How a Portland Chef Celebrates Lunar New Year With Bánh Tét | Eater Portland

"Founded by Trang Nguyen Tan, I learned that Friendship Kitchen reflects her childhood Lunar New Year traditions: Trang has fond memories of making and eating bánh tét—the savory glutinous rice roll made by soaking mung beans overnight, layering pork belly and glutinous rice, rolling it inside banana leaves, tightly knotting the parcels, and boiling them for hours before slicing (some people fry the slices for crispy edges). Last year Trang and her wife Wei‑En served bánh tét at Alouette as part of a Lunar New Year prix fixe, and because Alouette has since been converted into a second Friendship Kitchen location, they plan to offer bánh tét again this Tết, serving it at both locations for a weeklong period and including it in a sampler as a nod to how Trang grew up eating it; follow Friendship Kitchen’s Instagram for updates." - Janey Wong