The traditional way to wrap banh chung is green, soft, and anyone can make it without rice

Banh chung is an indispensable traditional dish of Vietnamese people during holidays. Tet will lack part of its flavor without a pot of banh chung. Long Phuong Porcelain will guide you How to wrap banh chung The simplest tradition for you to show off to your family this Tet holiday. 

1. Select and prepare ingredients to wrap banh chung 

1.1 How to choose ingredients 

Sticky rice with yellow flowers 

The main ingredient to make banh chung is sticky rice. And the best type of sticky rice to make banh chung is yellow flower sticky rice. Yellow flower sticky rice is characterized by a very fragrant, round rice grain. Banh chung is made from yellow flower glutinous rice, very flexible and delicious. 

Green beans 

You can choose whole or peeled green beans. Delicious green beans are small, yellow-fleshed, shiny beans. You should choose new crop beans because they will be more friable and fragrant. 

Pork 

The best meat filling for banh chung is meat that is not too lean, so choose pork belly or pork shoulder. These meat parts have an interwoven ratio of lean and fat, helping to quickly make the cake fatty without being dry. 

Spices, pepper 

Indispensable marinating spices are white salt and pepper. You should use white salt to create pure flavor for the ingredients. Choose black pepper, small, round, green pepper seeds, carefully selected to avoid moldy or flat seeds. 

Dong leaves 

The best quality dong leaves for wrapping cakes are thin, not too old and not too young. The foliage is large and wide, intact, not torn, green, and the veins are supple. A banh chung needs about 4 leaves to be beautiful. 

Lat forced 

The strongest and safest tie is made of bamboo. You should choose soft, thin, and flexible lentils. Or thinly sliced ​​bamboo crackers. 

See more: What do you need to prepare for Tet? Tell the new bride the complete Tet shopping list

1.2 Prepare ingredients to make banh chung 

Recipe for cooking banh chung 

1kg of sticky rice will pack about 4 banh chung weighing about 500g/banh. A reasonable ratio of rice and beans would be 4 parts rice/1 part beans, with meat filling as desired. With the above ratio, you can estimate how to prepare the portion of rice and beans to suit your family's needs. 

Preliminary processing of sticky rice

Wash the sticky rice and soak it in cold water overnight, for 8 - 10 hours to soften the rice. 

After soaking, take the rice out, drain it, then toss the rice with a little salt for flavor. 

If you want the cake to have an eye-catching green color, you can soak rice in pandan leaf water or galangal leaf water to create a green color. 

Prepare green beans 

Grind whole green beans, soak them overnight to bloom, then peel off the skin. Or if you choose peeled beans, you only need to soak them for 4-6 hours. After soaking, take the beans out, drain the water, and add a little salt to make the filling more flavorful. 

Marinate the meat filling

Wash the pork, drain it, then cut it into large, thick pieces. Then marinate the meat with salt and ground pepper. 

Preliminary processing of dong leaves 

Buy dong leaves, wash both sides, hang upside down to drain. You can cut off the large, hard veins at the top of the leaf to make it easier to wrap. 

Or after washing the leaves, you can also put them in boiling water to make the leaves more flexible and easier to wrap without breaking. 

See more: Do you know 30 typical Tet dishes in the three regions of North - Central - South?

2. Cách gói bánh chưng ngày tết đơn giản, dễ làm

2.1 How to wrap square banh chung by hand without using a mold 

• Arrange 2 large leaves perpendicular to each other, inside facing down, the side with white veins on top. 
• Put a bowl of rice in the middle. Continue to put a handful of beans on top of the rice, gently push to place the meat filling in the middle. Pour the remaining beans to fill the meat. 
• Pour another bowl of rice to cover the meat and bean paste filling. 
• Gather the two edges of the leaves together, use your hands to fold them inward to secure the filling. Always hold your hands tightly to keep the cake as square as possible. Hide the excess edges inside or if it's too long, use scissors to cut it. 
• Continue, use 2 thumbs to squeeze the dong leaf inwards, then fold the leaf back. Stand the cake up, continue to do the same with the other end. 
• After the cake has formed, use 4 slices, 2 slices each way to firmly fix the cake. 
• Use your hands to gently press so that the cake is evenly spread to all corners. 
• During the wrapping process, always hold your hands tightly so that the cake will be flexible and not mushy. 

