''Bánh tẻ'' (literally "rice cakes" in

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

; also called ''bánh răng bừa'') is a variety of small steamed

rice cake A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten and are particularly preval ...

Vietnamese cuisine Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the foods and beverages of Vietnam. Meals feature a combination of five fundamental tastes ( vi, ngũ vị, links=no, label=none): sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and spicy. The distinctive nature of each dish refle ...

. It is a traditional variety of ''

bánh In Vietnamese, the term ''bánh'' ( or , Chữ Nôm: 餅) translates loosely as "cake" or "bread", but refers to a wide variety of prepared foods that can easily be eaten by hands or chopsticks. With the addition of qualifying adjectives, '' ...

'' from the

Red River Delta The Red River Delta or Hong River Delta ( vi, Châu thổ sông Hồng) is the flat low-lying plain formed by the Red River and its distributaries merging with the Thái Bình River in northern Vietnam. ''Hồng'' (紅) is a Sino-Vietnamese word ...

region of northern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. ''Bánh tẻ'' are made of

rice flour Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...

, wrapped with

Lá dong ''Stachyphrynium placentarium'' is a species of plant in the family Marantaceae. Its basionym was ''Phyllodes placentaria'' Lour.de Loureiro J (1790) ''Fl. Cochinch.'' 1: 13. and was subsequently long placed as various species in the genus ''Phr ...

leaves into a long, thin cylindrical shape, and boiled thoroughly. ''Bánh tẻ'' is considered one of the most typical dishes of Hà Tây Province, located near

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

, although it may also be found in other parts of the country. The flavors and ingredients of ''bánh tẻ'' vary from region to region.

Ingredients

''Bánh tẻ'' are made of plain (non-

glutinous Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domestication of animals, domesticated animals, or domesticated plants. These traits were identified by Charles Darwin in ''The Variation of Animals and Pl ...

) white rice (called ''gạo tẻ'' in Vietnamese),

minced Mincing is a food preparation technique in which food ingredients are finely divided into uniform pieces. Minced food is in smaller pieces than diced or chopped foods, and is often prepared with a chef's knife or food processor, or in the case ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

shoulder, Judas's ear fungus (''

Auricularia auricula-judae ''Auricularia auricula-judae'', which has the recommended English name jelly ear, also known as Judas’s ear or Jew’s ear, is a species of fungus in the order Auriculariales. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are brown, gelatinous, and have a noti ...

''),

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

, salt,

pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

. Some variants of ''bánh tẻ'' include peanuts and chopped

shiitake The shiitake (alternate form shitake) (; ''Lentinula edodes'') is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a Medicinal fungi, medicinal mushroom in some forms of tradition ...

mushrooms.

Making

In order to make ''bánh tẻ'', rice is first soaked in water until it is soft enough, then it is ground by hand with a grindstone to turn rice into a thick or watery mixture of water and rice powder. This mixture is cooked to a temperature above 50 degrees Celsius (but not to boiling) while it is stirred for 3 hours until it reaches the consistency of thick slurry. For the filling,

, and

mushrooms are finely minced and combined. To compose the dish, a layer of rice paste is layered onto a leaf, followed by a layer of filling, and then another layer of rice paste. The final ''bánh'' is then wrapped with the leaves tied with thread or string, forming slender cylinder. The last step involves steaming the ''bánh tẻ'' for 20 minutes until fully cooked.

Serving

''Bánh tẻ'' are served with ''

nước mắm Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, P ...

'' (fish sauce) and sprinkled with

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...

. Unlike some varieties of ''bánh'', which are prepared only seasonally or for particular festivals, ''bánh tẻ'' are made all year round.

External links

''Bánh tẻ'' photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banh te Vietnamese words and phrases Steamed foods Rice cakes Vietnamese pork dishes Stuffed dishes

Ingredients

Making

Serving

See also

External links