Method
- Marinate the pork belly strips with fish sauce, salt, pepper, garlic and shallots for at least 2 hours.
- Steam the soaked mung beans for 25 minutes until tender. Mash to a coarse paste with a pinch of salt; cool. The mashed mung becomes the filling layer between rice and pork.
- Drain the soaked rice. Toss with 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp neutral oil — the oil keeps the grains separate during the long cook.
- Wrapping is the construction step: lay 4 banana leaves overlapping in a cross. Spread a 5cm-wide line of rice along the centre, 25cm long. Top with a line of mashed mung bean. Place a strip of marinated pork in the centre. Cover with another line of mung, then more rice on top.
- Roll the leaves tightly around the filling into a long cylinder, about 25cm. Fold the ends up and over and tie firmly with twine in 4 places along the length and at each end. The roll must be very tight — loose wrapping leads to uneven cooking and split parcels.
- Place the wrapped banh tet in a tall pot, cover completely with water, and boil for 6–8 hours, topping up with hot water as needed. The longer the boil, the softer and more flavour-soaked the rice becomes. Cool 30 minutes before slicing thick rounds. Serve with pickled mustard greens and braised pork (thit kho) for the full Tet plate.
Common questions
Can Banh Tet be made ahead?
Banh Tet is best made and eaten the same day, but the components can be prepped earlier — chop and measure the ingredients up to a day ahead, refrigerated separately. Final cooking takes about 480 minutes.
Is Banh Tet spicy?
Banh Tet as written is mild to mildly warming — the heat comes from aromatics rather than chili. Add fresh sliced chili or chili oil at the end if you'd like to push it spicier.
Is Banh Tet vegetarian or gluten-free?
This recipe is suitable for most diets. If you have specific restrictions, the substitutions section in each ingredient note covers the most common swaps.
How hard is Banh Tet to make at home?
Banh Tet is more demanding — total time around 720 minutes plus marinating/resting where noted. Specific technique (knife work, wok hei, fermentation) makes the difference between a passable result and the real thing.
Can Banh Tet be scaled up or down?
This recipe is written for 8 servings. To scale, multiply each ingredient proportionally; the cooking times stay the same up to about double the volume. Beyond that, expect to cook in batches because of pan size and heat distribution.
Cultural Note
Banh tet is the southern Vietnamese Lunar New Year dish; the northern equivalent is banh chung — square, with the same fillings, also wrapped in dong leaves. The cylindrical southern shape is associated with the Tay Son uprising in the eighteenth century, when soldiers carried portable rolls into battle. Each Vietnamese family has its own banh tet variation: some add salted egg, some add coconut, some are vegetarian. The all-night family wrapping session before Tet is itself a cultural ritual; commercial banh tet is widely sold but family-made carries the year's good wishes inside.
