Instant Pot Bánh Tét Recipe – Vietnamese Lunar New Year Sticky Rice Cake – FOOD is Four Letter Word (2024)

January 30, 2019Van

Instant Pot Bánh Tét Recipe – Vietnamese Lunar New Year Sticky Rice Cake – FOOD is Four Letter Word (1)

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Prep time: 24 hours

Cook time: 2 hours

Serves: 4 Bánh Tết

Tết (Lunar New Year) is coming up and my kids look forward to eating bánh tét every year. Bánh Tét, which is mostly eaten in central and southern Vietnam, is a cylindrical sticky rice cake filled with mung bean, pork belly and wrapped in banana leaves. I grew up eating this my whole life, but only tried making them recently thanks to RunAwayRice’s recipe (link here). This is a recipe that seems daunting, but watch her tutorial videos – she breaks down the steps and organizes the recipe so it’s very easy to make at home.

Bánh Tét origin folk story:

As an elderly king approached his death, he summoned his three sons to his deathbed. It was time to choose a successor to the throne. The king told his three boys that whoever could provide the most delicious meal for him would be king. The sons immediately went to their wives to plan this grand feast for their father.

The eldest son spared no expense and hired the most celebrated chefs in the land.
The middle son had his wife prepare a personalized meal complete with the kings favorite flavors.

The youngest son presented a simple meal to the king—a plate of bánh tét.

The king became angry seeing this simple meal in light of the other grandiose plates his other boys had prepared for him. He demanded an explanation.
The youngest prince and his wife begged for the kings forgiveness; explaining that bánh tét was all they could afford. An explanation soon followed by the princess to calm the kings anger.
“Instead of presenting you with a tasty but meaningless meal sir, I decided to fill your plate with meaning—a dish that best symbolizes the beauty of our land, Vietnam.”

The king was perplexed, but listened acutely as the princess continued
“The rice represents the staple of all Vietnamese meals—these simple grains give our people energy to work. The green wrapper represents the beauty of our famed rice paddies that populate our countryside. The mung bean symbolizes the sun that gives us life. And finally, the pork belly is symbolic of the great people in the three regions of your kingdom. All of this tied together by string—symbolizing the king who holds this promised land together.”

The king was speechless, deeply impressed by the princess’ thoughtful interpretation. He thought about her story as he ate the bánh tét. As he made his final decision, it was the youngest prince who would make the throne.
“A kingdoms power isn’t measured in gold and treasure, but the prosperity of it’s people. Thank you for showing me this princess.”

And the rest is history

Instant Pot Bánh Tét Recipe – Vietnamese Lunar New Year Sticky Rice Cake – FOOD is Four Letter Word (2)

Instant Pot Bánh Tét Recipe – Vietnamese Lunar New Year Sticky Rice Cake – FOOD is Four Letter Word (3)

My favorite way to eat bánh tét, sliced then pan fried until they are crispyInstant Pot Bánh Tét Recipe – Vietnamese Lunar New Year Sticky Rice Cake – FOOD is Four Letter Word (4)

Instant Pot Bánh Tét Recipe – Vietnamese Lunar New Year Sticky Rice Cake – FOOD is Four Letter Word (5)

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Instant Pot Bánh Tét Recipe – Vietnamese Lunar New Year Sticky Rice Cake – FOOD is Four Letter Word (6)

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Instant Pot Bánh Tét Recipe – Vietnamese Lunar New Year Sticky Rice Cake – FOOD is Four Letter Word (7)

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Instant Pot Bánh Tét Recipe - Vietnamese Lunar New Year Sticky Rice Cake

January 30, 2019Van

  • Prep time: 24 hours
  • Cook time: 2 hours
  • Serves: 4 Bánh Tết

www.foodisafourletterword.com

Ingredients

  • ¾ Pound Pork Belly, cut into four 1 inch x 4 inch strips
  • ½ Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
  • ½ Teaspoon Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Chopped Shallots
  • 2 ½ Teaspoons Salt, divided
  • ½ Tablespoon Fish Sauce
  • 3 Cups Mashed Mung Beans
  • 12 Frozen Banana Leaves, cut into 11 inch x 11 inch squares
  • 6 Cups Long Grain Sweet/Sticky Rice
  • 4 Cooking Twine / Butcher's String, 16-inches long
  • 4 Cooking Twine / Butcher's String, 9-feet long

Method

  • 1)

    Reference RunAwayRice’s Original Recipe and watch her two tutorial videos below:

    Recipe: http://runawayrice.com/main-dishes/sticky-rice-mung-bean-cakes-banh-tet/

  • 2)

    Instant Pot Cooking Instructions:

    If you have an 8Qt, it’s possible to cook all 4 Bánh Tét at once, if you have a 6Qt, you might have to cook them in two batches. Lay them horizontally into the pot to get them to fit.

