The overflowing pancake known as banh xeo is as Vietnamese as it gets yet even foreigners rave about it after the first mouthful.
Banh xeo is a delicious concoction that resembles an omelet at first glance but is actually a rice-flour pancake colored yellow by turmeric and filled with pork slivers, shrimp, egg, mung beans and sprouts.
It’s a deceptive dish with an aroma redolent of the countryside and has long been popular in the land of its birth.
Vietnamese can go anywhere in the world yet the thought of banh xeo is never far away.
The name is interesting as it literally means “sizzling cake.” Why is it so?
If you have a chance to see an experienced hand making banh xeo, you will understand all. Its name derives from the loud sizzling sound when the batter hits the hot oil in the pan.
The ingredients and cooking style are not uniform across the land but there’s no mistaking banh xeo whether it’s made in the north, center or south of Vietnam.
In the central region, the pancake is thicker and does not have a crispy edge as it’s cooked in a small round mould.
In the south, banh xeo is fried in a big pan, which allows the batter to spread thinly and gives the edges a crispy finish. Southerners also include mushrooms and vegetables in the filling on occasion.
In the north, they like to add potato beans or yam beans (pachyrrhizus), and the starchy tuber known as taro.
Although the ingredients differ from place to place, banh xeo anywhere is characterized by the aroma of the rice and turmeric in the batter, and the taste of the spiced-up filling.
Whatever the exact recipe, banh xeo is always accompanied by lots of lettuce leaves, leaf mustard and up to 20 kinds of herbs.
The sauce is very important. Southerners usually use a diluted fish sauce with chili and garlic mixed in whereas the people in the central region dip their banh xeo in a combination of hoisin sauce, garlic and liver.
Most importantly, banh xeo must be eaten straight from the pan while it is still hot and hasn’t had a chance to become a soggy mess.
Eat it fresh with a lettuce leaf wrapping and with the hands rather than chopsticks or a fork to get the most out of banh xeo.
In Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City (whatever!), it’s an appetizing food for all the locals and impresses foreign visitors with the appealing batter and wonderful smell.
Travelers from abroad either hear about banh xeo from their new friends and acquaintances in Vietnam, or happen upon it by chance at a local eatery.
Muoi Xiem is a renowned banh xeo cook who has traveled to the United States to demonstrate her art before enthusiastic American audiences.
At her eponymous restaurant in Saigon, there are 30 kinds of banh xeo from the traditional to the exotic.
Xiem likes to experiment with the ingredients and has some imaginative fillings on her menu, like nam kim cham (enoki mushrooms), nam moi (termite mushrooms), and nam bao ngu (abalone mushrooms).
She uses very little oil to fry her big pancake to perfection, and serves it with dozens of forest vegetables.
Another restaurant with a bent toward the exotic is An La Ghien, whose menu lists banh xeo rong Nhat with Japanese seaweed, banh xeo mang with bamboo sprouts, and banh xeo muc sua with baby cuttlefish.
Diners on a tight budget can try Dinh Cong Trang, a restaurant that serves both traditional banh xeo and some adventurous creations like banh xeo bong dien dien. The latter contains flowers of sesbania sesban, also known as Egyptian pea.
The filling can vary in abundance and ingredients, it doesn’t matter. Banh xeo in all its forms is one of the most venerated residents of Vietnam’s culinary village.
