Bánh tét

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A plate of bánh tét, with mung bean paste filling; with banana leaf removed and sliced into thick wheel-shaped slices just prior to serving

Bánh tét is a Vietnamese cake made primarily from glutinous rice, which is rolled in a banana leaf into a thick, log-like cylindrical shape, with a meat or vegetarian filling (such as mung beans), then steamed.^video After cooking, the banana leaf is removed and the cake is sliced into wheel-shaped servings.^photo To prevent the banana leaf from coming apart during cooking, bánh tét are usually wrapped again several times with a length of plastic ribbon before steaming.^photo

Bánh tét are traditional to and most popular in southern Vietnam. A similar food (though rectangular in shape) called bánh chưng in the north. According to historian Tran Quoc Vuong, bánh tét is a version of bánh chưng derived during Vietnam's process of Nam tiến (southward expansion) in the 17th century.

1 Etymology
2 External links
- 2.1 Video
3 See also

[edit] Etymology

Although bánh tét are made and consumed during Tết (the Vietnamese new year), the "tét" in the food's name literally means "sliced" or "split," possibly referring to the fact that it is served in slices. "Bánh" means "cake."