Description
A traditional Vietnamese glutinous rice cake filled with pork belly and mung beans, wrapped in banana leaves. Known for its pyramid shape, it’s a must for Lunar New Year—or a Tuesday.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Pork Belly
- 1 lb pork belly (skin-on preferred; slice into 1-inch cubes)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons finely minced shallots
- 1/4 teaspoon MSG (optional)
Sweet Rice
- 4 cups sweet rice (glutinous rice)
- 2 teaspoons salt
Mung Beans
- 2 cups dried split mung beans
- 1 teaspoon salt
Banana Leaves
- 1 package (16 oz) banana leaves
Instructions
- Rice Overnight Preparation: Rinse the dried glutinous rice in a colander until water runs clear. Transfer to a mixing bowl and cover with water. Cover the bowl and let it soak overnight on the counter or at least 4 hours.
- Mung Beans Overnight Preparation: Repeat the same process for the dried mung beans.
- Pork Overnight Preparation: To remove surface impurities and any unwanted odor, generously rub the pork belly with salt. This is an optional step but recommended. Rinse thoroughly under running water to remove the salt and pat the pork belly dry with paper towels. Slice pork belly into small chunks and season with salt, sugar, fish sauce, ground black pepper, shallots, and MSG (if using).
- Banana Leaves Overnight Preparation: Thaw the banana leaves if frozen. Cut out 24 sheets of roughly 11×11-inches. They do not have to be perfect squares. We will be using 2 sheets of banana leaves per Banh U. If you have extras, keep them in case of tearing. Rinse sheets with hot water to clean. The hot water also makes them more pliable and less prone to tearing. Dry each sheet with paper towels.
- Banana Leaf Assembly: Place one banana leaf with the shiny side down. This makes an attractive wrapping as the glossy, green side of the banana leaves face outward. Place another banana leaf on top with shiny side up with veins running the opposite way. Fold along the diagonal into a large triangle (no need for a perfect triangle). Fold it once more along the diagonal to form a smaller triangle. How far you fold along the diagonal will determine how narrow or wide the cone shape becomes.
- Add Filling: Open up the layers to form a cone shape. You can place this cone upright in a cup if preferred. Next, add a layer of rice (about 1/4 cup), followed by mung beans (about 2 heaping tablespoons) and pork belly (2 pieces or more). Then top pork belly with more mung beans (another 2 heaping tablespoons) and rice (another 1/4 cup) to cover.
- Fold to Seal: Fold in the sides with either 3 or 4 sides for the base. Tuck in as best as you can and carefully flip it over so you have pyramid shape.
- Tighten with Strings/Foil: Wrap the banana leaves with string to secure the banana leaves in place. You can alternatively wrap with foil or plastic wrap first and then tighten with strings.
- Pressure Cook: Add the cakes into the inner pot of the pressure cooker. Add water to the maximum fill line. Add a heavy ceramic plate to the top to keep the rice cakes from floating (don’t worry, ceramic will not explode in a pressure cooker). Pressure cook on high for two hours and 30 minutes. Once done, allow the pressure cooker to depressurize on its own (about 40 minutes). Once it’s safe to open the lid, remove plate and transfer the rice cakes from the water onto a wire rack to drain. Pat dry with paper towels if needed.
- Serve: Allow the rice cakes to cool to room temperature and enjoy. The cakes can be enjoyed, as is, at room temperature with a spoon. Serve it with optional Vietnamese Fermented Dried Daikon in Fish Sauce (Dưa Món). for a more authentic taste.
Notes
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, boil on the stove top for 8 hours, covered. Top it off with water as needed.
- Prep Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Category: entree, appetizer, side disdh
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Vietnamese