Rambling… about rice cakes

In addition to sticky rice flour, there are rice flour, wheat flour, potato flour, tapioca starch, etc. The name of the ingredient after "banh it" will become a proper name. For example, banh it nep, banh it mi, banh it gao, etc. However, all types of cakes are covered with banana leaves, so who knows what the inside of the cake is like?

Therefore, buyers often ask if the cake is sweet or salty? What is the filling? Green beans, peanuts, black beans, red beans or shredded coconut? Nine out of ten people have different opinions. To sell cakes well, the seller must be... experienced. Which neighborhood likes sweet cakes with coconut filling, which neighborhood likes salty cakes with shrimp filling... to bring the cake in the right direction.

Sweet and fragrant sticky rice cake with gai leaves

Villagers who sell cakes don't make much profit, but they often... talk a lot. Sellers often quickly "PR" their cakes all over the streets and alleys. Aunts Nam, Bay, Tu... all take the opportunity to introduce what kind of flour and filling their cakes are made of, how delicious they are, folks...

Banh it is often available at the countryside market. In addition, trays of banh it are also available at the wharf, at the intersection of hamlets, at the intersection of villages... Nowadays, no one gathers the family to make the cakes, cooking the cakes with sweat and hard work like before. Nowadays, the village banh it has also "transformed digitally" so there are online banh it. Just say "shop, shop, hey" online, the next day the banh it will be delivered to your door, with the right type of cake, quantity, quality, and time.

Somehow I remembered the banh it mi after 1975 and then continued until the 1980s... After the war, there was a severe food shortage. Even with a little land along the fence, we would set up some noodle stalls to get tubers to make banh it. For the death anniversary, we had to replace the sticky rice banh it with wheat flour, the filling was shredded coconut fried with salt, seasoned with MSG, no meat at all. Yet it was "extremely" delicious. After the death anniversary, all the guests had a few banh it to bring home to their children and grandchildren. That's how it is in the countryside. Without banh it, the way home would be "sad".

Nowadays, in the midst of a market flooded with all kinds of cakes, banh it la gai is still "respected" by the countryside people. This type of cake is found in all the villages in the Central region. There are cakes, but there is no lyrical song like Binh Dinh has and is "possessing": Want to eat banh it la gai/Marry a Binh Dinh man for a long journey. No one "counts" how many girls from far away come to marry Binh Dinh because of the "motivator" of banh it la gai. But at least it says one thing: The wonderful appeal of banh it la gai is obvious, no need to discuss.

Green ramie leaves, crushed until smooth, will give a jet black color, mixed with sticky rice flour, a spoonful of cooking oil, then pounded until smooth to form the outer layer of the cake. The filling is green beans or coconut strands sweetened with sugar. Wrapped in banana leaves, placed in a steamer and steamed. Open the cake, the fragrant banana leaves open the sugar first. The ramie leaves blend with the gentle aroma of sticky rice later. The ivory white coconut strands in the middle of the "ramie leaves" still retain their crispness, sweet, and fatty taste.

The name banh it reminds you not to eat too much because it can easily… gain weight. "Don't eat banh it in the late afternoon because the energy accumulated during the night leads to weight gain. You should eat it in the morning or at noon because daytime activities will burn energy," a person with 60 years of experience eating banh it revealed.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/lan-man-banh-it-185230718200647378.htm