Bánh cống, Cong cake, came from Soc Trang province, but it is now more popular and appears around the streets of Vietnam, especially in Ho Chi Minh City. It is usually eaten with steamed rice pancake rolls (bánh cuốn), though gourmets always want only the Cong cakes on their own. With vegetables and dipping fish sauce on a rainy day, it is hard to beat. Photo: Vietcuongdao, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Plan ahead: the mung beans soak for 2–3 hours before steaming. Ingredients 100 g mung beans (green beans), without the skin 200 g rice flour 50 g wheat flour 200 g shrimps 250 cc water ½ tsp salt, 1 tblsp sugar and 1 whole onion Cong cake moulds To serve Steamed rice pancake rolls Boiled bean sprouts Vegetables: salad, basil, heart leaf Dipping fish sauce How to make bánh cống 1. Cook the mung beans Soak the mung beans in water for about 2–3 hours, then steam them until cooked. 2. Make the batter Mix the rice flour and wheat flour with the water, stirring frequently so the batter doesn’t go lumpy. Add the salt and sugar and keep stirring for about 10 minutes. Take care over this step: it is the main one that makes the cake. 3. Add the onion, shrimp and beans Peel the onion and mince it. Clean the shrimps and cut off the heads. Add the minced onion, the shrimps and the mung beans to the batter. If you want shrimps on top of the cakes, keep some back. 4. Fry the cakes Heat the oil and put all the Cong moulds into it so they get hot. Pour the batter into each mould and put them back into the pan to fry. When the cakes are nearly done, you can add the shrimps you kept on top. Fry for about 3 minutes more. 5. Serve Make a dipping fish sauce. Serve the cakes with steamed rice pancake rolls, boiled bean sprouts, vegetables (salad, basil, heart leaf) and the dipping fish sauce. Bánh cống is also a good one to put on the list when you have a BBQ party. Share:
