Bánh xèo, Vietnamese-style
savory crepe, is a popular traditional Vietnamese dish nationwide, especially
in the South-western region of Vietnam with one famous Bánh xèo brand from Can
Tho Province – Bánh xèo Muoi Xiem.
What is Bánh xèo?
Bánh xèo, literally meaning
“sizzling cake”, named for the sizzling sound made when rice batter is poured into
a frying pan. Its batter has yellow color of turmeric as well as green color of
spring onions. A crepe has variety of size, ranging from 15cm to 25cm,
depending on bakers’ preference.
A typical Bánh xèo is stuffed
with pork, prawns, bean sprouts and garnished fresh herbs. In the South-western
Vietnam, you may find minced duck meat, or minced pork with cassava or apical buds
of adult coconut plants inside its yellow crispy batter.
How is Bánh xèo made?
To make its batter, besides
rice flour and water, people in South-western region usually add coconut milk, 1
or 2 eggs and a little white wine to make bánh xèo more crispy.
Bánh xèo definitely loses
its flavor in the absence of fresh herbs and dipping sauce.
The South-western region
of Vietnam provides suitable condition for many kinds of plants to grow, partly because it is a fertile alluvial plain with interlacing network
of channels, and partly because it has dry and wet seasons. The herbs served with Bánh xèo include lettuce leaves, coriander, mint, Thai basil
leaves, piper lolot, etc.
As for dipping sauce, it
fundamentally contains fish sauce, water, fresh lime juice, garlic clove, long
fresh red chilli and sugar. The best dipping sauce is a perfect combination of
salty, sweet, and sour. Someone says that a sauce maker is also a great artist
who is able to estimate the exact amount of the ingredients for the complete mixture.
How to eat Bánh xèo properly?
First, take a lettuce
leaf (or a piece of rice paper), put other herbs on the leaf,
and then roll them with a portion of bánh xèo. After that, dunk it into the
dipping sauce and enjoy its superb flavor when the taste of crispy batter,
prawns, meat, fresh herbs, along with sweet and sour sauce are
combined.
The meaning of making bánh
xèo is beyond enjoying a delicious dish, but to provide an opportunity for
family members to gather, cook and share meals together. Bánh xèo becomes
the ingredient that strengthens family bonds. Therefore, it is delicious
partly because of the perfect combination of the ingredients, and partly because of the love among family members. In Doan Ngo festival, held on the 5th day of the 5th lunar
month for farmers to get prepared for a new crop, bánh xèo is an irreplaceable
part in meals of Vietnamese families.
The pancake has been proud
to reach the world with more and more people falling in love with it. In June of 2007, Muoi Xiem was selected to perform making bánh xèo and introduce bánh
xèo to international friends in the Smithsonian Festival in the USA.
Some recommended Bánh xèo restaurants in Ho
Chi Minh city :
- Bánh xèo Muoi
Xiem
+
119 Nam Ki Khoi Nghia street, Ward 6, District 3,
+
225-227, Nguyen Trai street, Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward, District 1, HCMC
- Bánh xèo 46A
+6A
Đinh Cong Trang, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1,
- Ba
Hai restaurant
+64, Nguyen Trong Tuyen street, Phu Nhuan District,
- Mien Tay restaurant
+
31/6 Hoang Hoa Tham street, Ward 13, Tan Binh District, HCMC.
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