Bánh Ít Lá Gai, Gai Leaf Little Cake

Bánh Ít Lá Gai (Gai Leaf Little Cake)

"Muốn ăn bánh ít lá gai lấy chồng Bình Định cho dài đường đi”.

As a popular Binh Dinh saying goes "If you wish to eat banh it la gai,  marry a Binh Dinh man to increase your life expectancy".

Binh Dinh is the land of  Banh It La Gai,  which is made from the five main ingredients: glutinous rice flour, gai leaf, sugar, mung bean and banana leaf.  Banh It La Gai has the sweet taste of sugar, the aroma of sweet rice, the spice of ginger, the starch of mung bean, bitter taste of gai leaf and the grassy perfume of banana leaf.  All of these ingredients bring out a refreshing flavor and a distinctive glossy deep black color that gives the cake its unique color.

The name Banh It La Gai indicates the two common features of the cake:     “ít” means    “little” referring to the size of  a serving for it only takes a couple bites to finish off a cake, and “lá gai” refers to the pointy serration of the  leaf commonly found abundantly in the tropics of Vietnam, but can easily be grown in the warmth of the California sun as well.

 I've always been fascinated by how banh it la gai gets its black color as I  had never seen it my entire life  untiil recently.  Sometimes in March this year, I was lucky enough to receive some Gai plants from my mother-in-law's friends. I was determined to make my first batch, but it would have to wait for three months until the first gai plants are ready for harvesting.   The Gai leaves are green but after you ground in a mortar or blend it, its green colour will turn dark green.  Once you steam the cake, the colour will turn black just like the color of  Banh It La Gai that is shown above from my first batch.  The process of making Banh It La Gai may not look appetizing but the finished product is quite pleasing to the palate.

Pleiku, where I grew up, is very close to the province of Binh Dinh. In the mornings, many people from Binh Dinh came to  Pleiku  to conduct their daily business.   According to the people of Binh Dinh, the ingredients in Banh It La Gai not only taste good, but are also good for you; they can prevent abdominal pain, keep your stomach warm, and the ash from gai leaves can be used to cure gas pain.

Banh It La Gai also plays a large role in Vietnamese rituals. This cake is always offered to worship ancestors during the New Year festivals . In marriage rituals, a tray of Banh It La Gai is the gift of the bride’s family to that of the groom to show the skillfulness of the bride who has made it together with the help of other villagers. Any ladies ready to tie the knot soon?


How I Learned to Cook and My Ba Noi (Paternal Grandmother)'s Death Anniversary Dinner

I've mentioned my ba noi (paternal grandmother) before here and there, but I've never really talked about her. I've been asked several times recently how I learned to cook, and with these several months old photos of my ba noi's death anniversary dinner still unposted, I figured Mother's Day was an appropriate time as any. While I have many, many loving memories of ba noi, the food memories are the strongest.

As far back as I can remember, I and all 19 of her other grandchildren and even visiting friends, have memories of wiping banana leaves in the kitchen as she made banh nam (Vietnamese steamed flat rice flour with pork and shrimp wrapped in banana leaves) for the family. While I wiped, ba noi told stories about her childhood or my dad's childhood.

There she is concealed behind the purple cupflowers. The pictures are from her death anniversary dinner several months ago. In case you missed it, I explained about death anniversaries and ancestor worship.