Unique types of banh chung (Vietnamese sticky rice cake) for Tet (Lunar New Year)

(Baonghean.vn) - Besides the traditional green sticky rice cakes, many families have chosen sticky rice cakes with more unusual and unique shapes to add color to their New Year's feast.

Besides the traditional green sticky rice cakes, many families have chosen sticky rice cakes with more unusual and unique shapes to add color to their New Year's feast.

Five-colored sticky rice cakes, brown rice sticky rice cakes, upland sticky rice sticky rice cakes, letter-shaped sticky rice cakes… are new variations of the traditional sticky rice cake, favored by housewives and families during the Tet holiday of the Year of the Rooster this year.

Gac fruit sticky rice cake

The vibrant red color of the gac fruit sticky rice cake symbolizes wishes for good fortune throughout the year.

Gac fruit sticky rice cake is made from fresh ingredients such as glutinous rice mixed with pork, gac fruit, mung beans, and spices. The cake has a very special flavor, with a rich gac fruit aroma. Currently, the market offers savory gac fruit sticky rice cakes (with pork) or sweet gac fruit sticky rice cakes (with sugar filling).

Five-colored sticky rice cake

The cakes come in five colors: white, red, purple, green, and yellow, symbolizing the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

Making a five-colored sticky rice cake (bánh chưng ngũ sắc) is very time-consuming and requires sophisticated techniques. The colors of the cake are made entirely from natural ingredients: the green color comes from the juice of ground galangal leaves, the yellow from fresh turmeric, the red from gac fruit, and the purple from purple sticky rice or the juice of purple yam leaves.

In particular, to achieve the beautiful colors of the cake, the baker must skillfully pour the rice into the mold carefully so that the colors do not mix together. The five colors in the cake represent five different flavors, preventing a feeling of satiety when eaten, which is why it is favored by many people.

Dien Bien green sticky rice cake

The distinctive green sticky rice cake of Dien Bien is made from upland sticky rice.

The cake is made from the distinctive green glutinous rice of Dien Bien, and when you enjoy it, you can feel the chewy texture and fragrant aroma of this specialty rice from the highlands.

Sticky rice cake (Bánh chưng) made from brown rice and red glutinous rice.

Made from special ingredients such as red glutinous rice, mung beans, and salt, this cake is not only appealing for its unique flavor but also for its eye-catching color. It's suitable for vegetarians.

Sticky rice cakes (Bánh chưng) made with brown rice and red glutinous rice are suitable for vegetarians.

Black sticky rice cake

This is a traditional cake of the Tay people in Lang Son, with a dark purple color from the glutinous rice grains, soft, chewy, and with a refreshing taste.

Black sticky rice cake is a traditional dish of the Tay people.

The cake is wrapped in a round, elongated shape, similar to the bánh tét found in Southern Vietnam.

Sticky rice cake with the words "Wishing You a Happy New Year"

Purple sticky rice cake with salted egg yolk

Besides the traditional type of bánh tét, wrapped with the same ingredients as bánh chưng, there is now also a type of bánh tét wrapped in purple leaves with salted duck eggs.

Sticky rice cake with the words "Wishing You a Happy New Year"

In particular, there is a type of sticky rice cake with letters, where each slice of sticky rice cake is a separate letter. A pair of cakes contains a different set of New Year's greetings such as Happy New Year, prosperity and wealth, good fortune and success, a prosperous new year, peace and prosperity…

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