Photograph from johnlemon on Flickr

I woke up super-duper early this morning to witness a very special tradition—the making of Bánh Tét. With the Lunar New Year days away, my grandma’s sister and her two daughters-in-law gathered for their annual ritual of making this holiday specialty.

Bánh tét are cylindrical sticky rice cakes filled with pork fat and mung bean paste seasoned with black pepper and shallots. The cakes are wrapped in banana leaves and as a result, the sticky rice takes on a pale green color and a slightly leafy taste. Even though bánh tét are available all year, it is still considered a New Year’s treat.

Back at home in America, no one in my family goes through the trouble of making bánh tét by hand. Seeing one of my favorite foods executed firsthand definitely gave me a greater appreciation for it.

About the author: Cathy Danh is spending her Odyssey years in Saigon, Vietnam where she works as a copy editor and writer. She aims to eat five-a-day and avoids trans-fats like the plague. When Cathy’s not blogging, talking or reading about food, she’s most likely getting in some high-quality mileage along the Saigon River. Running + eating = perfection.