Banh Chung – glutinous rice cake with pork

Ingredients :

• 500 g of glutinous rice
• 200 g of peeled mung beans
• 450 g of pork loin
• 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
• salt, pepperMaterial:
  • a rectangular dish
  • banana leaves or parchment paper or aluminum
  • of kitchen twine
  • a pressure cooker or a rice cooker

  Preparation :

  The night before, soak in a bowl of cold water mung beans, wash the rice and soak in another bowl of cold water and leave to rise overnight.

  Drain the rice and mung beans and mash the beans and reserve.

  Prepare the stuffing in the pork: Cut the meat into cubes, place in a bowl and season with salt, pepper and sugar. Mixing, film and reserve.

  Cut long pieces of twine and have them on the bottom of your dish, crossing them. They used to pack the banh chung.

  Line the dish with aluminum foil or banana.
  Depositing a layer of uncooked rice, about 1 cm in the dish, pressing down well, recover the rice with a thin layer of mashed mung beans settle well with a spoon,place a layer of meat and pack it well, then another layer of beans and rice.

  Fold the edges of the paper toward the center, as a gift to wrap, close with the twine, tight. Gently plunge the banh chung in a pressure cooker or large pot of simmering water and cook 5 hours on low heat, ensure that water is always the same.

  Cool completely  your banh chung before eating and serve in slices or pieces.

  Tips : The Banh Chung is traditionally eaten during the Lunar New Year (Tet), served with pickled onions, pickled vegetables “dua món” and Vietnamese bologna.

  Anecdotes : Traditionally, every home should have at least one pair of Banh chung to put on the family altar. Before Tet, families often offer Banh chung to other families, and it is typical for a vietnamese family to end up with significant amounts of Banh chung long after the party. We distinguish the Banh chung (square) and Bánh Tét, cylindrical (fertility symbol).
  According to an ancient legend, the Banh chung was invented by Lang Lieu (or Tiet Lieu), winner of a competition organized by his father, King Hung Vuong VI the prince who offers the best dish will be the next king. Lang Lieu went up on the throne because the Banh chung, whose form symbolized the Earth (once thought to be square) containing rice (staple food), mung beans (symbolizing the plant) and meat (symbolizing animals or humans); more, “Bánh day” (a variant of the dish) symbolizes the sky. As the dish was meant very symbolic, succeeding generations have continued to follow this tradition and offer Banh chung and Bánh Day at the time of Tết.