Vietnamese Cylindrical Sticky Rice Cakes -Instant Pot

mung beans

🥗Healthier: lentils

💰Cheaper: split peas

Lentils provide similar texture and nutrition.

pork

🥗Healthier: chicken

💰Cheaper: tofu

Chicken offers leaner protein, while tofu is a plant-based option.

coconut milk

🥗Healthier: almond milk

💰Cheaper: regular milk

Almond milk is lower in calories, while regular milk is more affordable.

banana leaves

💰Cheaper: parchment paper

Parchment paper can be used for steaming as a substitute.

Wash and soak sticky rice and mung bean for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Drain the soaked rice and mung bean.

Cook the mung bean either in a rice cooker with water level 1 cm above the bean and 5 g salt, or in an Instant Pot using the rice function.

Once cooked, stir the mung bean to break them apart.

In a large pan, pour in 1 can (14 oz) of coconut milk and add 15 g of salt.

Transfer the drained sticky rice to the pan with coconut milk and stir over medium or low heat until the rice becomes sticky, adding water if needed.

For the filling, marinate 500 g of pork belly (cut into 8 pieces, 13 cm long and 1 cm thick) with fish sauce, black pepper, five spice, minced shallot, and 1/4 tsp salt. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Prepare the banana leaves by thawing, washing, rinsing, and wiping them with a dry cloth, paper towel, or wet cloths.

Calculate the size of the banana leaf sheets needed for wrapping: each sheet should be 28 cm x 22 cm, using 3 sheets for each cake.

Place the first banana leaf sheet on the working surface with the glossy side down, then place the second sheet with its veins perpendicular to the first, and the third sheet with its veins perpendicular to the first and glossy side up.

Each cake will need 4 additional pieces of banana leaves to cover the ends.

Prepare the mung bean filling by cooking and mashing 350 g of mung bean with 4 g of salt, then flattening it in a tray for easy division into 8 pieces.

Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the work surface, transfer each mung bean log to the board, and spread it out to be 10 cm wide and 13 cm long.

Place a piece of marinated pork belly on top of the mung bean sheet and roll it up.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens