Bánh chưng and its Southern counterpart bánh Tét are absolute must haves for Tết in their respective regions.

According to legends: around 1600 BC, Vua (Emporer) Hùng issued a challenge to his 21 sons: whoever brought back the most delicious dish for Tết would get the throne. While his brothers went in search of the rarest and most expensive delicacies, Lang Liêu, the 18th prince was the poorest and could not afford to do so. After days of worrying, he fell asleep one night and dreamed of a god who told him that there was nothing more valuable than rice because it nourished people. Lang Liêu woke up and followed the directions from the god and created 2 cakes: bánh giầy and bánh chưng.

Bánh giầy: a smooth white circular cake made from pounded glutinous rice represented the sky.
Bánh chưng: a square cake filled pork and mung beans encased in whole grains of glutinous rice dyed green by the leaves it is wrapped in, represented the earth along with its flora and fauna. The filling inside the rice and the leaves wrapped around the cake also symbolized the love and protection that parents provide to their children.

The day came and all the princes presented their dishes to the emperor. The banquet tables were filled with the most incredible dishes that you can imagine. Lang Liêu’s simple cakes stood out like a sore thumb. When asked by the emperor, he explained the meaning behind them as the emperor tried the cakes. Vua Hùng was so impressed by the deep meaning and taste of Lang Liêu’s creations that he granted him the throne. Since that day, the people of Vietnam made the cakes, especially bánh chưng, every year during Tết to celebrate our ancestors, the heavens, and the earth.

The ingredients for bánh chưng are simple and affordable: rice, mung beans, and pork. It is the time and effort that go into the preparation, creation, and cooking of bánh chưng that makes it special and fit for a once-a-year occasion. The ingredients need some preparation from the night before and the day of cooking. The wrapping takes some getting used to and cannot be done quickly if you are not well-versed (imagine origami, but with leaves). And finally, the cooking takes 7 hours. Nowadays, many people in Vietnam buy pre-made bánh chưng because of how time-consuming the process is.

That being said, it is an incredibly fun family bonding activity. I treasure the yearly tradition of dividing up the prepping tasks with my family, sitting together and wrapping the cakes, and staying up late talking while waiting for them to finish cooking. My family alternates between cooking bánh chưng using a normal gas stove vs a wood-fire stove, depending how motivated we feel. The former is much easier, you only have to check on water level occasionally. On the other hand, cooking with the wood fire is much more involved- you have to watch and adjust the fire often to maintain a good boil. However, my grandma swears by the wood-fire method because it gives you a much more even boil and better results, as oppose to a regular stove that concentrates the heat at the bottom of the pot. Another side benefit of cooking with the wood fire is that you can put some sweet potatoes amongst the embers and snack on them while waiting for your bánh chưng to cook.

Traditionally, bánh chưng is made with leaves from the dong plant (Stachyphrynium placentarium), a species in the arrowroot family. The strong but flexible midrib of these leaves allows you to create the square shape without the use of a mold. Unfortunately, dong leaves are not too easy to find outside of Vietnam. This year, our local international grocery store had frozen packages of them for the first time and I was very pleasantly surprised!
If you cannot find frozen lá dong, you can use banana leaves (which are traditionally used in the South for bánh Tét) instead, along with a square mold. You can buy a wooden bánh chưng mold (or perhaps even a metal square cake ring mold) online or make one from cardboard (here is a video, but it is in Vietnamese).
In this recipe, I’ll show you how to wrap your bánh chưng using both types of leaves and methods!

