{"id":88,"date":"2021-02-08T16:12:23","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T16:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/?p=88"},"modified":"2021-04-05T19:05:25","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T19:05:25","slug":"banh-chung-a-traditional-lunar-new-year-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/banh-chung-a-traditional-lunar-new-year-food\/","title":{"rendered":"B\u00e1nh Ch\u01b0ng \u2013 A Traditional Lunar New Year Food"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/IMG_2373-350x210.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"210\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo taken and used with permission from Trung Quach<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong><em>B\u00e1nh<\/em><\/strong><strong><em> Ch\u01b0ng<\/em> (square sticky rice cake) is the signature traditional food of <\/strong><strong><em>T\u1ebft<\/em> (Vietnamese New<\/strong><strong>Year)<\/strong>. Without <em>b\u00e1nh<\/em><em> Ch\u01b0ng<\/em>,\u00a0\u00a0<em>T\u1ebft<\/em> would lose its\u00a0essence! This beloved food has long been a tradition, with a history that extends far back to the <em>Hong Bang<\/em> period thousands of years ago.<\/p>\n<p>According to legend, the 6<sup>th<\/sup> Vietnamese king of the Hong Bang dynasty, held a cuisine search contest among his twenty-one sons. The contest winner would become the next ruler. Lang Li\u00eau (also known as Ti\u1ebft Li\u00eau), the poor eighteenth son, with help from a fairy in his dream, created two types of cakes, one of which was <em>b\u00e1nh<\/em><em> Ch\u01b0ng<\/em> made in a square shape that represents the Earth. Impressed by this delectable cake, the King passed his throne to the eighteenth son.\u00a0 Since then, <em>b\u00e1nh<\/em><em> Ch\u01b0ng<\/em> became an essential traditional food for <em>T\u1ebft<\/em>, a must offering item on the ancestor worship altar and on the <em>T\u1ebft<\/em>\u2019s meals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Art of Making <em>B\u00e1nh<\/em><\/strong><strong><em> Ch\u01b0ng<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_91\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-91\" class=\"wp-image-91 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/image0-1-350x233.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/image0-1-350x233.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/image0-1.jpeg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-91\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo taken and used with permission from Duong Ky Lam<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Here are the ingredients:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>G\u1ea1o<\/em><em> n\u1ebfp<\/em> (glutinous rice)<\/li>\n<li><em>\u0110\u1eadu xanh<\/em> (mung bean)<\/li>\n<li><em>Th\u1ecbt heo<\/em> (pork meat)<\/li>\n<li><em>Mu\u1ed1i <\/em>(salt) &amp; <em>t<\/em><em>i\u00eau<\/em> (pepper)<\/li>\n<li><em>L\u00e1 d<\/em><em>ong<\/em> (dong leaves) or <em>l\u00e1 <\/em><em>c<\/em><em>hu\u1ed1i<\/em> (banana leaves)<\/li>\n<li><em>D\u00e2y l\u1ea1t<\/em> (bamboo fibers)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Though it looks quite simple and is not a fancy food, the process is very time consuming and it takes experience to make it look and taste right.<\/p>\n<p>The glutinous rice, mung bean, and the bamboo fibers have to be soaked in water 6-8 hours before making. Stuff the pork meat, and mung bean right in the middle of the uncooked glutinous rice, then tightly wrap it with the banana leaves in a perfect square shape. Delicately tie the cake evenly with the fibers stripped from the bamboo stalk. The whole process requires experience and skill. It takes between 8-14 hours to boil the cakes in the traditional way. Finally, it needs to be pressed after being cooked to remove the excess water.<\/p>\n<p>A good <em>b\u00e1nh<\/em><em> Ch\u01b0ng<\/em> is one that still has a perfect square shape after being cooked. Once unwrapped, it should have a natural, nice green color, be tender but not mushy, and of course, taste amazing.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_97\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97\" class=\"wp-image-97 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/new-year-2161278_1920-350x228.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"228\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/new-year-2161278_1920-350x228.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/new-year-2161278_1920-1024x668.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/new-year-2161278_1920-768x501.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/new-year-2161278_1920-1536x1002.