Bánh Xèo

Once again, I am running our of ideas and my dear hero (my own mother) saved me once more. This topic will be one of Vietnamese popular dishes: Bánh xèo.   

Bánh xèo (literally "sizzling cake") are Vietnamese savoury (meaning salty, not like American ones that are usually sweet) pancakes made out of rice flour, water, (optional) chopped green onions, and turmeric powder or coconut milk  (in the Southern regions), stuffed with thin slices of fatty pork, shrimp and bean sprouts and then pan fried. Traditionally, they are served wrapped in mustard leaf, lettuce leaves, and stuffed with mint leaves, basil, fish leaf and/or other herbs, and dipped in a prepared nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce thinned with water and lemon). In the Central region, the pancake is dipped in a special 'tuong' sauce which consists of liver, hoisin sauce and garlic.

Southern style Bánh xèo are larger compared to the small pan-fried versions in the Central regions. Called "banh khoai" or stuffed omelette (even though the batter doesn't include eggs), today it is one of the best known dishes from the Central region. It made with rice flour and flavoured with cumin, it is fried until deliciously crispy around the edges in pans over charcoal burners. It is filled with little mounds of pounded pork, egg, shrimps, a few bean sprouts and some mashed green beans, and then folded over. To eat it, a piece is broken off with chopsticks and wrap it in fresh mustard greens with fresh herb leaves, slices of green banana and green fig, and dip it in a sauce (called 'tuong') which consists of liver, hoisin sauce and garlic.

The fresh herbs, which include the spicy, red-tinged cumin leaf, help to reduce any oiliness in the fried dish, as does the sourness of the banana and fig, which are also digestive aids.

At home, my family prepares bánh xèo in a similiar matter. However, the sauces are just a possibility for the consumer's desire on flavor. Nuoc mam is the most commonly used sauce to dipped with and and is easier to eat with other than the tuong sauce. Most people usually claim that nuoc nam is the best use because of its light flavor. Nuoc mam is has some fishy, but zesty taste to compliment the savoury aroma of bánh xèo.

This is a great dish and it is recommended to all to eat. It's also usually eaten with LOTS of greens and herbs, depending on how much flavor should be added. When making it, its best (recommended more like) to cook it without the greens. Remember, most Vietnamese eat fresh greens, so most cooked foods are usually eaten with a huge amount or fresh herbs, red lettuce leaves, etc. Some prefer cooked so it is an option on whether you wanted your greens to be cooked or not. I'm not sure about how it is in Vietnamese restaurants, but if you do order bánh xèo, it is usually cooked in Southern style.

This information is from Wikipedia : Bánh Xèo
And here's a recipe if you want to try making this at home: recipe

Vietnamese Dessert

   I got bored and have no idea on what to blog...again. It's like writer's block but it's just the topics I'm stuck about. Luckily, mother to the rescue! With her amazing cooking skills, I decided to write about Vietnamese food once again! But I did a lot of the popular ones, so I decide to blog about Vietnamese desserts. Not hard since I eat them constantly and surprisingly, I'm not getting any cavities with the load of desserts I'm stuffing myself in. Anyways, make to the topic.
 
    Che is a Vietnamese sweet dessert soup/beverage/pudding, usually made from beans (e.g. kidney beans, mung beans, etc.) and sticky rice, served in a glass over ice and eaten with a spoon (pretty obvious). It's gelatinous and perfect for the summer. However, there are varieties where you can eat it when it's hot so it's also perfect for the winter, even though it's not exactly cold over in Vietnam, but in other locations that can be extremely cold. Personally, I think most ches include these ingredients:bananas, coconut milk, pearl tapioca, sweet yam or yucca root vermicelli and/or sugar. The most popular che that you will find every Vietnamese restaurant is Che Ba Mau, which translates to three color dessert. It consists of brown (or red) beans, yellow mung bean, and green jelly, sometimes served with coconut milk and ice, or just ice. Sometimes, it is known as Rainbow Drink/Dessert for its colors. Personally, along with Che Ba Mau, another favorite I have is called Che Dau Xanh, which translates to green bean dessert (buy really, it's mung beans). It's very simple to make, yet very delicious, and you can practically make it yourself at home (if you have the ingredients). Here's a link: Che Dau Xanh Recipe

     Other than that, there are other desserts such as Xôi, which is a sweet or savory Vietnamese dish made from glutinous rice and other ingredients. Although it is often served as a dessert, in many mountainous areas in Vietnam, people eat xôi as a main dish. I personally like my xôi to be savory, topped with Chinese sausage, fragrant friend onions, and dried shrimps..-drools- Xôi that are sweet are usually have a different color like it could be entirely orange or green. You see more sweet xôi rather than savory ones in markets, but there are some in Vietnamese sandwich shops. However, savory ones are usually made at home and is more easier to make than the sweet ones.
    One of the terms that can confuse people are that Vietnamese use the term bánh because it translates loosely as "cake" or "bread". Like xôi, bánh refers to a wide variety of sweet or savoury, distinct flavored cakes, buns, pastries, sandwiches, and food items from Vietnamese cuisine, which may be cooked by steaming, baking, frying, deep-frying, or boiling. Foods made from rice or wheat flour are generally called bánh, but the term may also refer to certain varieties of noodle and fish cake dishes.