INGREDIENTS FOR BÁNH CHƯNG

• Glutinous rice – Gạo nếp: Commonly referred to as sticky rice. While glutinous rice is not the staple grain in daily meals like in Laos, it is nonetheless extremely important to Vietnamese cuisine. When steamed, it is called xôi and can be served sweet or savory along with a multitude of ingredients – Xôi gấc, for example, is another dish served during Tết. Glutinous rice also serves as the base for a significant proportion of our rice cakes (like bánh giầy), desserts (like bánh trôi and chè), and many other dishes.
• Mung beans – Đậu xanh: They are commonly used as a filling for sweet or savory cakes and in chè (Vietnamese sweet soups). Peeled split mung beans are the most convenient type to use. Your best bet to find them is at your local Asian/International grocery store, particularly in the Indian section as “moong dal”.
• Pork belly – Thịt ba chỉ: There isn’t much I need to say about this indulgent cut of pork. For bánh chưng, I recommend choosing pork belly that is slightly leaner than usual – a 60:40 ratio of meat:fat is ideal. If your pork belly is too lean, the filling will end up dry; whereas if it is too fatty, the fat fill melt during the cooking process and you would be left with too little filling. Check out some of other recipes using pork belly HERE.
• Lá dong (Stachyphrynium placentarium): A species in the arrowroot family. The strong but flexible midrib of these leaves allows you to create the square shape without the use of a mold. Unfortunately, dong leaves are not too easy to find outside of Vietnam. This year, our local international grocery store had frozen packages of them for the first time and I was very pleasantly surprised!
• Banana leaves – Lá chuối: If you cannot find frozen lá dong, you can use banana leaves- which are traditionally used in the South for bánh Tét. They are also commonly used for many other steamed rice cakes and as cheap/biodegradable packaging for street foods.
• Shallot – Hành khô/Hành tím
• Fish sauce – Nước mắm: arguably the most important seasoning sauce in Vietnamese cuisine. Made from fermented anchovies, it is salty and incredibly umami. Non-vegan Vietnamese recipes without fish sauce are very rare. The best nước mắm comes from Phú Quốc or surrounding islands off the coast- Southwest of mainland Vietnam. Our favorite brand available outside of Vietnam is Red Boat (U.S.).
• Bouillon – Hạt nêm: think broth, but in solid form. Bouillon is an amazingly easy way to bring that umami flavor to your food. We use it instead of salt in many of our dishes. You can usually find chicken, pork, or mushroom bouillon. In Vietnam, Knorr is the most common brand. However, we have only been able to find Knorr in powder form in the US and France, not granules. Instead, we use Totole brand chicken or mushroom bouillon. The quantities on our website are based on the granule-type so if you use powder, adjust to your taste.
• Salt – Muối
• Ground black pepper – Tiêu đen xay

TOOLS FOR BÁNH CHƯNG

• Bánh chưng mold: If using banana leaves, you will need a mold. You can buy a wooden bánh chưng mold (or perhaps even a metal square cake ring mold) online or make one from cardboard (here is a video, but it is in Vietnamese).
• Twine: To tie up bánh chưng. Traditionally in Vietnam, bánh chưng is tied with lạt giang: thin strips from a plant in the bamboo family. They are strong and flexible, which makes them ideal for bánh chưng. After cooking, you would also tear off strings from the lạt giang to cut the cake.
• Large pot: You need a pot large enough to fit all your bánh chưng and fully submerge them in water with at least 4-5 cm of water above the cakes.
• Dental floss or threads: Because the rice is very sticky, cutting the cake with strings is much easier than with a knife. Dental floss is the best option.
• Ruler or measuring tape

DIRECTIONS FOR BÁNH CHƯNG

NIGHT BEFORE

1. Wash glutinous rice at least 3 times.
2. Add rice to a large mixing bowl along with enough water to cover the surface of the rice + a few centimeters. Leave on the counter for at least 8 hours or overnight.
   This will allow the rice to properly soak up moisture and cook evenly. If you use unsoaked rice, you also risk the rice from expanding and causing the cake to explode during the cooking process.
3. Peel and thinly slice shallot.
4. Cut Pork belly into equal pieces. For each bánh chưng, you will need 100g of pork belly. The pork belly pieces should be about 1.5-2cm thick and about 8cm on the longest side. Depending on how your pork belly was cut at the store, you may end up with 1 piece of 100g or 2 pieces of 50g per bánh chưng.
5. Add pork belly to a bowl, along with the sliced shallot, fish sauce, bouillon, and ground black pepper from the Pork filling section.
6. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge.

BÁNH CHƯNG DAY

Prepare ingredients

1. Wash mung beans (like you did with the rice) twice.
2. Add mung beans to a large bowl with enough water to cover the surface of the beans + a few centimeters. Leave on the counter for 2 hours. This will allow the mung beans to cook more quickly and evenly when steamed later on.
3. If your leaves are frozen, leave them on the counter or soak in some water to let them come to room temperature
4. When the mung beans are done soaking, rinse them twice, strain, and mix in the salt.
5. Add the mung beans to a steamer pot, fill bottom pot with water, and place on medium high heat. Steam for 20 minutes starting from when the water is boiling.
6. Strain the rice and add in the salt. Mix very gently to avoid breaking the fragile rice grains. Set aside.
7. Optional but recommended: Heat a pan on medium, add the oil, then add the pork pieces in a single layer along with any marinating liquid and pieces of shallot. Turn the heat down to medium low, add a splash of water, and let cook for 2-3 minutes each side. Turn off heat and set side.
8. When the mung beans are done steaming, pour into a large bowl (or large mortar) and mash until you can no longer see individual beans. Let sit until cool enough to handle.
9. In the meantime, rinse your dong or banana leaves well, shake off water, and wipe dry with a clean towel.
10. Divide the rice into equal portions to match the number of bánh chưng you are making.
11. Divide the mashed mung bean into equal portions. Using your hands or a cheesecloth, shape each portion into a tight ball. This will make things easier when we assemble the bánh chưng.
12. Cut twine into pieces of about 50 cm. You will need 4 twines per bánh chưng. If you twine is very thin, double the amount so you can combine 2 strands and make them more secure.

