Don’t be quick to buy beautifully packaged sticky rice cakes with a vibrant green color, as they may have been cooked with batteries.
How to Buy Delicious, Clean, and Safe Sticky Rice Cakes
In recent years, the practice of cooking sticky rice cakes with batteries has spread throughout Vietnam, posing serious health risks to consumers. Normally, it takes about 10 to 12 hours to cook a batch of sticky rice cakes, but with just one battery in the pot, the cakes can be ready in about 2 hours. In an alkaline environment, starch absorbs water better, allowing the cakes to cook faster.
Batteries contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, all of which are highly toxic and dangerous to human health, affecting the brain, kidneys, cardiovascular system, and reproductive capabilities. Lead poisoning can cause infertility, miscarriage, high blood pressure, and even reduce a child’s IQ.
Sticky rice cakes cooked with batteries have a vibrant green or purple hue.
How to Identify Sticky Rice Cakes Cooked with Batteries
Outer Leaf Layer
You should avoid sticky rice cakes with a vibrant green color as they are likely cooked with batteries, which release compounds that enhance the green color of the dong leaves. Therefore, before purchasing, carefully observe the cake’s color; traditionally cooked cakes after 8-10 hours will usually have a dark yellow or yellow-green appearance.
Sticky Rice Cake Shell
Traditionally cooked sticky rice cakes have a light green or slightly yellow shell with opaque rice. In contrast, cakes cooked with batteries have a bright green shell and translucent rice, making them look more appealing.
Filling of the Sticky Rice Cake
The filling of sticky rice cakes cooked with batteries lacks stickiness, is not chewy, and does not have the aromatic scent characteristic of traditionally cooked cakes due to rapid cooking.
To avoid purchasing sticky rice cakes cooked with batteries, it is advisable to buy from reputable vendors with a good reputation. If possible, consider making sticky rice cakes at home for a more hygienic and festive experience with your family.
Checking Firmness
According to folk wisdom, a good sticky rice cake should feel firm but not too hard or too soft, often referred to as being “rền.” When sliced, the layers of rice, meat, and mung beans should bind together without crumbling or falling apart.
Choose to Buy from Reputable, Established Vendors
There are various establishments that make sticky rice cakes: from large factories to small family businesses that only operate during the Lunar New Year. It is best to purchase from long-established vendors or those with whom you are familiar to ensure you get delicious and clean sticky rice cakes that meet food safety standards.
Cẩm sticky rice cake.
Currently, there are many unique types of sticky rice cakes made from special ingredients that are quite popular, such as green sticky rice cake, cẩm sticky rice cake, black sticky rice cake, or gấc sticky rice cake.
However, when selecting these unique types of cakes, homemakers should pay attention to the color; avoid cakes that are overly bright or uniformly colored as they may be dyed. Even cakes made from natural ingredients typically do not have excessively vibrant or uniform colors.
It can be quite challenging to choose cakes made from clean ingredients without sampling first. To ensure longer shelf life and great flavor, all ingredients must be prepared carefully and hygienically. Cakes made from safe ingredients have a filling that binds together in layers, with a delicate aroma. The fatty meat filling should appear translucent white, while the lean meat should be pink, indicating the use of fresh ingredients.
How to Store Sticky Rice Cakes
- If the weather is cool, wrap the sticky rice cakes in plastic wrap; take them out when ready to eat.
- If the weather is hot, keep the cakes in the refrigerator to prevent mold or sour fermentation, wrapping them in plastic to keep the rice from drying out. Slice off pieces as needed, and consider steaming or frying the cakes before serving.
It is advisable to purchase sticky rice cakes from reputable places or, if time permits, to make them at home for a joyful family gathering while ensuring the safety of this traditional dish during the Lunar New Year.
