A square cake of glutinous rice packed around mung bean and fatty pork, wrapped in dong leaves and boiled for many hours until dense and green-tinged.
Eaten at Tết, sliced with the bamboo string that tied it, often served with pickled onion (dưa hành) or pickled vegetables to cut the richness.
North
Bánh chưng is the northern form. The southern equivalent is bánh tét, cylindrical and sliced into rounds.
Making bánh chưng is a multi-generation event — soaking, wrapping, and watching the pot overnight — and for many families the wrapping session is more important than the cake.