MEKONG DELTA’S BÁNH BÒ
According to Minh Huong ethnic group, bánh bò originated from Southern China and came to Mekong Delta many centuries ago. According to Đại Nam Quốc Âm Tự Vị by Paulus Huỳnh Tịnh Của, the reason behind the name bánh bò is the shape of it resembles a cow’s udder. However, some might say that during the fermentation of the dough, the dough rises over the mixing bowl (bò also means to rise) which gives it its name. The cooking method includes steam, grill, with milk, or with coconut, depending on the region. It is sold on the street everywhere. To be able to make it in time for the market in the morning, the maker has to wake up very early to make it fresh everyday. A seemingly common dish of rural population is popular among tourists and has spread over every provinces and cities of Vietnam.
Chinese’s Bánh bò: Originated from Teochew people from China, it is often used as a filler before going to parties and celebrations. The surface is filled with holes due to the numerous air bubbles in the dough. The ingredients are rice wine, tapioca starch, rice flour, salt, coconut water, and white granulated sugar. In China, this type of rice cake is called tang gao which can be translated to “white sugar cake”, however, the one in China is a little bit sour and is made without coconut. This type of cake is very popular and is often eaten with bánh tiêu, a type of sweet bread.
Sóc Trăng’s Bánh bò: To make a good batch of this cake, the maker needs to choose pure white rice flour that is without anything else and not sour. However, small amount of tapioca starch can be added to make the cake more chewy and tasteful. The rice flour is mixed with filtered water or coconut milk to make the cake more airy. Then, yeast is sifted and combined with the mixture. When kneading the dough, salt is added to give the cake more flavor and the dough is continuously knead until smooth. Next, the dough is covered for 8 hours for the first fermentation stage. After that, a mixture of sugar and water is added, the amount depends on the taste of the maker. The mixture is thoroughly knead and covered for another 4 hours. This is the second fermentation stage. The fermentation will help the dough rise when steamed. The shape, size, and color of the bread is done before the kneading process. Oil is used to covered the inside of the steamer to make the cake more shiny and not stick. Because the dough will rise, it is recommended that the dough does not fill the entire space of the steamer. After steamed, the cake is left in the steamer until cool. While steaming, pandan leaves can be put inside the steamer to give the cakes a nice aroma. This cake has the flavor and fatty profile of the coconut milk, sweetness of sugar, chewy texture from tapioca starch, and the aroma of rice and pandan. This combination of flavors makes it one of the most popular snack. It can be eaten with sesame salt, simmered coconut milk, or roasted meat.
Southern’s Bamboo roots Bánh bò: The ingredients are common and easy to find, such as rice flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, coconut milk, salt, and sugar. When steamed, it can be eaten in coconut milk, with toasted sesame seeds. When broken in half, we can see the inside of the cake is filled with both deep and shallow holes that are windy, similar to the roots of bamboo. That is why it is called bamboo roots Bánh bò.
Cham’s grilled Bánh bò: Is a cake of the ethnic group Cham. This cake is round with diameter of 20cm. The edges are thin and golden and the body has millions of tiny holes but straight unlike the bamboo roots Bánh bò. It is made from flour, butter, egg, and Palm sugar. When grilled, the maker needs to use two small pans and one larger pan to heat the cover of the small pans. The maker uses a heated chromium pan with diameter of 22cm, scoop the mixture into the pan and spread it out to create the round shape. This requires quick and skillful hands. Then they takes the cover that was heated on the larger pan to cover the smaller pans. The cover has to be hot enough for the mixture to rise but not too hot that the cake becomes burned. The grilling takes about 2 and a half minutes. The aroma would rise and cover the entire street. When hot, the cake is crispy around the edges while remains soft and smooth in the middle.
Khmer’s grilled Bánh bò: Palm is widely grown in An Giang, Đồng Tháp, Kiên Giang by the Khmer people. Wherever there is Palm, there is Vietnamese-Khmer people. Bánh bò by the Khmer has a round shape, yellow color of the palm, with diameter around 12cm and thickness of 3cm. The size and thickness varies from person to person. The surface is covered in coconut milk which makes the yellow color of the cake very eye-catching. The ingredients are tapioca starch, baking powder, egg, Palm sugar, water, vanilla extract, and pandan extract. The combination is mixed until smooth and pour into baking pan. It is baked for 45 minutes at 350 degree Celsius. When done, the cake is enjoyed bathe in simmered coconut milk. The cake has the fatty profile of the coconut milk, slight sweetness of the Palm sugar. This Bánh bò is widely known around this region with tourists from all over.
Viet’s Palm Bánh bò: According to traditional medicinal practices, palm is sweet and has medicinal properties such as diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic with many nutrients like Vitamin C, B1, B2, B3, calcium, iron, phosphorous, and potassium. To make this cake to be soft and chewy, rice is thoroughly rinse and soak in water over night, then grind using a stone grinder. Ripe palm fruit is chosen, skinned, and shave using a plastic basket until its juice is released. Palm juice is used along with rice flour and palm sugar. The mixture is covered for 30 minutes to rise, the mixture will become softer. Banana leaves are cut into hand size and stack into a pile. Shaved coconut is put on the leaves first, then the mixture is put on. The banana leaves is folded to cover. Then, it is steamed for about an hour. When hot, the cake is soft and chewy. When cooled, the cake becomes harder but the aroma becomes stronger.
Collected by Linh Trang
