Banh Tet (Photo: Infonet)
The
Tet cake is cylindrical, made with sticky rice and filled with pork fat and
beans seasoned with black pepper and shallots. It is wrapped in banana leaves
and as a result, the sticky rice takes on a pale green color and a slightly
leafy taste. Even though the cake is available all year, it is still considered
a New Year treat.
The
cake is served with pickled scallions, vegetable pickles and fish sauce. After
cooking, the banana leaves are removed and the cake is sliced into wheel-shaped
servings. It may also be sliced and fried to a delicious chewy crispness.
To
prevent the banana leaf from coming apart during cooking, a Tet cake is usually
wrapped again several times with a length of plastic ribbon before
steaming.
People
of different regions can create ingredients to make perfect Tet cakes for
themselves. Can Tho is famous for its unique Banh Tet La Cam – violet glutinous
rice cake.
This
version of the Tet cake has a lovely purple colour because the sticky rice is
soaked in purple water extracted from the leaves of a magenta plant. Inside of
the cake there are tasty ingredients such as beans, pork fat, dried shrimps and
salted egg yolks. All are tightly wrapped in banana leaves and cooked for
hours.
The
process of making Tet cakes is time consuming, thus providing an opportunity
for family members to bond and come together to celebrate the holiday
spirit.
Presently,
Tet cakes have become popular with people in other regions as they are sold on
the market shelves in many localities across the country.
By VNA