Assembly – Lá dong

1. Fold a leaf along the midrib, with the midrib sitting on one side of the fold. The side with the midrib is the outside. The side without the midrib is the inside.
2. Flip the leaf (if needed) so that the inside is facing you, then fold the leaf in half (perpendicular to the midrib) along the widest part of the leaf. This means you will now have 4 layers of leaf.
3. Measure 11 cm along the midrib, outwards from the corner fold you just made.
4. Cut the leaf at this 11 cm mark, perpendicular to the midrib and parallel to the fold you made in step 2. You should now have a square/rectangle. This is the first of your 2 inside pieces.
5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 to create your second inside piece.
6. Repeat those steps 2 more times, except that for these 2 times, measure and cut 11.5 cm in Step 3 instead. These are your outside pieces.
7. Starting with one of your outside pieces: unfold, then take the bottom centerfold (perpendicular to the midrib) and fold it along one half of the midrib. The 2 halves of the midrib will now be at 90°. The piece of leaf should look like one corner of a box and should be free-standing.
8. Repeat with your second outside piece, then place one piece on top of the other with the corners facing one another. Your box should now have 2 ‘closed’ corners and 2 ‘open’ corners.
9. Repeat with your first inside piece, then place it into the box with its corner aligning with one of the ‘open’ corners of the box.
10. Repeat with your second insider piece, and place it into the box with its corner aligning with the remaining ‘open’ corner of the box. You should now have a box with 4 ‘closed’ corners.
11. Add a little less than half of one of the rice portions to your leaf box and spread it out evenly.
12. Break a mung bean ball in half. Flatten one half in the center on top of the rice layer, leaving at least 1cm of space on each side where you can see the rice. This ensures the mung bean filling will be fully encased and does not peak out through the rice.
13. Add the pork belly in the center on top of the mung bean layer. The pork should also not exceed the rice border.
14. Flatten the remaining half of the mung bean ball into a rough disc in your hands and press it on top of the pork.
15. Add the rest of the rice, starting by filling the empty sides around the mung bean & pork, then on top to cover everything. Spread it out to create a flat layer on top.
16. Add a piece of leaf on top of the rice.
17. Slide a piece of twine (or 2 if you are doubling up) underneath the box. It should sit 1/3 of the way in from the left side.
18. Fold in the left and right sides of the box towards the center, one side on top of the other.
19. The top and bottom sides should look like triangles – fold those triangles towards the center.
20. Holding the top down, bring both ends of the twine up towards you and tie a knot, just tight enough to prevent the top from opening up, but not digging into the sides.
21. Slide another twine under the cake, 1/3 of the way in from the right side and tie a knot.
22. Tie 2 more twines perpendicular to the first 2 pieces and your bánh chưng is complete!

