On May 5, banh xeo is indispensable.

Making banh xeo is called skillful when the cake is thin, round, evenly golden and not broken.

For most Western families, during the mid-year Tet holiday, banh xeo is an indispensable dish. This is a unique cultural feature associated with local culinary ingredients and family affection.

May 5th is the first day of Tet in half a year. Time always passes very quickly for us. Some people say, "So fast, half a year has passed without doing anything" or "May 5th has arrived without doing anything". Westerners rarely call it Tet Doan Ngo, but they often call it "the fifth day of the fifth month". Each family member prepares a tray of food to worship their ancestors with traditional dishes. And that tray cannot lack banh xeo. Only with banh xeo can the meal be lively.

This custom has existed for a long time, deeply rooted in the subconscious of the people of the South. When May 5th is approaching, we hear the adults in the neighborhood inviting each other to make banh xeo or calling their children far from home to come back and eat banh xeo. Banh xeo helps the atmosphere become warmer and the family more connected.

Not only in the countryside but also in the city, on May 5th, there are more places selling banh xeo. They put up signs saying “Banh xeo sold here, May 4th-5th. Price 20k/piece”. Banh xeo places are very crowded with people waiting to buy cakes. And many women buy pre-mixed flour to make the cake. Just read the instructions to mix the right amount of water and the dough is done. Just make the filling and pour it. Over time, banh xeo has been “stylized”, banh xeo with the green color of the pea flower, the orange color of the gac fruit, the green color of pandan leaves,… But I still like the traditional colored banh xeo the most.

Enjoying a delicious banh xeo like the old days is not easy. It takes a lot of time and effort. With many steps, everyone has to help. Some scrape coconut, some grind flour, some pick vegetables, some mince meat. So the women in the family often wake up early to prepare ingredients for making the cake.

The rice is soaked overnight and then ground. The turmeric is crushed and the water is mixed into the flour to create a golden yellow color. The characteristic color of the old banh xeo. The deliciousness of the cake depends on the way the flour is mixed. The flour is added to the coconut milk, chopped green onions, and a little salt. Don't forget to add the eggs to the bowl, beat well and add to the flour to make the flour crispier and more delicious.

The filling is very rich, depending on your preference. Especially delicious and sweet are minced Muscovy duck meat and crushed silver shrimp. The meat and shrimp are marinated with spices to taste and stir-fried. On May 5th, with the season of silver shrimp, bamboo shoots, and termite mushrooms, the filling for banh xeo is very delicious. Back then, we could pull out a lot of termite mushrooms, sometimes a whole basket. As for silver shrimp, we could throw them in the net, scoop out the pond, and catch a whole basket of bamboo. Now, it is rare to pull out a few dozen termite mushrooms and a few grams of silver shrimp.

The pouring of the batter requires experience and skillful hands. Use a large pan to fry the cake, use cooking oil or fat to melt in the hot pan, then scoop a spoonful of the batter and sprinkle it evenly over the pan, use a ladle to scoop the batter into the pan so that the batter is thin and even across the pan. This is a step that requires an art. Those who are skillful will pour a cake that is large, round, and evenly golden.

When you pour the batter into the pan, you immediately hear a sizzling sound. Ah, that’s probably why it’s called “banh xeo”. The name of the cake and its rich flavor speak to the people of the land where this delicious and famous dish was born. It’s simple and rustic.

When pouring the batter evenly on the pan, cover it with the lid. Wait a few minutes for the batter to cook, add bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, etc., cover the lid again and wait for the batter to cook, the batter to turn golden and crispy, then hold the cake in half and take it out. The process of taking the cake out requires skillful hands so that the cake does not break.

When pouring the cake, if there is still flour but no more bean sprouts, taro, bamboo shoots, etc., then there are banh xeo da. The cake is crispy from the edge to the inside. The children love it and chew the banh xeo ravenously.

This is the beginning of the rainy season, the first rains of the season help the wild vegetables to grow green such as cat loi leaves, cach leaves, longan longan, petrol mau, dien dien flowers... vegetables suitable for eating with banh xeo. Take the time to go for a while and come back with a big basket of vegetables. Maybe that's why every May 5th I eat banh xeo. This dish is associated with local culinary ingredients.

Fish sauce plays a big part in this dish. Use good fish sauce mixed with water or grated coconut water, lime juice, sugar, carrots cut into long, thin strips, and minced garlic and chili.

These are crispy skin pancakes from the edges in.

Banh xeo is placed on the altar to worship ancestors, then the whole family gathers together to eat the cake and chat animatedly. Few people use chopsticks to eat banh xeo, because it is more delicious to roll and eat with their hands. One hand holds a young leaf, the other hand tears a piece of cake with the filling on top, then adds a piece of herbs, basil, fish mint, green mustard, perilla, etc. It is impossible to list them all.

And thanks to the variety of vegetables, the Western pancake is famous. Roll it tightly with both hands, dip it in the fish sauce and enjoy the crispy aroma of the flour, the light taste of the vegetables, the salty and sour taste of the fish sauce. Creating a very unique and distinctive taste and aroma.

Article and photos: HOAI THUONG

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