    Wrap Bánh Tét with foil, then cook for 2 Hours High Pressure and let it do a full natural pressure release (this will take 1+ hours). Be sure to completely submerge them in the water, I had to fill above the max line to cover them.

    Refrigerate overnight before cutting and pan frying. Enjoy!

↓ Supplies to make this recipe ↓

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Instant Pot Bánh Tét Recipe – Vietnamese Lunar New Year Sticky Rice Cake – FOOD is Four Letter Word (17)

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Instant Pot Bánh Tét  Recipe – Vietnamese Lunar New Year Sticky Rice Cake – FOOD is Four Letter Word (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between banh tet and Banh Chung? ›

Banh Chung in the Central region is usually smaller than its Northern counterpart, and notably, it has less filling. Banh Tet, on the other hand, is wrapped similarly to the Southern style.

What is banh tet in English? ›

Banh Tet (round glutinous rice cake) is a traditional cake enjoyed by southern Vietnamese people on the occasion of the Lunar New Year.

What is the name of the traditional cake that is made from glutinous rice and filled with mung bean paste and pork during the Lunar New Year in Vietnam? ›

Bánh tét is a Vietnamese savoury but sometimes sweetened cake made primarily from glutinous rice, which is rolled in a banana leaf into a thick, log-like cylindrical shape, with a mung bean and pork filling, then boiled.

How do you eat Vietnamese sticky rice cake? ›

Banh Chung can be eaten both cold and heated. Some people prefer to eat it cold, while others enjoy it heated up, either by steaming or microwaving it for a few minutes.

What does banh chung mean in Vietnamese? ›

Banh Chung and Banh Tet are two indispensable cakes in traditional Vietnamese Tet. Banh Chung is square, symbolizing the earth, with an outer layer made from green phrynium or banana leaves, and inside is filled with green beans, fatty meat, spices and fragrant sticky rice.

Is Pho or bánh mì better? ›

Pho is older than banh mi by a little bit although they aren't far off. For Vietnamese families, pho has been heavily favored over banh mi just because of the customizations one can make, the art of cultivating the right broth, using local ingredients, and the various ways in which pho has become family cooking.

What is a sandwich called in Vietnam? ›

What is Banh Mi? Banh Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich that's made up of an odd sounding combination – crusty bread rolls smeared with pate, mayo, suspicious looking Asian ham, pickled vegetables, green onion, coriander/cilantro, a mighty wack of fresh chillies and drizzle of seasoning.

What do Vietnamese eat for Lunar New Year? ›

Xoi gac (“Gac” sticky rice)

On New Year's Eve or the first day of the lunar new year, Vietnamese often prepare a plate of Gac sticky rice to send to ancestors with the wish to receive good fortune and happiness throughout the year.

Why do people eat sticky rice cake? ›

Again, word association explains the tradition. The word nian gao sounds like “higher year,” representing a better year to come. “People eat rice cake because in Chinese, the cake carries the meaning of height, so if you eat cake, it means that in the new year, you will have good luck,” Xiu said.

What does the sticky rice cake mean? ›

Nian gao, or 'year cake', is a sticky rice cake which represents prosperity; the words 'nian gao' sounds like 'getting higher year on year', and this symbolises raising oneself taller in each coming year.

Is rice cake made of sticky rice? ›

Although this Burmese rice cake is made with whole sticky rice, as opposed to sticky rice flour, both desserts are sweetened with palm (or brown sugar), which gives the cakes a nice, caramel quality and flavor.

What makes Chinese sticky rice sticky? ›

Glutinous rice is distinguished from other types of rice by having no (or negligible amounts of) amylose and high amounts of amylopectin (the two components of starch). Amylopectin is responsible for the sticky quality of glutinous rice.

Are sticky rice cakes healthy? ›

Rice cakes offer very little nutritional value and are low in calories, fiber, and protein. Consuming rice cakes with an additional source of protein and fiber can balance out the increased blood sugar they may cause.

What is sticky rice called in Vietnamese? ›

Xôi, or Vietnamese sticky rice, is a beloved traditional dish that's as versatile as it is delicious.

What is the story behind Banh Tet Banh Chung? ›

In tasting the dishes offered by his son, the Hùng king found bánh chưng and bánh giầy not only delicious but also a fine representation of the respect for ancestors. Therefore, he decided to cede the throne to Lang Liêu and bánh chưng, bánh giầy became traditional foods during Tết.

Why do Vietnamese people eat banh chung? ›

According to tradition, families make, eat and offer the square sticky rice treats to their ancestors. Like many other Lunar New Year dishes, banh chung is steeped in symbolism. Traditionally, the banh chung is wrapped in green banana or dong leaves — a plant that grows abundantly in northern Vietnam.

What is the other name of Banh Tet? ›

Banh tet is generally known in the western world as Vietnamese sticky rice cake. Banh chung chay is a vegetarian version of this rice which omits the pork belly. There is another version called banh chung ngot which contains brown sugar and coconut flesh. There's also banh chung gu.

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