Banh Khao is a sweet dessert originating from North Vietnam, especially in the Cao Bang province. This popular dessert is a traditional cake that is soft and melts in your mouth. Generally, Banh Khao is made from glutinous rice flour, sugar, and vanilla extract. Sometimes, it also contains mung beans, pork fat, sesame seeds or peanuts.
The sticky rice flour combining with sweet sugar and greasy fat create a unique flavour that is different from other types of cake. Traditionally, glutinous rice is carefully selected and roasted. After mixed with sugar, the dough was kept for 4 – 5 days before being put in a square mould.
This traditional cake usually placed on ancestral altars during Tet Holiday. Tet Holiday is a Vietnamese New Year celebrated in January or February. Banh Khao is also suitable for other special occasions such as a wedding, village festivals and others. Tourists also can enjoy eating it with some hot tea or buy as gifts to family and friends.
Make this sweet sticky dessert using this recipe at any time you want. This recipe uses green beans as the filling in the middle; however, you can substitute it with peanuts or sesame paste.
Ingredients:
- 400 g of glutinous rice flour (roasted slightly)
- 400 g of white sugar
- 300 g of green beans
- ½ tsp of vanilla
- 1 ½ of cup water
Directions:
- First, make the green beans filling. Cook the green beans in the pot until it becomes soft. Then, add 200 g of sugar in the pot and mix it well. Let it simmer for 5 minutes then set it aside.
- Put the remaining 200 g of sugar with the water in the pot under the medium heat. Stir the sugar until it becomes thicken and add vanilla extract. Remove from stove and continue stirring the sugar for 10 minutes.
- Combine the sugar and glutinous rice flour in a mixing bowl. Mix well until it becomes dough.
- Divide the dough into two. Put one part of the mixture into a square mould and compress it. Then add the green bean paste in the middle and another part of the dough on top of it.
- Make sure to compress them and set it aside for 20 minutes then cut them into desired sizes.
- Enjoy it with a cup of hot tea.
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