Coming to the coastal city of Vung Tau (Ba Ria - Vung Tau), in addition to enjoying fresh seafood dishes, visitors also have the opportunity to enjoy traditional banh khot.
No one knows where the name of the banh khot came from. From a family dish often made on weekends, banh kho has become a bright spot, gradually becoming a unique brand, like a specialty of the coastal land of Vung Tau.
Traditional khot cake of Vung Tau is poured on a wood stove. When the cake mold is hot, the maker will put in a little fat (or oil) to rinse the blister, then pour the dough and cover. When the dough is almost cooked, open the lid and put the shrimp in, until the cake is cooked.
At this time, the skin of the cake is crispy, but the flour inside is still soft and sticky. The cake will be added onions, shrimp dates... to make it more delicious and eye-catching.
The way to eat the cake is also quite simple. A crispy hot crust, rolled with lettuce or broccoli, herbs, a bit of sour food, then dipped with chili sauce. The fat taste, the aroma of rice flour, the crispy taste of the cake shell mixed with the fresh taste of shrimp (or squid), the green taste of vegetables and sauce ... delicious and irresistible.
Ms. Mai Thi Hau, a tourist in Ho Chi Minh City, said that she really loves this dish. "Once I went to Vung Tau, just to eat a portion of the cakes, invite friends for coffee or take a photo to check-in and then return to Ho Chi Minh City. However, many restaurants are no longer as delicious as before," said Ms. Hau.
It is not difficult to make hot cakes, but it is not easy to make delicious hot cakes. Nowadays, to serve a large number of customers, many shops choose to add a large amount of oil to the mold to make it hot and then pour the flour in, like frying the cake. This method makes the cake crispy but dry, reducing the quality compared to the traditional meticulous way of making it.
However, some restaurants persistently make it in the traditional way, not following the number of customers, to preserve the delicious flavor of the old banh khoc.
Diners can go to some locations selling wood-cut cake such as Co Chin restaurant (24A Tran Dong); Ba Hai restaurant (42 Tran Dong), or some restaurants on Le Lai, Ba Trieu streets, Truong Cong Dinh alleys...
