A popular saying goes: “If you wish to eat bánh ít lá gai, get married to a Bình Định man and enrich your life.”
Over centuries, bánh ít (full name: bánh ít lá gai) has become an inseparable part of Bình Định culture and the pride of its inhabitants.
The sticky rice cakes with coconut and green bean stuffing wrapped in a banana leaf has become part of folklore.
While it is said to have originated in Bình Định Province, the cake has become a veritable specialty of the central coastal region.
The cake has five ingredients: sticky rice, lá gai (ramie leaf), sugar, green beans, and banana leaf.
It has to be taken through different stages to make a good cake:
First of all, we wash the lá gai (ramie leaves), boil them and grind them with a stone mortar until their green colour turns black.
After that, we put sugar and the glutinous rice flour in the mortar and grind them with the ramie leaves. Then the three ingredients are mixed together to make the dough.
The dough is then steamed in a big pot with fire from firewood (not gas or kerosene). When the dough is well done, we take small parts of the dough on a pair of chopsticks and dry them over burning coal, so that the cake will be dry and not sticky. The dough is then divided into different small parts and stuffed with green beans and shredded coconut.
The green beans have to be soaked in water for hours and whipped before steaming. Then the well-done beans are ground and rolled into balls to be used as filling for the dough.
The banana leaves are usually quickly heated on fire or dipped in hot water to make them soft, so that it is easier to wrap the cake.
Bánh ít lá gai is a popular snack or dessert in the southern and central regions of Vietnam, and is especially popular during the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday. In traditional marriage rituals, a tray of this cake is the gift given by the bride’s family to that of the groom. This is said to showcase the culinary skill of the bride, who has made the cake together with other villagers.
No matter where you choose to eat Banh it la gai in Vietnam, you are sure to enjoy this delicious and iconic dish. So why dont you book the trip to Vietnam to enjoy the authentic Banh it la gai as well as many delicious Vietnamese food.
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*This above information is for reference purpose only
Source: vietnamnews.vn