Pity the poor girl
“A crow perched on a pigsty / It cried out, ‘Mother, are the rice cakes ready yet?’” One peaceful day in the countryside, I suddenly heard someone singing a lullaby, and felt pity for the fate of the rice cakes. The simple nature of many types of cakes made from rice flour in the countryside is understandable, but the word “rice cakes” itself easily evokes the image of a precarious, drifting life, and now it’s associated with “crows” and “pigsty houses”—it’s truly indescribable! Then I felt sorrow for the scene, “Debts hanging over my head, I’ll sell rice cakes to pay off my debts and support you,” how bitter it sounds!
Not to mention, many other types of cakes made from rice and glutinous rice are offered to ancestors on ancestral altars during death anniversaries, festivals, and holidays, while banh beo has never once had that sacred duty!
Lost in thought about the origins of "banh beo" (a type of Vietnamese rice cake), tracing back to the past, we see that, as a food made from rice in Vietnam's rice-farming civilization, banh beo embodies simplicity, rusticity, ease of preparation and consumption, and is always associated with the hardworking lives of farmers, especially in Quang Nam province. Unlike the small, delicate, and translucent banh beo of Hue , enhanced with the graceful and gentle flavor of dried shrimp, befitting the refined ladies of the royal court, the banh beo of Quang Nam, a little further from Hai Van Pass, is fuller and more substantial, with a thick filling of shrimp, pork, chopped wood ear mushrooms, and diluted rice flour...
The technique for making bánh bèo is as follows: rice is soaked overnight, then ground into flour, mixed with water until it's just right, and then scooped into small, pretty earthenware bowls. These bowls are then steamed for about ten minutes, then removed, lightly brushed with a layer of rendered peanut oil, and topped with the filling, chopped scallions, and crushed peanuts.
"A change of leadership" thanks to Gen Z.
For years, the humble bánh bèo (rice cake) of the countryside, a staple for meals during work in the fields, a gathering at a small roadside tea stall, or quietly tucked away in a basket tucked under the hip, occasionally awakened by the calls of street vendors strolling through the neighborhoods, later appearing in the alleyways of the city, and one day unexpectedly gaining the attention of young people.
Thanks to the combination of the traditional identity of the dish with the modern media of Gen Z - the first generation of "digital citizens" - it not only revives the memories of the older generation but also creates an attractive image for this humble dish in today's life. From there, the humble cake boldly "breaks free," making a splash on social media and in restaurants and street food stalls.
Walking along Nui Thanh Street in Hoa Cuong Ward, Da Nang every morning, many passersby can feel the "heat" of the small eatery called "Hot Banh Beo" at number 197. It's called "hot banh beo" because the banh beo are steamed in a pot of rising steam, then scooped out and still piping hot when served to customers sitting crowded together, layer after layer, on a small stretch of sidewalk.
Meanwhile, the "wood-fired rice cakes" stall on a corner of Con Dau street still retains its rustic charm amidst the new Hoa Xuan urban area. In the late afternoon sunlight filtering through the trees, on a makeshift stall like many small country eateries, the fire in the brick and earthen stove seems to burn brighter, adding a mystical white smoke that wafts from the steaming pot, imbued with a warm, old-fashioned aroma. In small, chipped earthenware bowls, the translucent white rice cakes are topped with a thick, fragrant filling of roasted peanuts and a sweet and sour fish sauce with slices of red and green chili...
Preserving something very old
Nestled in the heart of Hoi An's Old Town, a humble banh beo (steamed rice cake) stall is tucked away in a small alley off Phan Dinh Phung Street, preserving a touch of nostalgia in this traditional dish. While most banh beo stalls now use small, long metal spoons, Co Tu's banh beo stall uses a bamboo knife to eat the cakes. This method of using a bamboo knife is not only convenient but also showcases a cultural philosophy deeply ingrained in the cuisine of Quang Nam province in particular and Vietnamese villages in general. It represents the harmonious blend of nature, from the rice and peanuts of the fields to the shrimp of the river and the fragrant fish sauce extracted from the sea, from the earthenware bowl to the green bamboo grove… Eating, as a form of "nutritional therapy," nurtures people to grow in harmony with the yin-yang balance of nature; thus fostering a greater awareness of protecting nature.
But what sets it apart is its preservation of the distinctive Quang Nam-style banh beo (steamed rice cakes) with its thick filling of shrimp, pork, wood ear mushrooms, and scallions… and the way it's eaten with a bamboo knife, like at Co Tu Hoi An restaurant. However, it's not without its variations. For example, on top of the "traditional" filling, there are crispy, golden-brown, fragrant cao lau noodles to suit younger tastes. In some places, it's bread crumbs or crispy fried pork cracklings…
Traveling further across Vietnam, one realizes that the humble bánh bèo (steamed rice cake), whether in the cold North, the sunny Central region, or the tranquil Southern delta, has always undergone regional variations and influences from Eastern and Western culinary cultures, whether in the face of modern industrialization or the whirlwind of urbanization. But no matter how it "shifts," bánh bèo retains the essence of the rice-farming civilization, connected to the inherent simplicity and authenticity of the farmers…
And so, amidst the peaceful countryside or the small alleyways, whether for leisure or to earn a living, one day, the rice cake, which originated from a lullaby lamenting the plight of the insignificant, suddenly shone brightly in life and in poetry, becoming a bridge connecting hearts: "We sit at a roadside stall / Rice cakes connect the threads of our hearts" (Rice Cakes - Quy Le)...
Source: https://baodanang.vn/banh-beo-len-ngoi-3326134.html
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