Banh Tet – Shrine Kitchen

Banh tet(bánh tét) is a cylindrical sticky rice cake, typically cliced with a string for serving. It normally has savory mung bean and pork filling and sometimes has banana, black bean, or other filling. Banh tet is popular in the Mekong River Delta region of southern Vietnam and commonly eaten during the lunar new year.

Banh tet is traditionally made each year just in time for lunar new year or Vietnamese New Year, known as Tết(short for Tết Nguyên Đán[節元旦], meaning new year holiday). The name of the holiday(Tết) and the word describing the rice cake(tét, meaning sliced) are not the same word but sound similar. Banh tet is related to banh chung(bánh chưng), a similar rectangular rice cake popular for Tết in northern Vietnam.

Banh tet is typically served with pickled onion and dipping sauce. To slice the cake, put a string around the cylinder and pull tight until the string cuts through the cake and separates a slice.

Sweet Banh Tet Recipe

Ingredients

4 cup sticky rice, soaked overnight(at least 2-4 hours)
water for steaming
2 cup mung bean, soaked overnight(at least 2-4 hours)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
8 ripe finger banana, peeled
banana leaf

Method

boil mung bean, water
simmer
mash mung bean, salt, sugar
spread rice on layered banana leaf
shape mung bean mixture around banana
place on rice
add more rice on top
wrap into cylinder
tie
boil
simmer 6-8 hours
let cool
for serving, unwrap and slice with string
serve with sauce

Savory Banh Tet Recipe

Ingredients

4 cup sticky rice, soaked overnight(at least 2-4 hours)
water for steaming
2 cup mung bean, soaked overnight(at least 2-4 hours)
2 tsp salt
2 shallot, minced
2 tsp black pepper

Method

saute shallot
add mung bean, water
simmer
mash mung bean
mix ming bean, shallot, salt, pepper
spread rice on layered banana leaf
shape mung bean mixture into a cylinder on rice
add more rice on top
wrap into cylinder
tie
boil
simmer 6-8 hours
let cool
for serving, unwrap and slice with string
serve with sauce