Molasses sticky rice cakes (banh mat)

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Rinse 180 g split peeled mung beans in two changes of water, then soak them in plenty of warm water for about three hours. Beans that have absorbed enough water steam quickly and evenly and turn soft and crumbly. The beans are ready when they have swollen to nearly double in size and feel soft when pressed with a fingernail.

   Suggested time: about 180 minutes.

   Mark step 1 as done

2. Step 2

   Drain the beans, spread them evenly in a steamer lined with a thin cloth and steam over medium heat for about 25 minutes. Steaming cooks the beans without waterlogging them, so the filling ends up dry and easy to roll. The beans are cooked when a pinch crushes to a fine paste with a gentle squeeze, with no hard core.

   Suggested time: about 25 minutes. Medium heat.

   Mark step 2 as done

3. Step 3

   While the beans are still hot, put them in a bowl with 30 g granulated sugar and a pinch of salt and pound or mash them until smooth, then mix in 15 g white sesame seeds toasted until golden and roll the filling into balls the size of the tip of your thumb. Sugar mixed in while the beans are warm blends evenly and helps the filling hold together. The filling is ready when the balls roll without cracking and do not stick to your hands.

   Mark step 3 as done

4. Step 4

   Put 200 g molasses, 200 g water and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan, heat it over very low heat and stir until the molasses has fully dissolved, then let it cool a little. Thinning the molasses first lets the brown color soak evenly into the dough instead of forming streaks. The mixture is ready when it is clear, a deep amber brown and only warm to the touch of a finger.

   Low heat.

   Mark step 4 as done

5. Step 5

   Pour 500 g glutinous rice flour into a large bowl, slowly add the molasses water and squeeze and knead it continuously by hand for about ten minutes. Long kneading makes the glutinous rice dough smooth and pliable, so the steamed shell does not crack. The dough is ready when it is as soft as an earlobe, an even brown and has no dry specks of flour when you rub it.

   Suggested time: about 10 minutes.

   Mark step 5 as done

6. Step 6

   Wipe the banana leaves clean, pass them quickly over a flame to soften, cut them into squares about 18 cm wide and brush a thin layer of vegetable oil (to taste) over the surface. Softened leaves do not tear when folded, and the oil lets the shell peel away smoothly. The leaves are ready when they turn glossy green and fold in half without splitting.

   Mark step 6 as done

7. Step 7

   Divide the dough into twenty portions, flatten each one, set a ball of filling in the center, then gather the edges to seal it and roll it into an oval. Wrap it in a leaf like a small rice parcel and tie it loosely with string. The shell must be sealed evenly so the filling does not ooze out as the dough softens during steaming. The wrapped cakes are ready when they feel firm in your hand and no filling shows at the edges of the leaf.

   Mark step 7 as done

8. Step 8

   Arrange the cakes in a steamer over boiling water, leaving a little space between them, and steam over medium heat for about 40 minutes, topping up with boiling water halfway if the pot runs low. Steady steam for long enough cooks the glutinous dough right through to the center and turns it translucent. They are done when an unwrapped test cake has a glossy, deep brown shell that feels chewy when pressed, with no opaque white left.

   Suggested time: about 40 minutes. Medium heat.

   Mark step 8 as done

9. Step 9

   Lift the cakes onto an open-weave basket and let them cool for about fifteen minutes before unwrapping and enjoying them. Resting lets the shell firm up, so the cakes cut or bite cleanly without sticking to your teeth. They are ready when the leaves are dry of steam and the shell comes away from the leaf easily.

   Mark step 9 as done