The illustration demonstrates how Vietnamese banh chung is produced. Overall, the process comprises ten steps, starting with moisturizing glutinous rice and ending with unwrapping to serve consumers.
The first four steps involve how the initial ingredients are processed. At the beginning, sticky rice is soaked in water throughout the night in order to soften the rice and help it cook faster, which importantly contributes to the quality of the final result. As for the fillings, including the mung bean and the pork, the former undergoes the same process, but then it is heated on a high temperature to be simmered. Subsequently, to ensure the latter is flavorful, the meat is marinated with several spices for a couple of hours. The phrynium leaves are washed carefully to wipe out any dust and bacteria, making sure that the packing process is reliable.
The process continues with conveying the cooked bean and marinated meat into a square mold, after which the maker adds folds and ties it, ready for the cooking process. After shaping banh chung in green leaves, it is boiled in a large metal pot for around half of a day. Once the cooking process is done, banh chung is taken out and under a heavy pressure of several objects on top to strain out any remaining water. Finally, it is let to be cool, then be unfolded and served for consumers.