Try “Bánh cóng” cake… you’ll never want to stop

Tuesday, 05/19/2015 17:23

The “Bánh cóng” Shop owned by Mrs Ut Lu located on Tran Van Hoai, Xuan Khanh Dist, Can Tho City is always busy. The shop has become a popular address for diners searching for good snacks.

Serving both foreign and local customers, they all have the same expressions on their face as they eat a piece of cake with vegetables, dipped in fish sauce: wow it is really good!

Mrs Ut Lu’s daughter Mrs Ut Duong Thi told us that her family has made this cake for three generations. The shop was just a small place in the beginning, but was later extended. 30 years making cakes and they have never taken any days off except for holidays. The shop is called “Ut Lu” in her honor as she is the first generation to make this cake in the Mekong Delta.

Legend says that “Bánh Cóng” has its origin among the Khmer minorities of the South. Over time other ingredients and spices have been added by Chinese or Kinh people to suit their tastes. However another story tells that “Bánh Cóng” was invented by Chaozhou migrants who came to Soc Trang, local Khmer people found it delicious and learnt to make it.

Crispy “Bánh cóng” made by Mrs Ut Lu is popular in the Mekong Delta

This cake was originally called “Sển” or “Sài cá nại” in the accent of Khmer people. It became a favorite food for Vietnamese people and its name changed into “Bánh cóng”. The name sounds quite strange, but the reason for this is very simple. The cake was made with a tool called “chiếc cóng” which is similar to a soup ladle, but deeper and creates cylindrical blocks.

In 30 years of cake making they have never taken any days off except for holidays

“Bánh cóng” cake was found first in Soc Trang and became a popular Southern delicacy as well as a favorite cake of Kinh, Khmer and Chinese people. “Bánh cóng” made by Mrs Ut Lu is popular because it is the tastiest in the Mekong Delta. Can Tho City is a young city with immigrants coming from various regions. They have also brought many delicious and unique dishes from their hometown. Many of the dishes don’t have typical characteristics of Can Tho but with skillful and talented hands people in Can Tho have made many unique dishes. These have the typical flavor of Can Tho city, “Bánh cóng” cake is just one of those.

“Bánh cóng” cake that looks delicious in yellow after fried with very good smell become memory in the visitors every time they come to Can Tho.

The cake is porous and crunchy and has an attractive yellow color and very good aroma, it has become popular among attract adults and young children. The wrapper is made of rice flour. Three parts common rice and one part sticky rice is soaked in water overnight then ground and mixed with soy flour and egg. The flour mixture is thicker than pancake mix. The filling used inside the cake is a mixture that includes pork, minced and mixed with spices, purple onion and chopped scallions as well as steamed green beans without their skin. The mixture of flour is placed into the soup ladle with a few prawn or shrimp leaving the skins on to make the shrimp crispy. The chefs will dip the soup ladle with the flour mix into hot oil. The temperature shouldn’t be too high, just enough to brown the cake. When the cake is well cooked it is lifted out. The cake is then drained and plated.

Frying “Bánh cóng” technique: the fire has to be controlled enough to brown the cake and have it crispy but still moderately soft

Making average “bánh cóng” is simple but to make excellent “bánh cóng” is not simple at all. Mrs Ut Lu said that the most important step is selecting the right rice to make the flour. It must be good rice in order to leave the cake soft and porous, and provide a good aroma when it is fried. When mixing the rice, sticky rice and soy flour it is also important to measure it equally, not too much and not too little. The spices need to be balanced so that the cake won’t be too salty or too flat. When you roll with vegetables and dip in the sauce it will create a great combination of flavors.

All kinds of vegetables are served with “Bánh Cóng” cake to create great combinations of flavors to satisfy everyone

The cake is at its best when served hot and eaten with other kind of vegetables: broccoli, the youngest part of the mango tree, green leaves, lettuce, basil and cinnamon. The cake is cut into 4 or 6 pieces for easy rolling with the vegetables. To bring out the best taste we need to have a dipping sauce which contains great balance of sour, sweet, spicy and salty flavors. Sometimes it has ginger and is mixed with a chopped carrot and radish mixture. Good fish sauce has to have a balance taste, the best is “Phu Quoc” fish sauce. The sauce made the dish more delicious especially when it was served with many kinds of vegetable. Diners give great compliments when they have a taste of this combination.

Don’t worry that too much oil is used as this is drained to make the cake dry and crispy with a good aroma of pork and shrimp. You can taste the fat from the oil that remains in the skin of the cake and balances with the freshness and coolness of the vegetables. You will understand why people usually said “Can Tho is popular for rice and its landscape with many rivers; for anyone who has comes to Can Tho their heart will want to stay there forever” Just a small “Bánh cóng” cake which is considered as a simple and rustic dish but it is still able to attract you. After you leave you know that you must return one day.

Acording to Ha Viet Thi Nguyen
Dân trí

Extracted from articles written especially for Golden Spoon 2014 called “A journey of searching traditional rustic dishes for three regional cuisine”