2.2 How to wrap square banh chung using a mold 

• Arrange the dong leaves as if wrapped by hand, placing the core mold in the center of the leaf. Use your hands to fold the ends of the leaves together into a square. 
• Continue placing that square mold into the envelope mold. Slowly open the leaf and lift the core mold out. 
• Add the cake wrapping ingredients one by one, spreading the layers evenly: rice - beans - meat - beans - rice. 
• Fold the ends of the leaves neatly into folds. Once done, hold the cake with one hand and lift the cake mold with the other. Use string to tie the cake tightly.

2.3 How to wrap banh chung by making a mold from the leaf spine 

• Prepare 4 leaves. Cut off the head, and strip off the spine to soften it.
• Spread the leaves on the floor, horizontally in front of you. Turn the dark green side down. Fold the leaf edges horizontally, the distance from the leaf edge to the leaf spine is about 3cm. 
• Fold the leaves in half. Do the same for the remaining leaves. 
• Sau khi gấp lá xong, lựa theo kích thước bánh muốn gói rồi cắt bớt đuôi lá. 
• Open the leaf, fold it to form two perpendicular edges, and turn the excess leaf inside. Use a heavy object to hold it down. Do the same for the remaining 3 cards. Then, put 4 leaves together to form a square mold. 
• Add the baking ingredients in turn: rice - beans - meat - beans - rice. Firmly compress the filling and spread it evenly to the 4 corners. 
• Fold 2 opposite leaves together, temporarily fix with a strip. Continue folding the remaining 2 leaf edges. Fix with a bandage to make sure it's secure. 
• Adjust the wire to balance it and you're done 

2.4 How to wrap long banh chung with chit leaves 

• Choose to buy large, not torn chit leaves to wrap the cake. Chit leaves are the leaves of the Dot tree, the leaves are oblong, green in color, and are often used by people in the Northern midland and mountainous provinces such as Phu Tho, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, and Vinh Phuc to wrap banh chung on occasions. Tet. 
• The chit leaves are briefly blanched in hot water, then taken out and washed on both sides, thoroughly washing the interstices of the leaves to avoid grit. Hang upside down to drain before wrapping. 
• Place chit leaves on a tray (on a clean floor), underneath with horizontal strips to tie in place. Arrange each layer of leaves tightly on top of each other so that the rice does not fall out. 
• Scoop the rice and spread it evenly along the length of the leaf. Continue to spread the beans in the middle, along the rice. Arrange the meat on top of the beans, also following the length of the cake. Then gently cover the meat with beans. Continue scooping the rice and spreading it evenly to cover the filling layer. 
• Roll the two edges of the leaf together tightly, then use it to tie it in place. 
• Use your hands to skillfully bend - close - fold each end of the leaf to balance it and then tie it with string. Do the same with the other end of the cake. 
• Use a long string to tie the cake tightly like a sausage. So it's done. 

2.5 How to wrap banh chung with banana leaves (banh tet)

Northerners wrap banh chung with dong leaves, while southerners wrap banh chung with banana leaves, also known as banh tet. How to wrap banh chung with banana leaves as follows: 

• Prepare large banana leaves that are not torn, wash and drain before wrapping the cake. 
• Arrange banana leaves tightly on top of each other. Then pour the sticky rice and spread it evenly across the leaf. Add the remaining ingredients (beans - meat - beans - rice). 
• Gather the two ends of the leaves together, roll and fold, and tie securely with string. Fold one end of the leaf, push it down to flip the other end up, break the leaf and fold it neatly, securing with string. Continue switching ends with the other end. 
• Use string to secure the cake vertically, then tie it horizontally to make it most secure. That's it. 

2.6 Cách gói bánh chưng vuông bằng lá chuối không dùng khuôn

Đối với những người xa xứ, việc tìm đủ nguyên liệu để gói bánh chưng là một điều xa xỉ, nhất là lá dong. Nhưng bạn hoàn toàn có thể thay thế lá dong bằng lá chuối. Và cách làm như sau: 

• Ngoài những nguyên liệu cần thiết để làm bánh như gạo nếp, đậu xanh, thịt lợn thì bạn cần chuẩn bị thêm lá chuối xanh. 
• Rửa sạch lá chuối và lau khô. Sau đó dùng dao hoặc kéo cắt lá thành những hình chữ nhật to bản. 
• Dùng 4 lá chuối xếp xen kẽ nhau thành hình chữ thập trên bề mặt phẳng. Sau đó, đổ gạo nếp theo định lượng vào vùng trung tâm, thêm đỗ xanh, rồi tới thịt lợn. Tiếp tục lấp nhân thịt bằng đỗ xanh, gạo nếp. 
• Dùng tay gập 2 bên đối diện của hình chữ thập vào với nhau để tạo hình vuông. 
• Dùng dây lạt để cố định bánh là hoàn thành. 

