If you used to visit Hanoi, Vietnam, you may know about this cake, Bánh Cốm or Vietnamese Green sticky rice cake. Made from Vietnamese Green Rice paste and Mung Bean Paste filling, banh com is a sweet and special treat when autumn comes. Everytime in Hanoi, I always buy some Banh Com as a perfect gift for friends and family. If you haven’t tried it in Hanoi, don’t worry, you can make it at home from dried Vietnamese green rice with my Banh Com recipe below.
Ingredients
Vietnamese Green Rice
As I shared in another post about Vietnamese green rice, it’s not only a special type of rice but also a symbol of Vietnamese traditions. Through a time and labor intensive making process, Vietnamese Green Rice is a result of unripe sticky rice, with a beautiful green color and an irreplaceable texture. It’s sticky, soft with a fragrance reminding you of Vietnam’s green paddy fields.
Vietnamese Green Rice is one of the two simple ingredients for Banh Com. You will need 300g (10.6oz or 1 1/4 cups) of this fried flakes for 4 cakes.
Mung Bean
Playing a very important role in Vietnamese Cuisine, Mung Bean appears in various Vietnam’s specalties from Moon Cake, Mung Bean Cake, Vietnam sticky rice cake, Glutinous Rice Balls, Sweet Soup, etc. Mung bean paste is also the only filling in Banh Com. To make 4 cakes, 50g (2 oz or 1/3 cups) of peeled split mung bean is enough.
That’s all; you only need these two ingredients, together with sugar (80g or 3oz) and a bit oil to make this special cake. Usually, vegetable oil is okay; if possible, try coconut oil.
Equipments
If you have a blender, it can help you shorten the time making green rice and mung bean paste. Moreover, if available, find plastic film to wrap the cake, it will make more beautiful banh com. Below are the list of equipment you can prepare:
- Plastic film or parchment paper: These are used for shaping banh com. The wrapper should be a non-stick material, and clear plastic film is the best one to show the beautiful color of the cake. However, in case you don’t have it available, parchment paper is still possible.
- Saucepan or pan: One or two pans are required to simmer the ingredients. Each paste needs at least 30 minutes to 1 hour to cook.
- Blender (optional): Useful for blending the mung beans and green rice into a fine paste. It will save you a lot of time.
How to make Banh Com
The whole process to make banh com is simple, but also time-consuming. You will have to make Green Rice paste and Mung Bean paste, then wrap them in plastic film or parchment paper. Let’s start:
Step 1. Making Cake Wrapper
- (Optional) Fragrance: If you can find pandan leaves, you can chop 1-2 pandan leaves and blend them with 100 ml of water to soak the glutinous rice. If you can’t find pandan leaves, you can substitute by adding a few drops of vanilla extract during the rice cooking process.
- Soak the green rice in 100ml of water for 1 hour. Then, drain the water. If you have a blender, blend them thoroughly to save time.
- Put 100ml of water (1/2 cup) and 30 grams (2.5 tbsp) of sugar in a pan. Use a non-stick pan because the green rice is super sticky; it’s indeed unripe sticky rice. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely. After that, add the soaked green rice to the pan.
- Turn on the stove to low heat to start cooking the glutinous rice, stir frequently to prevent it from burning. Cook the rice until it becomes smooth and thick (with a slime-like texture – see the picture below). The total time can vary from 30 minutes (if your rice is blended) to more than 1 hours.
Step 2. Filling
- Wash, remove damaged seeds, and soak mung beans in water for 3-4 hours until they fully absorb water.
- Rinse them again until clean and boil them until they soften. You can test by squeezing a bean by your finger, if it’s easy to be crushed, it achieved the required softness. Drain the boiling water.
- Then, add sugar, cooking oil, and glutinous rice flour (optional) to your cooked mung bean.
- If you have a blender, similar to the step above, blend the mixture until it becomes a paste. If you don’t have a blender, you have to cook the mixture slowly under low heat. Add 1/2 cup of water to the mixture and stir it frequently to avoid burning the mung beans. Cook the mung beans until they stick together as a block.
Step 3. Wrapping the Cake
Now let’s wrap the cake. Green sticky rice paste is a sticky ingredient, so remember to wear plastic gloves or cover your hands with oil or plastic wrap.
- Spread a thin layer of oil on a piece of parchment paper/ plastic film.
- Evenly spread a portion of the green rice paste on the parchment paper.
- Scoop a portion of the cooked mung beans and place it in the middle of the evenly spread green sticky rice layer.
- Fold the green rice paste over to cover the mung bean filling. Note that the sticky rice paste is super sticky; always cover your hands with plastic wrap, oil or parchment paper. Don’t directly touch the paste by your fingers.
