Bánh chưng
Vietnamese rice cake is a traditional Vietnamese rice cake which is made from glutinous rice, mung beans, pork and other ingredients. Its origin is told by the legend of Lang Liêu, a prince of the last king of the Sixth Hùng Dynasty, who became the successor thanks to his creation of bánh chưng and bánh giầy, which symbolized, respectively, the Earth and the Sky. Considered an essential element of the family altar on the occasion of tết, the making and eating of bánh chưng during this time is a well-preserved tradition of Vietnamese people. Beside the tết holiday, bánh chưng is also eaten all year round as a delicacy of Vietnamese cuisine and one of the national dishes of Vietnam, in addition to chả giò and phở. INGREDIENTS
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BANH CHUNG / BANH TET
These banana leaf-wrapped parcels are eaten during the lunar new year celebration of Tet, which is a very big deal in Vietnam (and coming up soon in February!). People buy new clothes, paint their homes, clean everything, and cook for days in preparation of the mega-feast. Many of these sticky rice cakes—known as Banh Tet during the holiday—are prepared ahead of time, both to be eaten and to be placed before ancestral altars. The glutinous rice bundle is tightly packed with fatty pork and mung bean.
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