Crunchy sticky rice bars (banh cay)
Banh cay are a specialty of Nguyen village in Thai Binh province, made from puffed glutinous rice bound together with maltose and sugar and studded with warm, spicy ginger strips, red carrot, roasted peanuts and sesame. When you slice them, the bars are speckled with color like the little cay crabs that give them their name. They are light, crunchy and sweetly fragrant, perfect for offering to guests at Lunar New Year.
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rising or chilling
- 1 hr
- Total time
- 1 hr 50 min
- Method
- No cooking
Ingredients
Puffed rice and nuts
Maltose syrup
Greasing the pan
Instructions
Step 1
Peel 20 g fresh ginger and 50 g carrots and cut both into very fine strips, then rub the carrot gently with a little sugar and let it drain. Fine strips spread the ginger and carrot evenly, creating pretty flecks of color in every bar. They are ready when the strips are even, about two centimeters long, and the carrot has turned slightly translucent.
Step 2
Rub the skins off 50 g roasted peanuts and lightly crush them, then put them in a pan with 30 g white sesame seeds and 200 g puffed rice and toast over low heat for about 5 minutes, then keep warm. Warm puffed rice and nuts won't suddenly cool the syrup when you mix them in. The mixture is ready when the sesame turns lightly golden and fragrant and the puffed rice feels warm and crunchy.
Step 3
Line a 20 by 25 cm rectangular pan with parchment paper and brush a thin layer of vegetable oil (to taste) over the paper and a rolling pin. The oil keeps the syrup from sticking to your tools as you press the bars. The pan is ready when the paper covers the bottom and sides and the surface is evenly glossy.
Step 4
Put 100 g granulated sugar, 120 g maltose, 40 g water and the ginger strips in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until it reaches about 118 degrees Celsius, then add 20 g lard and stir until melted. Cooking it to just the right stage makes the bars hold together firmly while staying crunchy rather than chewy and stringy. The syrup is ready when a drop in a bowl of cold water sets into a soft ball you can roll between your fingers.
Step 5
Turn the heat down to low, tip all the puffed rice, peanuts, sesame and carrot into the syrup and fold quickly with a flat spatula until everything is evenly coated. Stirring over low heat keeps the syrup fluid enough to coat every grain of puffed rice. The mixture is ready when no dry white puffed rice remains and the whole mass starts to stick together.
Step 6
Tip the mixture into the prepared pan, spread it out evenly, then press it down very firmly with the oiled rolling pin and roll the top flat while it is still hot. Pressing firmly while hot keeps the bars from crumbling when you cut them. It is ready when the top is flat, evenly about two centimeters thick and no longer gives when pressed.
Step 7
Let the slab cool for about 30 minutes, then, while it is still slightly warm, lift the whole sheet onto a cutting board and cut it into small bars with a sharp knife. Cutting while warm gives clean edges, whereas once completely cool the slab turns hard and breaks easily. The bars are ready when they have neat square edges and clear flecks of red and gold against the ivory puffed rice.
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Rectangular pan
- Thermometer
- Spatula
- Rolling pin
- Parchment paper
- Kitchen scale
- Nonstick skillet
Tips
- Have all your ingredients ready before you cook the syrup, because once it reaches the right stage you only have a few minutes to mix and press.
- If you don't have a thermometer, drop a little syrup into a bowl of cold water; when it rolls into a soft ball, it is ready.
- For the beautiful red-orange color of the traditional version, you can mix a little ripe gac fruit into the syrup.
Storage
Keep banh cay in an airtight container or a zip-top bag in a dry place for about three weeks. Don't store them in the fridge, as the moisture will make them lose their crunch.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The bars fall apart and don't hold together.
- The syrup wasn't cooked far enough or cooled down before mixing. Cook the syrup a little longer and mix right away over low heat.
- The bars are as hard as candy and difficult to bite.
- The syrup was cooked too far. Next time, take the pan off the heat sooner, as soon as a drop of syrup just rolls into a soft ball.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