2.7 Cách gói bánh chưng vuông bằng lá chuối với khuôn vuông

Cách làm bánh chưng vuông bằng lá chuối với khuôn vô cùng đơn giản, cho ra thành quả vô cùng đẹp mắt, không thua kém gì bánh gói lá dong. 

• Tương tự chuẩn bị nguyên liệu cần thiết để gói bánh, thêm lá chuối và khuôn vuông. 
• Sơ chế lá chuối thật sạch và lau khô. 
• Tạo hình vuông cho lá chuối bằng cách gấp đôi lá chuối theo chiều dọc. Đặt cạnh gấp vào thành của khuôn và mở lá ra. Gấp lá chuối ở phần đáy khuôn tạo thành hình tam giác. Tiếp tục làm với góc đối diện để tạo thành khuôn vuông kín. 
• Đổ lần lượt gạo nếp – đỗ – thịt – đỗ – gạo nếp, dàn đều ra 4 góc. Bắt đầu gập lá chuối lại và dùng dây cố định bánh là hoàn thành. 

See more: 10 ways to decorate the Tet party table

3. Video instructions on the process of making banh chung quickly without a mold

4. How to boil banh chung until it's green and soft, without rice 

Notes when boiling banh chung

• Use excess wrapping leaves to line the pot before placing the cakes in, helping to prevent the cakes from sticking to the pot and making the leaves greener. 

• Use a corrugated iron pot to boil the cake. Because corrugated iron pots create the perfect alkaline environment to help preserve the green color of dong leaves. 
• Banh chung boiled with wood at a stable temperature will help make the cake more delicious than boiling with charcoal or gas. 
• If you want the cake to not turn red, after boiling the cake for about 4-6 hours, you can take it out and wash it to remove all the slime and foam. Then change the water and boil it with new water to make the cake greener and more beautiful. 

How to boil banh chung: 

• Put the cake in the pot. Pour water to cover the cake. Turn on the stove and bring to a boil. 
• When the cake pot starts to boil, you need to lower the heat. And always pay attention to the amount of water in the pot. When the water dries up, you need to add new boiling water so that the water always covers the cake. 
• If you are the first person to wrap banh chung for Tet, you will probably wonder how many hours to boil banh chung, right? According to many years of experience, the longer you boil banh chung, the more flexible it becomes. The minimum time to boil the cake should be 6 - 8 hours, and ideally 10 - 12 hours for the cake to be thoroughly cooked, the rice grains will expand and blend together, becoming smoother.
• Take the cake out, wash it with boiled water and let it cool until all the slime is gone. Then, arrange the cake into many layers and use a heavy object to press down on it for a few hours to squeeze out all the water. The cake will be dense, smooth and can be preserved longer. 

5. Tips for cutting Banh Chung super quickly, cutting evenly and sweetly.

Normally, when cutting banh chung, we often use strips to tie the cake, strip it into 4 strands, and squeeze it vertically - horizontally - diagonally on both sides to cut the cake. But many times the wire is divided unevenly, causing the piece of cake to be skewed, with big corners and small corners. Sometimes the wire is too thin and breaks while cutting, which is very annoying. If you use a knife to cut the cake, it sticks and is very difficult to cut. 

To fix the above errors, you can immediately refer to this cake cutting tip. 

• Use a knife. You need to prepare a long stick. Then use plastic wrap to wrap around the blade a few times. Then use that knife to cut vertically, horizontally, and diagonally into equal parts. After cutting, you just need to remove the plastic wrap and the knife won't stick at all. 
• Use freight. If you don't like cutting the cake with a knife, you can prepare long pieces of string to cut the cake. Cutting the cake with wire is very sturdy, the cutting line is very sharp and sweet. Prepare 4 equal strands of wire, twice the length of the cake. Peel off the cake leaves to reveal the cake surface, then divide the strings evenly, 1 horizontal string, 1 vertical string, 2 diagonal strings. Using a clean plate, place the plate on the cake surface where the string is placed. Then flip the cake, peel off the remaining crust, then hold the two ends of each string and slowly pull them together. So you have 8 beautiful even portions of cake. 

6. Conclusion 

Above, Long Phuong Porcelain shared with readers How to wrap banh chung Simple that anyone can do. Hopefully through this article, you will find the most suitable way to show off your cake making skills with your family this Tet holiday. Good luck! 

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