Bánh Chưng Recipe (Vietnamese Square Sticky Rice Cake)

Rinse both sides of the Dong leaves carefully and wipe them completely dry. Soak the bamboo strings in water to soften them. Skip this step if you use kitchen twines.
Wash the sticky rice and soak it in water for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Drain the rice using a sieve and place it on a flat winnowing basket. Let the rice dry completely.
Rinse and soak the mung beans for at least 4 hours or overnight. Drain and let them dry.
Crush the shallots using your mortar and pestle. Cut the pork belly into pieces of equal length. Then, season them with salt, 1 sugar, 1 pepper, and shallots. Mix well
Cook the mung beans for 20 minutes to soften them. When the beans are tender, add sugar and salt. Mix until well combined and smooth.
Once the rice has dried, put it in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the coconut milk and pandan leaf extract, then add salt and sugar. Mix well.
Put the sticky rice in a pan and stir-fry it over medium heat, stirring frequently. Then, set it aside.

Trim off the Dong leaves' midribs along their length. Arrange the leaves as shown in the photo below, and place the small mold on top of them.
Fold the sides of the leaves together until they wrap around the mold neatly.
Flip the wrapped mold and place it inside the larger mold. Turn the molds over, then carefully take the smaller mold out.
Press the corners so that the leaves fit nicely into the large mold.
Spoon the sticky rice into the mold. Press and spread the rice evenly to fill the bottom of the mold.
Spread the mung beans over the rice. Place a piece of pork belly on top of the mung beans.
Cover the surface of the meat with another layer of mung beans, leaving about 0.5 inches of space between the mung beans and the edges.
Spread a layer of sticky rice over the mung beans. Gently press the rice at the corners and on the surface.
Place 2 small Dong leaf pieces over the cake to secure its shape.
Fold the leaves inward. You can trim off the excess leaves.
Secure the wrapping with your left hand and carefully pull the mold out in an upward motion using your right hand.
Tie the bamboo strings or kitchen twines around the cake to secure the leaves, cutting off any excess strings.

Line a boiling pot with the remaining Dong leaves.
Put the cakes in the pot vertically. Then, pour in enough water to cover the surface of the cakes and boil them continuously for 8 hours.
Prepare an additional pot of boiling water and gradually add more water when the cakes are boiling.
At the 4-hour mark, turn the cake over and change the water.
Once the cakes are fully cooked, use your tongs to take them out of the pot.
Rinse the cakes in cold water to get rid of the sap. Drain the cake and stack them on top of each other. Use a heavy object to press down on them.
Hang the sticky rice cakes up or store them in a dry place.

Partially unwrap the cake, and save the strings or twines.
Arrange the strings on top of the cake as shown in the photo below. Then, place a plate on top of the cake.
Turn the whole cake with the plate upside down and remove the remaining leaves. Hold both ends of the first string and pull them together diagonally.
Repeat this step for the rest of the strings, following the order that you arrange them on the cake.
Enjoy bánh chưng with sides like pickled scallion heads (“củ kiệu”), dry shrimp, vegetable pickles (“dưa món”), or a cup of hot green tea.