These Vietnamese terms can get confusing, but you understand the words after them, you would know whether or not it is savory or sweet. Even if you do make a mistake, just eat it. There are a lot of kinds of Vietnamese desserts, so it doesn't hurt to try.

Bánh mì

With all of these Vietnamese cuisines, people would think: how about fast food viet-style? Well there is such a thing and its called bánh mì. Bánh mì is a Vietnamese ‘sandwich’ that is made up of thinly sliced pickled carrots and daikon, cucumbers, cilantro, jalapeño peppers and meat or tofu. Popular bánh mì fillings include roasted or grilled pork, Vietnamese ham, mayonnaise, and chicken. With these fillings, you’re probably thinking its not such a fast food as I was referring right?
Bánh mì is generally served in small shops and can be found in many countries. You can find one within a Vietnamese community. It is made fresh, fast and is low cost, so it is consider to be as “fast food”, but healthier. For recommendations, I suggest based on what type of meat you like best. The most popular would be called bánh mì đặc biệt ("special combo" sandwich) and bánh mì bì (bánh mì with shredded pork). In some restaurants, there is a vegetarian option of bánh mì chay (bánh mì vegetarian style).
The bánh mì sandwich ws based on the French countryside "salad sandwich" which consists of lettuces, tomatoes and sometimes other vegetables as well as dressing served on a baguette. And also, in Vietnamese, bánh mì means "bread", but it can also refer to the bread stuffed with meat.
Personally, like other Vietnamese dishes, I enjoy eating this. This is what considered like what an “appetizer” is but for me, it’s lunch. My favorite would be bánh mì with grilled pork because they really grill the meat literally of a grill and its smoky flavor gives of the seasonings. However, if I don’t feel up to grilled meat, I like eating the bánh mì đặc biệt, which has a variety of fresh meat. Fresh meat meaning nothing grilled or literally cooked with other seasonings.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

You may have heard about spring rolls right? Since they are all around the world, in East and Northern China, Vietnam,Philippines,Costa Rica,Europe,etc.Well, for my topic, it will be Vietnamese spring rolls.

In some restaurants, gỏi cuốn, is translated as spring roll. These are considered 'appetizers' but it can also be a meal to one. It consists of lettuce,, rice vermicelli, lettuce, sometimes fresh herbs, shrimp, and boiled pork all wrapped in moistened rice paper (banh trang), served with dipping sauce nước chấm (fish sauce). Don't like pork? You can also do boiled bacon or even cha lua (vietnamese ham or sometimes called pork patty).Want to try a different sauce other than nước chấm? Try the Vietnamese peanut sauce.


Some people call it the Vietnamese egg roll or Vietnamese salad roll. The main reason is mainly about how the ingredients are all fresh, nothing cooked except for the shrimp and the meat. The meat and shrimp however are cooked by boiling. Nothing fat about it. So you can eat as much spring rolls as you can and not worry about being fat.


The spring rolls were influenced by China and Taiwan, and had a new creation by only having fresh vegetables instead because of how Vietnam is a subtropical country. They get the name spring rolls because it is associated to the Spring Festival


In my opinion, spring rolls are BEST when it is FRESH. That way, I wouldn’t worry about being fat. It’s also easy to make, just make sure you get the banh trang. The dipping sauces are tasty. But I highly recommend the peanut dipping sauce. For those for a milder taste, pick the nước mấm. For those who aren’t so into vegetables and very little meat, I don’t think you could like this much. You would love it if you’re in a diet, love vegetables, and having something nice and light for lunch.

Phở

Have you ever heard of phở? Or maybe even tasted phở? If now, I would highly recommend eating it, like right now. In case you don’t even know what I am talking about, is phở a Vietnamese beef and noodle soup. The soup includes rice noodles, a variety of meat of you choice and is garnished with coriander leaves, Thai basil, lime, bean sprouts, white and green onion. There is also a side dish of basil, lime, bean sprouts, and peppers that are added to the soup by the customer. The variations of meat include thin strips of meat, tendon, tripe, meatballs, chicken leg, chicken breast, and/or other chicken organs. The broth is made by simmering beef (sometimes chicken) bones, flank steak, charred onion, and spices, taking several hours to prepare.
For meat lovers, I would recommend phở đặc biệt' (specialty phở). Depending on which pho restaurant you go, they would put most of the meat variations. However, if you are leaning in more to the chicken, then you should order phở gà, where all of the meat in the pho consists of chicken breast or chicken wings with rice noodles. For vegetarians, phở chay has mainly leafy greens with rice noodle, but has a much lighter taste in the broth. The most common phở that people would order are phở bò tái (Phở with half-done beef fillet), phở bò viên (phở with beef meat balls), and phở gà (chicken ph ở. For children, you should definitely order phở bò viên. There are also some seafood-based phở for all you seafood lovers.
I guarantee you that if you read this article; you are set to go and order phở that suits you the most. Along side with this, you can also be experiencing another ethnic culture. People are considering that phở is a fast food restaurant when in fact, it really is not. You just get your food a whole lot fast than most restaurants that just makes you want to think that. Unlike most “fast food restaurants”, phở is a whole lot healthier and is enjoyed best on most seasons, but I personally think during cold days.