Pandan tube cakes (banh ong la dua)
Banh ong la dua is a beloved steamed cake of the Khmer community in southern Vietnam, packed into small tubes and steamed in just a few minutes. The cakes are fresh green, light and crumbly yet gently sticky, fragrant with pandan and served with grated coconut and sesame salt, a lovely balance of rich, nutty, salty and sweet.
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rising or chilling
- 30 min
- Total time
- 1 hr 30 min
- Method
- Steamed
Ingredients
Pandan rice flour
Grated coconut and sesame salt
Instructions
Step 1
Mix 200 g rice flour, 50 g glutinous rice flour, 20 g granulated sugar and a pinch of salt. Slowly drizzle in 110 g pandan juice and rub it in with your fingertips until the flour is evenly moist, then cover and let it rest for about half an hour. The flour is only moistened, never kneaded into a dough, which is what makes the steamed cakes light and crumbly. It is ready when a squeezed handful holds together but breaks apart at a light touch.
Step 2
Rub the flour through a coarse sieve to form small, even crumbs. Even crumbs let the steam pass through easily, so the cakes cook quickly with no raw patches. The crumbs are ready when they are as loose as damp breadcrumbs, pale green and free of lumps.
Step 3
Toast 20 g white sesame seeds over low heat until golden and fragrant, let them cool, then pound them coarsely with 40 g superfine sugar and a pinch of salt. Crunchy toasted sesame salt adds a bold sweet and salty note that highlights the cake's delicate flavor. The sesame salt is ready when the seeds are pale golden, loose and smell nutty.
Step 4
Sprinkle a thin layer of 120 g freshly grated coconut into the bottom of each tube mold, spoon in the loose crumbs and press lightly until the tube is just full. Pressing just enough lets the cakes hold their tube shape when unmolded without becoming dense and hard. The molds are ready when the crumbs are level with the rim and there are no hollow spots inside.
Step 5
Set the tube molds in a steamer over rapidly boiling water and steam over high heat for about eight minutes. Strong heat cooks the crumbs quickly and binds them just enough without turning them mushy. The cakes are done when the green deepens, the surface looks slightly glossy and a gentle push shows the whole cake holds together.
Step 6
Push the cakes out of the tubes with a stick, arrange them on a plate and sprinkle the remaining grated coconut and the sesame salt on top. Eat them warm to enjoy their soft, crumbly texture and pandan aroma at their best. They are just right when they keep their round tube shape, bright green flecked with white coconut.
Equipment
- Steamer
- Shaping molds
- Sieve
- Mixing bowl
- Nonstick skillet
- Kitchen scale
- Plastic wrap
Tips
- If you do not have special tube molds, you can steam the cakes in small bamboo tubes or mini rice cupcake molds.
- Pandan juice blended from fresh leaves gives a natural green color and a far better aroma than extract.
- Steam a little of the flour as a test first; if the cake is too dry, drizzle a few more spoonfuls of pandan juice into the rest.
Storage
Banh ong are best eaten hot right after steaming. The moistened crumbs can be wrapped tightly and kept in the fridge for one day, while the grated coconut should be lightly steamed and used the same day so it does not turn sour.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The cakes crumble apart when pushed out of the tubes.
- The crumbs were not moist enough or were packed too lightly. Drizzle a little more pandan juice into the flour and press it in a bit more firmly.
- The cakes are mushy and sticky like glutinous rice dough.
- The flour was over-moistened or the cakes were steamed too long. Use less pandan juice next time and lift the cakes out as soon as they are cooked.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