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/new-year-2161278_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-97\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by cuhiep from Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Who would have time to spend a whole day and a whole night to make this? Well, it\u2019s the work of a whole family.\u00a0 In the old days, family members would gather together to make <em>b\u00e1nh<\/em><em> Ch\u01b0ng<\/em> on Lunar New Year\u2019s eve and cook it while waiting for the count down. Making <em>b\u00e1nh<\/em><em> Ch\u01b0ng<\/em> is a family tradition, a special time for parents to tell old stories, gossip, and bond with their family members.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How to Serve<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After unwrapping, reuse the bamboo fibers that tied the <em>b\u00e1nh<\/em><em> Ch\u01b0ng<\/em> to slice the cake into smaller square sections to serve. No knife is needed. It does take skill to evenly slice the cake with straight, clean cuts. Once you tire of eating the boiled <em>b\u00e1nh<\/em><em> Ch\u01b0ng<\/em> or it becomes stale, you can fry it in a pan to make it crunchy on the outside but sticky and chewy inside for a special treat. Indeed, children often prefer to eat <em>b\u00e1nh<\/em><em> Ch\u01b0ng chi\u00ean<\/em> (fried <em>b\u00e1nh<\/em><em> Ch\u01b0ng<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p>What goes along with <em>b\u00e1nh<\/em><em> Ch\u01b0ng<\/em> in a traditional <em>T\u1ebft<\/em>\u2019 meal? Don\u2019t forget these condiments and dishes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Th\u1ecbt<\/em><em> \u0111\u00f4ng<\/em> (Cold fatty pork stew) or th\u1ecbt kho (warm pork stew)<\/li>\n<li><em>Gi\u00f2<\/em><em> l\u1ee5a<\/em> (rolled pork ham)<\/li>\n<li><em>D\u01b0a<\/em><em> ki\u1ec7u<\/em> (Pickled leeks)<\/li>\n<li><em>D\u01b0a c\u1ea3i<\/em> (Pickled mustard green)<\/li>\n<li><em>D\u01b0a<\/em><em> h\u00e0nh<\/em> (Pickled onions in fish sauce)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These foods are so popular that they are memorialized in a very well known <em>c\u00e2u \u0111\u1ed1i t\u1ebft<\/em> (T\u1ebft distich)<\/p>\n<p><em>Th\u1ecbt m\u1ee1, d\u01b0a h\u00e0nh, c\u00e2u \u0111\u1ed1i \u0111\u1ecf<\/em> (Fatty meat, pickled onions, red color distich)<br \/>\n<em>C\u00e2y n\u00eau, tr\u00e0ng ph\u00e1o, b\u00e1nh ch\u01b0ng xanh<\/em> (Bamboo pole, firecrackers, green <em>b\u00e1nh<\/em><em> Ch\u01b0ng)<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_109\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-109\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-109\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/lunar-new-year-4653286_1920-350x233.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/lunar-new-year-4653286_1920-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/lunar-new-year-4653286_1920-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/lunar-new-year-4653286_1920-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/lunar-new-year-4653286_1920-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/lunar-new-year-4653286_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-109\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by Xu\u00e2n Tu\u1ea5n Anh \u0110\u0103ng from Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"210\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/IMG_2373-350x210.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/IMG_2373-350x210.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/IMG_2373-1024x614.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/IMG_2373-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/IMG_2373-1536x922.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2021\/02\/IMG_2373.jpg 1750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>B\u00e1nh Ch\u01b0ng (square sticky rice cake) is the signature traditional food of T\u1ebft (Vietnamese NewYear). Without b\u00e1nh Ch\u01b0ng,\u00a0\u00a0T\u1ebft would lose its\u00a0essence! This beloved food has long been a tradition, with a history that extends far back to the Hong Bang period thousands of years ago. According to legend, the 6th Vietnamese king of the Hong&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/banh-chung-a-traditional-lunar-new-year-food\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":174,"featured_media":89,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,376348,13],"tags":[550827,550829,550831,550826,228753,550830],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-foods","category-vocabulary","tag-banh-chung","tag-holiday-food","tag-lunar-new-year-food","tag-sticky-rice-cake","tag-traditional-food","tag-vietnamese-cuisine"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/vietnamese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}