- Then, carefully wrap the cake into a square shape and press it flat. Gently flip the cake so that the fold is underneath the cake.
Let the cake rest in 10-15 minutes, then you can enjoy its taste right away.
Some variations
There are also a version of Banh Com with freshly grated coconut mixed with green rice paste for the wrapper. If possible, try to add coconut in, the texture will be more interesting with a hint of crunchiness from grated coconut. You can also replace the vegetable oil in mung bean paste with coconut oil to make the cake
more greasy.
Pomelo essential oil is a fragrant oil, usually added in the paste to enhance the good smelling of the cake. Although these ingredients are quite difficult to find outside of Vietnam, the authentic version always includes them. So, if feasible, you should try it.
To enjoy banh com, people often have a cup of hot tea to balance the sweetness of the cake. It’s definitely a perfect match for an afternoon tea.
Preservation
You’ve done making your banh com and enjoy its interesting taste, but still have some cakes remaining? Let’s explore how to preserve them the right way.
With the mung bean being soaked in 3-4 hours before cooking, you can expect it to stay at its best for approximately 2 to 3 days when stored at room temperature. However, you shouldn’t extend this duration, as the mung bean paste within the cake may begin to go stale.
Refrigeration, although an option, should be approached with caution. Cakes stored in the refrigerator will dry out and become harder, loosing the original soft and chewy texture. Therefore, if you choose to refrigerate your them, better place it in an airtight container to minimize exposure to air, which can speed up the drying process.
Banh Com - A Vietnamese Green Rice Recipe
Made from Vietnamese Green Rice paste and Mung Bean Paste filling, banh com is a sweet and special treat when autumn comes.
Ingredients
Green Rice Wrapper
- 300g (10.6oz or 1 1/4 cups) of Vietnamese Green Rice Flakes
- 60g (2.2 oz) of granulated sugar
- 1-2 pandan leaves or 4-5 drops of vanilla extract
Mung Bean Filling
- 50g (2 oz or 1/3 cups) of peeled split mung bean
- 20g (1 1/2 tbsp) of granulated sugar
- 1 tsp of vegetable oil/ coconut oil
Wrapping
- Parchment paper or plastic film
Instructions
Step 1. Making Cake Wrapper
- (Optional) Chop 1-2 pandan leaves and blend them with 100 ml of water to soak the glutinous rice.
- Soak the green rice in 100ml of water for 1 hour. Then, drain the water. If you have a blender, blend them thoroughly to save time.
- Put 100ml of water (1/2 cup) and 30 grams (2.5 tbsp) of sugar in a pan. Use a non-stick pan because the green rice is super sticky; it's indeed unripe sticky rice. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely. After that, add the soaked green rice to the pan.
- Turn on the stove to low heat to start cooking the glutinous rice, stir frequently to prevent it from burning. Cook the rice until it becomes smooth and thick (with a slime-like texture - see the picture below). The total time can vary from 30 minutes (if your rice is blended) to more than 1 hours.
Step 2. Filling
- Wash, remove damaged seeds, and soak mung beans in water for 3-4 hours until they fully absorb water.
- Rinse them again until clean and boil them until they soften. You can test by squeezing a bean by your finger, if it's easy to be crushed, it achieved the required softness. Drain the boiling water.
- Then, add 10 grams (1 tbsp) of sugar, 1 tbsp of cooking oil, and 1 tbsp of glutinous rice flour (optional) to your cooked mung bean.
- If you have a blender, similar to the step above, blend the mixture until it becomes a paste. If you don't have a blender, you have to cook the mixture slowly under low heat. Add 1/2 cup of water to the mixture and stir it frequently to avoid burning the mung beans. Cook the mung beans until they stick together as a block.
Step 3. Wrapping the Cake
- Now let's wrap the cake. Green sticky rice paste is a sticky ingredient, so remember to wear plastic gloves or cover your hands with oil or plastic wrap.
- Spread a thin layer of oil on a piece of parchment paper/ plastic film.
- Evenly spread a portion of the green rice paste on the parchment paper.
- Scoop a portion of the cooked mung beans and place it in the middle of the evenly spread green sticky rice layer.
- Fold the green rice paste over to cover the mung bean filling. Note that the sticky rice paste is super sticky; always cover your hands with plastic wrap, oil or parchment paper. Don't directly touch the paste by your fingers.
- Then, carefully wrap the cake into a square shape and press it flat. Gently flip the cake so that the fold is underneath the cake.
- Let the cake rest in 10-15 minutes, then you can enjoy its taste right away.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 350
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.