CORN CAKE – POTATO CAKE – BANANA CAKE
These cakes must be deep-fried and eaten immediately after being taken out of the pan, drained of oil, and still piping hot. The crispy cake is a perfect accompaniment to the fresh taste of corn, the nutty taste of sweet potatoes, and the special sweetness of bananas. When fried, the bananas are sweet, soft, and fragrant, unlike the fresh bananas we eat every day.
Corn-potato-banana cakes appear everywhere: on a sidewalk corner, in front of a school gate, even in almost every market in Hanoi there are 1 or 2 stalls selling them. The stalls do not have much, the seller's tools are only 2 deep cast iron pans, 1 tray of corn-potato-cassava and 1 bowl of flour, enough to satisfy the diners sitting around.
HOT RICE CAKE
Hot Banh Duc is a typical dish of Hanoi's cold season, a cake that delicately blends ingredients and flavors. The seller keeps the cake hot, soft, and thick in a cast iron pot. When someone orders, the Banh Duc is scooped into a bowl, adding a little minced meat stir-fried with shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, a little coriander, a little fried onions, and finally pouring in a light dipping sauce. If you can eat spicy food, sprinkle on more pepper and fresh chili to feel all the sweet, spicy, salty, and aromatic flavors of this cake.
FRIED CHUNG RICE CAKE
Fried banh chung is sold all year round, but the heat of summer is considered unsuitable for this dish. Diners often hesitate because of its richness, and even when cold, the cake will accumulate oil and become greasy, making it easy to get sick of eating. However, when winter comes, fried banh chung becomes more attractive than ever.
After being lightly fried, the banh chung is placed on a tray to keep it warm. When delivered to the diners, it is a hot plate of cake with side dishes depending on each person's taste such as sliced Chinese sausage, green rice sausage, sausage, grilled meat skewers, etc. Pickled vegetables and mildly sour pickled onions are indispensable to balance the dish. Take a small bite and feel the crispy fried crust while the inside is still soft and chewy, the hot cake emits steam, stimulating the taste buds of the eater. Take another bite and you will see the fragrant green bean, fatty meat, and black pepper filling.
Grilled Sticky Rice Bananas
Grilled sticky rice banana cake is a familiar dish to people in the southern provinces. This year, it has arrived in Hanoi just in time for winter. Hanoi diners are excited about this new dish that is so suitable for Hanoi winter.
Each peeled banana is wrapped in sticky rice, grilled over charcoal until the edges are burnt, then cut into bite-sized pieces, drizzled with homemade coconut milk, crushed peanuts, and shredded coconut and ready to enjoy.
Floating Cake
A bowl of banh troi tau usually has 2 balls, round balls with mung bean filling, oval balls with black sesame filling, poured with brown sugar water with ginger aroma and then added with coconut milk and roasted peanuts.
Some people say the essence of a bowl of banh troi tau lies in the sugar water mixed with the ginger flavor, the slight spiciness on the tip of the tongue lingering until the last bite. In the cold weather, holding a bowl of hot banh troi tau in your hand and feeling the winter passing by so slowly. The beauty of enjoying this dish is on a cold day, sitting next to a hot banh troi stove, looking out at the street, slowly savoring each spoonful of soft, rich mung bean, sesame, coconut milk, and the distinctive ginger flavor, and feeling the winter passing by so slowly.
Ngoc Anh compiled
