How to preserve delicious Tet Chung cake

Banh chung is a delicious traditional dish, relatively balanced in food groups (glucid, protein, lipid) and rich in nutrients. However, if not preserved properly, the cake can easily become rancid, moldy, causing food poisoning, digestive disorders... seriously affecting health.

Here are some tips for preserving cakes:

Use boiled dong leaves to wrap the cake.

The leaves used to wrap the cake should be thoroughly washed and drained. People usually do not wrap the cake with boiled dong leaves, however, this is a way to help the cake last longer.

Rinse the cake with clean water after boiling.

This method helps remove water and slime that remains on the cake when boiled, preventing the cake from spoiling quickly, especially in hot weather.

Press with heavy object to make the cake more compact.

Cover with a tray or plastic sheet, then place a heavy object on top. The heavy object needs to be evenly distributed over all the cakes that have just been boiled.

Hang the cake in a cool, airy place.

The cake will dry out on the surface, ensuring hygiene and long-term preservation.

Store in refrigerator

Many people believe that banh chung should not be stored in the refrigerator because it can easily become hard. However, if the weather is hot, you can store the cake in the refrigerator, cut it as you eat it, and cover the rest with plastic wrap.

When taking the cake out of the refrigerator, you need to boil, steam or fry it before eating. You should limit frying the cake because it increases the amount of fat (oil/grease) in your daily diet, which is not good for your health.

Do not eat moldy, fermented, sour-smelling cakes.

All moldy foods produce aflatoxin, which is harmful to humans over a long period of time. Therefore, according to the Food Safety Department, Ministry of Health, people should throw away moldy foods and absolutely not eat them.