Sandwich shop goodies 3 – Bánh ú tro (Vietnamese-adapted jianshui zong)
It’s been two weeks, but better late than never. After I read Jessica’s zong zi post on Food Mayhem, images of amber tedrahedra just wouldn’t leave me alone. I talked to my mom about them, and I could hear her voice crackle with sweet memories over the phone. We haven’t had these sweet little things for years. We used to eat them by the dozens every lunar May. Like most Saigonese, we didn’t do anything huge to celebrate Tet Doan Ngo, but bánh ú tro was too scrumptious a tradition to pass.
Each pyramid is just a little over an inch tall, whichever way you roll it. It’s unclear whether the traditional zongzi grew smaller when Chinese immigrants share the recipe with their Vietnamese neighbors, or only the dessert zongzi (jianshui zong) is favored by the locals over savory types. Most Vietnamese have also long dissociated this sticky rice snack with the Chinese reason behind Duanwu festival, if not to assign the Fifth of Lunar May to commemorate the death anniversary of Vietnam’s legendary Mother Âu Cơ, kill off bad bugs, make ceremonial offerings to family ancestors, or simply bathe in the summer solstice’s endless sunlight. Whatever meaning someone chooses to celebrate (or not celebrate) Duanwu (Đoan Ngọ in the Vietnamese language), he can enjoy bánh ú tro all the same. And if he lives in Hội An, there’s a big chance he actually participates in making them too.
The people of Hoi An don’t make a living with bánh ú tro year round, but they keep the tradition with earnest. Within four days, 1st-4th of lunar May, everybody makes bánh ú tro. The fifth day, everybody eats bánh ú tro. The sixth day, things get back to normal. In Saigon’s markets, bánh ú tro start showing up a week or two before the Fifth, and disappear right after, my mom recalled. So when I told her that I was going to search for them after I read Jessica’s post, she said “fat chance”.
Why such rarity? After all, bánh bía, also adapted from the Chinese and also originally made just for one specific festival, shines its face all year long in every bakery and sandwich shop these days. Well, the recipe for bánh ú tro turns out to be real hard, and it’s not just the wrapping stage. The best bánh ú tro, according to Hoi An banh makers, must be wrapped with “kè” leaves from the mountains of Huế. The cleanly washed sticky rice is soaked in sesame ash water overnight (sesame plant burnt into ashes, mixed with water and sifted through sand). The ash water turns sticky rice grains into semi-powder form, giving bánh ú tro a clear amber look and a strangely light texture, unlike any other sticky rice concoctions. No wonder “ash” (tro) is part of the banh’s definitive name. (If you look at jianshui zong recipes, you’ll find lye water or alkaline water listed. More correct terms perhaps, but the horrid image on Wikipedia’s page on lye takes away my appetite. “Ash” even has a romantic ring to it, and this banh is made for a poet after all.) A bit of alum is put in the ash water to somehow keep each banh from falling apart.
Now of course sesame plants aren’t growing in everyone’s backyard to burn, so just any coal ash would do, as long as you sift the ash water carefully to avoid big pieces of charcoal in your sticky rice. Some different source suggests ash from mangrove firewood, dissolved in water for a month, but it seems to be just another grandmother’s special recipe varying by the regions. After soaking the rice for 1-3 nights, take it out and wash with cold water again.
The wrapping leaves, too, vary from place to place. Kè leaf is obviously not the most popular, as bamboo leaf and reed leaf, in their slender shape and earthy fragrance, do the job just as well. Banana leaves can be cut into wide strips to imitate bamboo leaves. Skilled banh makers can also control the colors: older leaves give darker hues, substituting ash with white lime paste(*) lets bánh ú tro have the natural green shades from the leaves, while red lime paste causes a reddish amber shine.
Nonetheless, there exists a common wisdom regardless of ingredients: burn an incense stick when you drop the banh into water for boiling, when the incense burns out, the banh is done. Usually that takes four hours.
