh Chưng has become an irreplaceable traditional food on family altars, honoring ancestors and praying for their support in the new year.
How to Make Vietnamese Square Sticky Rice Cake?
The main ingredients are glutinous rice, pork, and split green beans, wrapped in dong leaves (Phrynium placentarium) or banana leaves. However, if the cake is to be delicious, it requires a lot of patience and meticulousness.
Glutinous rice and split green beans must be very good long-grain rice. They have to be soaked in water the previous day. Pork meat must have both lean and fat, normally a part of pork belly will be chosen, so that when the cake is cooked, the fat will blend with the soft lean part to create fat, flexibility, and deliciousness. Dong leaves or banana leaves must be green, large, and even. Rice cake is wrapped in a square or tubular shape, and the wrapping must be secured with bamboo strings, neither too tight nor too loose. Then the cake will be boiled for about 10 – 12 hours.
Staying around the warm fire, all family members recount stories of the past and exchange wishes for health and prosperity in the New Year. Currently, in some modern cities, the lifestyle has changed, the way of worshiping ancestors with Bánh Chưng won’t change as it is part of Vietnamese Culture.
Variations of Vietnamese square sticky rice cake
Bánh Chưng has variations in shape; the most popular are the square, which is quite often seen in the North, and the cylindrical one (called Bánh Tét), which usually appears in the Middle and South of Vietnam. Also, regarding ingredients, each region may use different ones to make Bánh Chưng, especially sticky rice. Vietnam is a wet-rice country, so it produces many different types of sticky rice… in both color and flavor. Bánh Chưng is also available in a vegetarian version, which is mostly used for worship.
And how to enjoy it? The cake needs to be cut into small slices. Steamed or fried cakes are available options. Normally, Vietnamese square sticky rice cake will be served with vegetable pickles or pickled scallion heads, dipped in fish sauce or soy sauce…
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