Food
Bánh Bao
Bánh bao (literally "wrapping cake") is a ball-shaped bun containing pork or chicken meat, onions, eggs, mushrooms and vegetables, in Vietnamese cuisine. It often has Chinese sausage and a portion of a hard-boiled egg inside. Bánh bao is an old fashioned Cantonese dim sum called tai pao (大包, literally "big bun") brought to Vietnam by Cantonese immigrants. It was invented during the hardship days of old China to feed the ordinary people.
Bánh Cuon
Bánh cuốn is made from a thin, wide sheet of steamed fermented rice batter filled with seasoned ground pork, minced wood ear mushroom, and minced shallots. Sides for this dish usually consist of chả lụa (Vietnamese pork sausage), sliced cucumber, and bean sprouts, with the dipping sauce called nước chấm. Sometimes, a drop of cà cuống, which is the essence of a giant water bug, Lethocerus indicus, is added to the nước chấm for extra flavor, although this ingredient is scarce and quite expensive.
Bánh Xèo
Bánh xèo, literally "sizzling cake", named for the loud sizzling sound it makes when the rice batter is poured into the hot skillet, are Vietnamese savoury fried pancakes made of rice flour, water, turmeric powder, stuffed with slivers of fatty pork, shrimp, diced green onion, and bean sprouts. Southern-style bánh xèo contains coconut milk and certain Central regions skip the turmeric powder altogether. They are served wrapped in mustard leaf, lettuce leaves or banh trang wrappers, and stuffed with mint leaves, basil, fish leaf and/or other herbs, and dipped in a sweet and sour diluted fish sauce.
© Emma Randolph, Drew Grzechowiak, Emily Pulley - Group 6