Let cool, bánh ú tro is more firm than chewy. There you can still see silhouettes of individual grains on the outside, but each banh is a solid tedrahedron of defined edges and uniform texture. It unwraps easily, parallel thread marks of bamboo leaf veins imprint on the smooth and fulfilling surfaces. It’s hardly sticky, unlike bánh ít and bánh dầy (also made from sticky rice). And it’s light. The banh’s are tied together in bundles of ten, and I can eat all ten in one sitting. (I can hardly finish one bánh ít in one sitting.) Funny, “ít” means “small in quantity”, and “ú” means “chubby”.
The traditional bánh ú tro of the North and Central Vietnam is just that, a plain chunk, good by itself to some and must be accompanied by honey or sugar to others. Then with time it got a sweetened red bean paste filling. Then a sweetened mung bean paste filling. Then a sweetened grated coconut filling. I grew up eating the red bean kind every year and thought it was the only kind. So I jumped at the first bunch I saw at Kim’s Sandwiches last Sunday, twelve days after the Fifth of Lunar May. The bunch was tied together by green nylon strings. I hurried home, unwrapped, took a bite. My mom called.
– Mom, I found them!
– Really?!?! How are they?
– Good, but why’s there no bean paste?!
Should’ve gotten the red string bunch instead.
———————————————————————-
Bánh ú tro ($3.75/10 pieces) from Kim’s Sandwiches
(in the Lion Supermarket area)
1816 Tully Rd 182, San Jose, CA 95111
(408) 270-8903
(*) Lime paste is used to eat with betel leaves and areca nuts.
Click here for a recipe of bánh ú tro (Vietnamese zong zi)
———————————————————————–
Previously on Sandwich Shop Goodies: bánh bía (Vietnamese adapted Suzhou mooncake)
Next on Sandwich Shop Goodies: corn xôi
I enjoy your piece of work, appreciate it for all the interesting content.
1Hey there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay. I’m definitely enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.
2Thanks for every one of your efforts on this website. My aunt delights in managing investigations and it’s really simple to grasp why. I hear all relating to the lively method you offer vital solutions on your blog and therefore invigorate contribution from others on the area and our own child is without question starting to learn a lot of things. Take advantage of the rest of the year. You are carrying out a powerful job.
3I have been checking out a few of your articles and it’s pretty nice stuff. I will definitely bookmark your site.
4Way cool, some valid points! I appreciate you making this article available, the rest of the site is also high quality. Have a fun.
5I went over this internet site and I think you have a lot of good information, saved to bookmarks (:.
6I have been surfing online more than 3 hours nowadays, but I never discovered any attention-grabbing article like yours. It’s beautiful value enough for me. In my opinion, if all website owners and bloggers made excellent content as you did, the web will be a lot more helpful than ever before. “Learn to see in another’s calamity the ills which you should avoid.” by Publilius Syrus.
7Thanks for every other informative web site. The place else may I get that kind of information written in such an ideal manner? I have a challenge that I am just now working on, and I have been at the look out for such info.
8Saved as a favorite, I really like your blog!
9I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here. The sketch is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an impatience over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come more formerly again since exactly the same nearly very often inside case you shield this increase.
10Spot on with this write-up, I actually assume this website wants way more consideration. I’ll in all probability be again to learn rather more, thanks for that info.
11I like this website its a master peace ! Glad I discovered this on google .
12Some really wonderful articles on this web site, regards for contribution. “A liar should have a good memory.” by Quintilian.
13Hello my family member! I want to say that this article is awesome, great written and include approximately all important infos. I’d like to see extra posts like this .
14I like this site very much, Its a very nice office to read and get info . “There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.” by John Andrew Holmes.
15I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back later on. Many thanks
16Thanks a lot for giving everyone an extraordinarily wonderful chance to read articles and blog posts from here. It’s always so brilliant plus jam-packed with fun for me personally and my office acquaintances to search the blog really three times weekly to study the fresh guides you have got. Not to mention, I’m just usually amazed with the gorgeous points you serve. Selected 2 areas in this article are in truth the most effective I’ve ever had.
17Real clear website , thanks for this post.
