16. Vietnam: Banh Chung
One of the most important foods consumed during New Year’s (or Tết) celebrations in Vietnam, bahn chung is a large rice cake with layers of pork, mung bean, and other ingredients encased in a thick layer of soft, sticky rice. The whole packet is usually wrapped in the leaves of a giant type of bamboo called lá dong, though banana leaves might also work well. Banh chung are square in shape to represent the earth. Bánh dày is a similar type of rice cake eaten during the holidays, but it is round in shape to represent the sky.
Often you’ll find them served at New Year’s celebrations with assorted pickled vegetables, like daikon or shallots. For a different take on a traditional food, try our Crisp Sushi-Rice Cakes as a side or an appetizer in your New Year’s meal. “Banh Chung” (square glutinous rice cake) is a traditional cake of Vietnamese people in Tet holidays. For the Vietnamese, making Banh Chung is an ideal way to express gratitude to their ancestors and homeland In the ancient conception, the Earth is square, hence Banh Chung has square shape to reflect the Earth.
