Plain rice flan or banh duc is considered one of the most rustic and simple cake in Hanoi, but how to serve varies according to Hanoi gastronomes.
In the Northern of Vietnam, banh duc is very popular. Non-glutinous rice flour or corn-flour and peanut are everything you need as ingredients. First, grind the soaked rice with water in a grain mill; then, add the lime juice to the flour solution with nice proportion to bring some quality sticky cake; then boil the solution, add peanuts to enhance nutty flavor, and stir it continuously to prevent it being burnt. When well-done, plain rice flan has a jelly shape and mild flavor.
Plain rice flan can be served hot or cold, usually with soy sauce and sometimes with tofu. Flavored peanut butter, rice flour, sweet taste of soy sauce and freshly spiced fresh tofu blended perfectly together to bring a fresh plate on hot days. It is also interesting to relish a hot bow of plain rice flan topped with ground pork, grilled ground spawns, fried onions, roasted sesame seeds and herbs, called “banh duc thit”, a good treat in the winter. In the southern, instead of being ivory-white, banh duc is distinctive itself with green color extracted from fragrance grass and the cool sweet taste coming from syrup or coconut juice.