18Loving the information on this internet site, you have done great job on the blog posts.
19I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back later. Cheers
20Very excellent info can be found on site. “Life without a friend is death without a witness.” by Eugene Benge.
21But wanna comment on few general things, The website pattern is perfect, the content is very superb : D.
22I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the structure of your website? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two images. Maybe you could space it out better?
23Just desire to say your article is as surprising. The clearness for your publish is just excellent and that i could assume you are a professional on this subject. Fine together with your permission let me to grasp your RSS feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thank you 1,000,000 and please continue the enjoyable work.
24I do agree with all the ideas you have presented in your post. They are really convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are very short for beginners. Could you please extend them a little from next time? Thanks for the post.
25I will right away grab your rss as I can not find your email subscription link or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Kindly let me know in order that I could subscribe. Thanks.
26Together with every little thing which appears to be developing throughout this area, many of your opinions are generally fairly stimulating. However, I appologize, but I do not subscribe to your whole plan, all be it stimulating none the less. It looks to everyone that your remarks are generally not entirely justified and in fact you are generally your self not fully certain of the point. In any event I did take pleasure in reading through it.
27obviously like your web site but you need to check the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very troublesome to tell the truth nevertheless I’ll surely come back again.
28Keep up the good work, I read few articles on this site and I think that your weblog is really interesting and has lots of good info .
29My partner and I absolutely love your blog and find many of your post’s to be exactly what I’m looking for. can you offer guest writers to write content for you? I wouldn’t mind producing a post or elaborating on a number of the subjects you write regarding here. Again, awesome blog!
30As I website possessor I think the content here is really wonderful, regards for your efforts.
31You are my breathing in, I have few web logs and occasionally run out from to brand : (.
32I wish to show thanks to this writer just for bailing me out of this particular instance. Because of looking throughout the online world and finding concepts which are not helpful, I believed my entire life was well over. Living devoid of the strategies to the issues you’ve resolved by means of your entire report is a critical case, and the ones which may have adversely affected my career if I hadn’t come across your web site. Your own personal know-how and kindness in controlling all things was tremendous. I’m not sure what I would have done if I had not come across such a solution like this. I am able to at this moment relish my future. Thanks very much for this high quality and effective guide. I will not hesitate to propose your web site to any individual who should have support on this issue.
33Hiya, I am really glad I have found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossips and web and this is actually annoying. A good blog with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thanks for keeping this site, I will be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Cant find it.
34This really answered my problem, thank you!
35Great post, I think website owners should learn a lot from this web site its rattling user friendly.
36Hi there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it’s really informative. I am going to watch out for brussels. I will appreciate if you continue this in future. Lots of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
37Outstanding post, I think website owners should learn a lot from this website its rattling user pleasant.
38Somebody essentially help to make seriously articles I would state. This is the first time I frequented your web page and thus far? I surprised with the research you made to create this particular publish incredible. Excellent job!
39Thankyou for this wondrous post, I am glad I detected this site on yahoo.
40Nearly all of whatever you say happens to be astonishingly legitimate and it makes me ponder why I had not looked at this in this light before. Your article truly did turn the light on for me as far as this topic goes. However at this time there is one factor I am not really too cozy with and whilst I try to reconcile that with the main theme of the issue, let me observe what all the rest of the readers have to point out.Nicely done.
41Good day! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any suggestions?
42Some really nice and utilitarian information on this internet site, too I think the pattern has got wonderful features.
43Very interesting topic, regards for putting up.
44I really enjoy reading through on this site, it contains superb articles.
45Hi , I do believe this is an excellent blog. I stumbled upon it on Yahoo , i will come back once again. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and help other people.
46Dead composed articles, thanks for selective information.
47Real clear site, thankyou for this post.
48Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive learn anything like this before. So good to find somebody with some original thoughts on this subject. realy thank you for starting this up. this website is one thing that is needed on the internet, someone with a little originality. useful job for bringing something new to the internet!
49Terrific work! That is the type of info that are meant to be shared around the net. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post upper! Come on over and visit my web site . Thanks =)
50