Happy year of the goat!
**Please excuse the many misspelled Vietnamese words in the following entry, as I don’t have the software to write proper Vietnamese, accents and all.This Thursday marks the lunar new year, or Tê’t, as we call it in Vietnamese. Growing up, the red envelopes containing minted bills (or—like xì—were my most anticipated new year tradition. It meant I was that much closer to that Super Mario game or, when I was in high school, that Green Day CD.Another fond memory of Tê’t was the banh chung my grandmother made not only for us but all the extended family members that visited over the week-long holiday. Bánh chung (or banh Tê’t as they’re known in the Vietnamese South) are glutinous rice cakes filled with pork and mung bean and wrapped in banana leaves prior to steaming. The leaves impart a hint of green and earthiness on to the rice, which is why it’s no surprise they are meant to symbolize the earth. My grandmother and aunt made dozens of them, and sometimes I would help tie the red decorative ribbons around the massive cakes before stacking them on to the dining table. There they rested like stacks of sandbags, waiting to be gifted to our relatives.Like most of my mother’s home cooking, I didn’t think much of my grandma’s banh chung until she’d passed away, and I could no longer enjoy them homemade. I have tidbits of her recipe jotted down, but I have yet to attempt them, partly because it’s time consuming, and partly due to my fear of not doing my grandmother’s recipe justice.I’m often asked in interviews for the Vietnamese press what I cook for Tê’t. I don’t always cook anything in particular, but this year, I plan to make xôi gà, a sticky rice with chicken--it also happens to be one of my favorite foods to eat when I’m in Vietnam. (Here's an alternative recipe using the same sweet rice but with Chinese sausage.)The Vietnamese believe the New Year is a time to splurge and feast, so richer, more elaborate foods are considered traditional foods of Tê’t. A sample of common Vietnamese new year’s foods are:
- Cha giò (egg or spring rolls) | These are considered party food as they take time to make, and because they are shaped like gold bullion, they’re considered prosperous luck.
- Thit kho truing (braised pork belly with egg | While eaten all year round, the eggs in this dish symbolize fertility.
- Giò luâ (pork roll or sausage) | Also eaten all year round but a common accompaniment to banh chung and xôi.