Sweets and drinksSteamed CakesVietnamAbout 30 hours, most of it soaking the glutinous rice
Banh u tro with mung bean filling calls for patience, since the glutinous rice soaks for more than a day. The wrapper is translucent and chewy, the mung bean filling smooth and sweet. The difficulty is the tie, because a tight one stops the rice swelling and leaves the dumpling chalky.
The rice is mixed with 200 ml of lye water, rested 2 hours, then soaked another 24 hours until the grains turn clear. The bean filling is cooked down until thick and heavy on the spoon before it is rolled into balls.
This batch weighs about 1.8kg, at roughly 255 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse 1 kg of waxy glutinous rice gently about 2 times and drain it thoroughly. Return the rice to the basin, pour in 200 ml of lye water, mix through and rest for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, add enough water to sit just above the rice and soak another 24 hours until the grains turn clear. Rinse the rice 2 to 3 times, working gently so the grains do not break, then drain it thoroughly.
Soak and cook 250 gr of split mung beans until soft and smooth.
Put 270 gr of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 100 ml of water in a pan. Cook until fully dissolved and just boiling, then add the mung beans and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Cook over low heat, stirring steadily, until the beans break down smooth and the mixture is thick and heavy on the spoon, then take it off the heat. Once cooled a little, roll it into 22 to 24 even balls.
Prepare leaves about 18 cm wide and 22 to 24 cm long, wilted in the sun or blanched in boiling water so they are pliable. Roll a leaf into a cone, put a little rice in the base, set a ball of filling in the middle and cover it with more rice.
Fold the edges of the leaf into a three sided triangular parcel and tie it loosely so the rice has room to swell.
Boil the dumplings, topping up with boiling water as it drops so they stay covered. Once done, lift them out, rinse them straight away in cold water, then hang them somewhere airy to drain and cool completely.
Tips
A loose tie is the crucial point, since tying too tightly stops the rice swelling evenly and leaves the dumpling chalky.
Rinsing the dumplings in cold water straight away and hanging them to drain is what gives a translucent wrapper.
The filling is cooked until heavy on the spoon before rolling, as a wet filling runs during boiling.
Blanching the leaves in boiling water makes them pliable enough to wrap without tearing.
The rice gets only two gentle rinses, since hard rubbing breaks the grains and leaves the dumpling crumbly.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.