‘Banh khuc’ is a traditional cake of Vietnam. It’s a rice ball made from glutinous rice, green beans, pork, spices and most importantly cudweed (khuc).
Cudweed
grows during lunar January and February, when the drizzling rain lasts
all day. It can be found along the edges of rice fields. There are two
kinds; nep and te. The latter is more flexible and fragrant and is preferred for making the cake.
First,
the cudweed is washed, ground and then mixed with husked glutinous
rice. Green beans, which have been flayed and turned into paste after
being cooked, are then added to the mixture. Finally, the cakes are
sprinkled with grains of glutinous steamed rice.
As time goes by it is increasingly difficult to find cudweed as fields are eaten up by development, luckily you can find ‘Banh khuc’ in Hanoi. However, some bakers may not be using cudweed and may substitute it with cabbage or water morning glory.
“Maybe I will no longer have the chance to satisfy my hunger for ‘Banh khuc’” says 60-year-old Nguyen Thi Khanh on Yen Ninh street. Khanh is not alone. Many others believe “real” ‘Banh khuc’ is no longer made anywhere in Hanoi.
One
woman who would certainly not agree with this is 47-year-old Nguyen Thi
Lan, whose cake stall at 69 Nguyen Cong Tru street has been churning
out banh khuc for years. Lan has to hire locals in the rural areas of
Hanoi or in neighbouring provinces to seek out the elusive cudweed. In
winter it grows in abundance so enough has to be collected then to last
all summer. The surplus is dried and stored.
Visitor can ask if the ‘Banh khuc’ is from Ngoai Hoang village in Ha Tay Province, a place that is famous for having the most delicious and tasty ‘Banh khuc’.
The cakes costs VND3,000 for one and should be served hot and dipped
into a mixture of roasted and crushed sesame seeds and salt.
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