As for banh chung, to be delicious, when boiled, it should be green, soft, moderate, not crushed, it requires experience in choosing ingredients for cooking. Please share with you the basics of choosing dong leaves, sticky rice, green beans and meat.
1. Choose the leaves
Choose some kind of non-glutinous leaf (neither too old nor too young) to make it easy to wrap and give it a nice green color.
The wrapped leaves of banh chung have an elliptical shape, the foliage is tall, wide and has a very beautiful green color. People often use the leaves to wrap the banh chung to make the cake more beautiful and eye-catching than using banana leaves.
In order to be able to choose a fresh leaf, take a close look at the outside of the leaf. The leaves should be fresh, have good tenacity and not be brittle. Choose leaves that are dark green in color and have a medium sized leaf that completely encapsulates the interior filling.
Do not choose leaves that are faded, dry to the touch, not soft like fresh leaves. Choose sheets that are intact, not torn or torn in any way.
Choose some kind of non-glutinous sheet (neither too old nor too young) to make it easy to wrap and give the cake a nice green color of medium width, each cake choose 4 sheets. Before wrapping the cake, it is necessary to soak the leaves in a large saucepan for 30-45 minutes, then use a soft cloth to rub both sides of the leaves to be cleaned.
No more washing the leaves, set up to drain. Then use a clean dry towel to dry the leaves, use a sharp knife to cut the veins to make the leaves soft, easy to wrap, then start wrapping.
2. Choose a dish to tie the cake
Banh chung is fine, fine, soft and supple. Each cake needs about 2-4 strips, depending on whether you want to attach a cross (2 tiles) or a square (4 tiles) on the cake.
3. Choose a delicious sticky rice
Choose sticky rice with even seeds, the most delicious flavor is sticky rice with yellow flowers.
You have to choose the type of sticky rice with even seeds, the most delicious flavor is sticky rice with yellow flowers, which is both fragrant and flexible. Dien Bien Highland Sticky Rice is also very delicious.
Choose sticky white rice that is uniformly milky throughout the grain, not an unusual white color or a pale white color. Try to chew rice in your mouth, if it is delicious rice, you will feel the sweet taste and not taste anything strange. When smelling, sticky rice has a sweet aroma and does not smell musty.
Rice should be soaked for at least 8 hours, then processed to clean the grain, let it drain, then wrapped the cake. Each cake can hold 0.5-1kg of rice, depending on the size you like.
4. Choose green beans
When you choose green beans with pepper, small seeds, the yellow flesh will be more delicious.
Green beans, also known as sturgeon, are beans commonly used as bean sprouts. When you choose green beans with pepper, small seeds, the yellow flesh will be more delicious. After buying green beans, be sure to soak them to soften them, easily remove damaged, flat and dry seeds. Mashed green beans, soak them in water for 1-2 hours, then peel the green skin, cooked food and beat them to make a cake. The usual ratio is “8 rice: 2 beans”. This kind of bean, you can buy in rural markets, the quality will be better.
5. Choose fresh and delicious meat
Choose meat with 3-thread meat or a pork shoulder will be delicious; should not choose too lean meats. The meat is washed and cut into pieces about 5-7 cm long, about 0.5 cm thick, soaked in salt and pepper for about 15 minutes before wrapping.
You should choose bacon that is light red to magenta in color, and it is fresh. When pressed, the flesh is firm, has good elasticity, does not leave bumps. There is no unpleasant odor when you smell meat, but the characteristic smell of meat.