Assembly – Banana leaves/lá chuối

1. Measure inside width of your bánh chưng mold. Ours is 11 cm.
2. Cut or tear banana leaves along the venation lines into strips of the same width measured above. The middle of each strip being the exact measurement is the most important part – the two ends being slightly off do not matter as much.
   You need 6 strips per bánh chưng.
3. Slide a strip of leaf into the mold along one wall (greener side facing towards the center of the mold), bringing the two ends of the strip together with one side above and one side below the wall of the mold.
4. Pull the two ends tightly away from the mold and crease the leaf on wall of the mold.
5. Repeat for the other 3 walls of the mold.
6. Place the 5th strip of leaf into the center (greener side facing up) and crease at the bottom to create a flat bottom and 2 walls for the box.
7. Place the final strip of leaf into the center (greener side facing up) perpendicular to the previous strip to create 2 more walls for the box.
8. Cut or tear a small strip of leaf about 5 cm by 7 cm. Fold it in half, then reopen and slot it into one of the corners between the 2 layers of leaf.
9. Repeat for the other 3 corners.
10. Add a little less than half of one of the rice portions to your leaf box and spread it out evenly.
11. Break a mung bean ball in half. Flatten one half in the center on top of the rice layer, leaving at least 1cm of space on each side where you can see the rice. This ensures the mung bean filling will be fully encased and does not peak out through the rice.
12. Add the pork belly in the center on top of the mung bean layer. The pork should also not exceed the rice border.
13. Flatten the remaining half of the mung bean ball into a rough disc in your hands and press it on top of the pork.
14. Add the rest of the rice, starting by filling the empty sides around the mung bean & pork, then on top to cover everything. Spread it out to create a flat layer on top.
15. If the walls of the leaf box are not tall enough to fully cover the rice, cut 1 or 2 pieces of leaf big enough to mostly cover the rice and place (greener side down) on top of the rice.
16. Fold the walls down.
17. Starting with the outer flap that is facing you: fold the left side inwards at 45 degrees towards the top of the cake to create a right angle triangle (with the 90° corner on the right). If there is extra leaf sticking out on the right, trim it off to get a clean triangle.
18. Pull it forward and down tightly so it is sitting flat on top of the cake.
19. Turn the entire cake/mold 90° clockwise and repeat with the flap that is now facing you, while still holding onto the first triangle from the previous step so that it does not become undone. You can also place your scissors or another utensil on top of that first triangle to hold it in place.
20. Repeat the turning and folding for the remaining 2 flaps.
21. Ensuring that all 4 triangles are sitting tight and flat, tuck the loose top corner of the triangle that is on top underneath the one right below it. You should now have an X pattern.
22. Carefully flip the entire cake/mold upside down. Repeat steps 17-21 with the 4 flaps on that side.
23. Gently pull the mold off the cake.
24. Slide a piece of twine (or 2 if you are doubling up) underneath the cake. It should sit 1/3 of the way in from one side. Tie a knot just tight enough to prevent the top from opening up, but not digging into the sides.
25. Slide another piece of twine underneath the cake from the opposite side, 1/3 of the way in from that side and tie a knot.
26. Tie 2 more twines perpendicular to the first 2 pieces and your bánh chưng is complete!

Cooking bánh chưng

1. In a large pot, add 4-5 layers of leaves to completely cover the bottom of the pot.
2. Place your bánh chưng in the pot. If possible, pack them tightly so that they cannot float around, but not so tight that you risk ripping or misshaping them.
3. Pour in enough room temperature water to fully submerge the cakes plus at least 4-5 cm of water above them.
4. Add the lid, then place the pot on the stove and bring to boil on medium high.
5. Once the water is boiling vigorously, reduce heat to medium or whichever temperature on your stove that will maintain a low rolling boil.
6. Cook for 7-12 hours. This depends on the size of your pot, the size of your bánh chưng, the strength of your stove, and how many bánh chưng you’re cooking. For 4 bánh chưng, we cooked for about 7 and a half hours.
7. Checking on the pot at least once an hour:
   If the water level gets close to the top of the cakes, boil some water in a kettle or small pot and pour it in. Do not pour in cool water- we do not want the temperature of water in the pot to drop.
   If your cakes are moving around too much, place a sturdy heat-proof plate on top to submerge them.
8. When the bánh chưng are done cooking, carefully remove them from the pot.
9. Place the cakes on a flat tray or cutting board. Place another tray or cutting board on top of them, followed by some heavy objects (I used our heavy-weight dutch oven).
10. Leave them pressed for 5-8 hours. This squeezes out any excess water from the cooking process, preventing the rice from becoming mushy and helping the cakes to stay fresh longer.

Cutting bánh chưng

Because the rice is very sticky, cutting the cake with strings is much easier than with a knife. I recommend clean threads or dental floss.

1. Unwrap the top and sides of a bánh chưng, leaving it sitting on the bottom layer of leaves.
2. Place a piece of clean dental floss (at least 30 cm long) on the cake diagonally- from one opposite corner to another. Tie a knot on one end of the floss to mark that this is the first string.
3. Place another piece of floss perpendicular to the first to form an X. Do not tie a knot in this piece.
4. Place a third piece of floss vertically, running through the center of the cake – it should cross the center of the X. Tie a knot on one end of the floss to mark that this is the third string.
5. Place the final piece of floss horizontally running through the center of the cake – it should cross the other 3 strings at the center.
6. Place a plate upside down on top of the cake and flip.
7. Remove the leaves that are now on top.
8. Starting with the first diagonal floss that was knotted: pick up the two ends of the floss, pull them towards one another, pass them by one another at the center (like cars going in opposite directions), then continue pulling them towards the corner opposite from where they started. As you pull, the floss will cut through the cake. Do not pull the floss upwards until you can feel that it has cut cleanly through the meat in the center. Once it has, the floss will naturally release from the cake. The bánh chưng is now cut into 2 large triangles.
9. Repeat for the second diagonal floss. You now have 4 slices.
10. Repeat for the vertical floss that was knotted, followed by the final horizontal floss. You now have 8 equal slices.

Serving

• Serve with some fish sauce sprinkled with ground black pepper, Vietnamese cold cuts (like giò lụa/chả lụa, giò thủ, etc.), and dưa muối.

RECIPE VIDEO