Banh Tet (round glutinous rice cake) is a traditional cake enjoyed bysouthern Vietnamese people on the occasion of the lunar New Year. It isconsidered a variant of Banh Chung (square glutinous rice cake), whichis more popular in the northern region.

The Tet cake is cylindrical, made with sticky rice and filled withpork fat and beans seasoned with black pepper and shallots. The cake iswrapped in banana leaves and as a result, the sticky rice takes on apale green color and a slightly leafy taste. Even though the cake isavailable all year, it is still considered a New Year treat.

Tet cake is served with pickled scallions, vegetable pickles andfish sauce. After cooking, the banana leaves are removed and the cake issliced into wheel-shaped servings. The cake may also be sliced andfried to a delicious chewy crispness.

Toprevent the banana leaf from coming apart during cooking, Tet cake isusually wrapped again several times with a length of plastic ribbonbefore steaming.

Local people ofdifferent regions can create ingredients to make perfect Tet cakes forthemselves. Can Tho is famous for its unique Banh Tet La Cam- - violetglutinous rice cake.

This version of Tetcake has a lovely purple colour because the sticky rice is soaked inpurple water extracted from the leaves of a magenta plant. Inside of thecake there are tasty ingredients such as beans, pork fat, dried shrimpsand salted egg yolks. All are tightly wrapped in banana leaves andcooked for hours.

The process of makingTet cake is time consuming, thus providing an opportunity for familymembers to bond and come together to celebrate the holiday spirit.

Presently, Tet cakes have become popular withpeople in other regions as they are sold on the market shelves in manylocalities across the country.-VNA