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Adventure of Finding Delicous Cuisine In VietNam

My Lien “Bánh bèo” rice pancake - a dish with a hundred year history

Monday, 09/15/2014 14:15
“Bánh bèo” is not just available at Bung market but people believe that you must go to Bung market to get truly authentic “Bánh bèo”.

Bung market used to be as crowded as “Chợ Lớn” market in Gia Định, Ha Tien, Vung Tau. Over time business has seen good times and bad. Today the market is not as big as it used to be. It used to be the most popular market throughout six provinces in the South, but now is just a small market in a small town like so many others in this country.

Why is this market called Bung? According to musician Vo Dong Phuong, some people said that because this market was near a pond or bung, others said that Bung is a variant of the word “Bưng”. The market was founded in French colonial times and it was they who first coined the word. Others say that the market was popular for selling “bún” – fresh rice noodles, especially “bún bì” – fresh rice noodle served with pork skin and vegetables. This was famous before the market got its name.

All theories carry with them a certain logic, and this is a market that abounds with legends. This name as well as being the one hundred year old market is also the name of a old dish, My Lien Banh Beo well, known all over this large southern region,.

My Lien restaurant has many excellent dishes on the menu, such as “Bánh bèo bì”, rice pancake served with pork skin and vegetable; “bì cuốn”- a kind of raw spring roll with pork skin, meat and vegetables; “bún thịt nướng”, fresh rice noodle with grilled pork and the most popular of all “Bánh bèo bì” which is strongly connected with Bung market in Binh Duong province

Mrs Cu Kieng’s yoke gets heavy on her shoulder every morning when she carries the Bánh bèo around Thuan An town in Binh Duongl. Her Bánh bèo tastes very good smell beautiful, causing business to be brisk. There are regularly many people waiting for her to come by. People talk about her dish greatly, causing her to run out within just a few small streets. Many people told her to open a shop at her home so she could sell all day long.

Mrs Kieng has been selling “Bánh bèo” since long before she got married. After her marriage she transferred the business to her daughter Ms Nguyen Thi Sau, mother of Mrs Nguyen Thi Ba and Nguyen Thi A, the owner of the two My Lien “Bánh bèo” shops that are famous in Bung market.

Mrs Nguyen Thi Ba and her sister Mrs Nguyen Thi A are now over 70 years old but are still able to plate rice pancake quickly and always with a smile. Mrs Ba told us that the reason behind the name My Lien. Her husband chose the name because it not only honors the beautiful lotus but also describes a close family relationship. Lien is the name of her 6th sister and “My” the name of her elder sister’s daughter.

“Bánh bèo Mỹ Liên” is popular that appears in a song “I come to Bung Market and I remember you/ Remember to bring durian and mangosteen with you. If you have “ô kê”, “bánh bèo” and “bì cuốn” then you’re my number one.

Bánh bèo” sounds like a simple dish but making it requires a lot of difficult skills and different techniques. You have to select the best quality of rice, clean it thoroughly and grind it on a millstone. Next leave the powder in water for 6 hours adding a little bit salt. Drain and discard the powder. Boil water and add the drained powder. Over heat, pour water onto the powder whilst stirring to prevent the mixture clotting. There needs to be a good balance of water and powder to get the right cake mix, neither too dry nor too watery. Pour it to a mold and steam it.

“Bánh bèo” Mỹ Liên has a pure white color and a good aroma of rice. It should be soft and smooth in your mouth.
The cakes are covered in a mixture of mashed peeled green beans and has a beautiful yellow color with very pleasant aroma

This is just part of the process. To have a really good “Bánh bèo” there are still other complicated steps. “Bánh bèo bì” has to have the B. This is made from a mixture of pork skin and pork meat. The skin is fried with coconut juice and mixed with “thính” which is ground fried rice. Pork and pig skin have to be cut into a very small, thin slices which requires a very sharp knife.

The vegetables that are normally served with “Bánh bèo” include juliette cucumber, herbs chopped randomly and a mixture of sour carrot and turnip. The sauce is made of good concentrated fish sauce mixed with warm water, sugar and sour chinese onion, sour carrot, chili sauce and MSG (the quantity depends on the chef). Put a little bit fried purple onion on the top of the cake alongside fried peanut and a little fresh chili and you will have the perfect Bánh bèo.

Bánh bèo” is not only found in Bung market but many people believe that to get a dish of really great My Lien “Bánh bèo” then those bought from the market will show you what a truly authentic dish of “Bánh bèo” is. It is of paramount importance that a dish with a hundred year history is treated with respect. It was born when the Bung market was a crowded bustling affair, however now it has become small even the dish is still well-known here. For 4th generations Mr Nguyen Thanh Danh and her family have guarded the secrets behind the cooking process of this dish that have remained the same as how they started.

Southern people selling food normally take into account the trust and goodwill of diners as well as the passion of the chef when they cook the food. They don’t need certificates in golden frames to show off to the world. Simple good compliments offered from one person to others have become their sustainable brand for over a hundred years.

Perhaps being one of the biggest markets in the South means that it has remained in the memory for many people living in Binh Duong Province. Though time diminishes the memory, every time you pass by the Bung market and see My Lien “Bánh bèo” shop those memories are brought to the fore again. Seeing Mrs Nguyen Thi Ba and Mrs Nguyen Thi A still in good health, plating “Bánh bèo” quickly with a friendly smile is a sight to behold. The My Lien shop is one of reasons that made visitors remember, love and return to visit Bung Market …

Acording to V.H
Dan Tri Newspaper

*. Extracted from articles written especially for Golden Spoon 2014 called “A journey of searching traditional rustic dishes”

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