Old-Time Vietnam – Banh Khoai, a Hue Delight
“Like its elegantly designed streets and architecture, most Vietnamese generally regard the food from Hue to be the most refined in all of the country.” Songs of Sapa at 78.
Luke Nguyen on Vietnamese Food
For anyone interested in the food of Vietnam, I recommend Luke Nguyen’s recipe journal as one of the best English sources on the subject. Luke Nguyen’s books feature a wide, wide, and I mean wide variety of Vietnamese dishes, and often with his own creative touch that adapts the recipes to the foreigners’ understanding and access to ingredients.
His books are also a readers’ delight, as it serves as the record of his journey throughout Vietnam, in search of both the roots of his own personal history and his recipes. Finally, the wonderful photographs are delightful just to flip through. They are stock full with Vietnam’s native colors and the photographs of the food make one drool.
To learn more about Banh Khoai (the pronounciation of “Khoai” is “kuai”), I looked up the Songs of Sapa by Luke Nguyen. In this book, there is a whole section on Hue, where Luke Nguyen takes me along his journey into the heart of modern Vietnam.
Banh Khoai as Regal Happiness
Like Beijing in China, there was such thing as “imperial cuisine” in Hue. “Emperors demanded that they must not eat the same dish in the same year, and that the imperial dining table must be set with more than fifty dishes. Hence royal cooks were forced to be creative and play around with ingredients, offering an assortment of canape-sized dishes. From this, Hue cuisine was formed.” Songs of Sapa at 78.
My first taste of the imperial food in Beijing was quite amazing, as the dinner came with a set menu with multiple courses that should have somewhat resembled an imperial meal. I have not studied whether Hue offers its imperial cuisine as a business venture, although I have a feeling that there is no such thing there.
From the eastern gate of the Imperial Palace, I walked perhaps for 10 minutes or so to arrive at Banh Khoai Hong Mai. Many internet sources recommend this restaurant for Hue’s specialty. It was a canape that featured on the imperial menu for the Nguyen Emperors.
In Vietnamese, Banh Khoai simply means “Happy Pancake.” Luke Nguyen suggests that one smiles throughout the cooking. Or otherwise, the pancake being served in a folded half also resembles a smiley face.
Photo: Mouth-watering anticipation, as I wait for the food to come.
Banh Khoai is a crispy pancake with pork, shrimp, herbs and assorted veggies wrapped in it. There is a thick dipping sauce that comes with the pancakes. According to Hue Cooking Class, this thick dipping sauce consists of peanuts, sesame and pork liver. Together they give the sauce its rich consistency. It is also the soul of the Banh Khoai, without which will not be a proper way to savor the crispy pancakes. What gives the pancakes its yellow color is turmeric. It gets mixed into the batter before the pancakes are fried, with quite a bit of oil, in a small pan.
Photo: The Banh Khoai was so enticing that, I only realized not having taken a picture of it when I have almost finished the last pancake.
It was with anticipation that I dug in my first Banh Khoai Hue. Certainly, one could not miss the crunch there. The whole dipping business was also very satisfying. This satisfaction felt strange, because it is in a non-filling way. At that point, I still could not articulate this satisfaction even to myself. But I would, during this trip in Hue, finally be able to understand my reasons for loving Vietnamese food so much. No matter what I picked to eat, Vietnamese food is heavenly.
Nem Lui Hue
Although the Banh Khoai was really the main attraction at Banh Khoai Hong Mai, I also ordered Nem Lui. The two happy pancakes would not keep me full. My first exposure to Nem Lui was probably during my last Vietnam trip in Danang and Hoi An. This Nem Lui Hue was, purportedly, better than the nem lui anywhere else.
The Nem Lui is a grilled pork skewer on lemongrass sticks. When served, you wrap it with fresh veggies, herbs and chilli in a piece of rice paper. Then you dip it in the wonderful sauce that comes with it. One serving came with five skewers. I furthermore went all out with the veggie wrapping. The skewers ended up with big rice paper packets in generous dipping sauce.
And yes, I would lick my fingers after. They were that good.
More on Luke Nguyen
Speaking of Luke Nguyen, his business venture in Hong Kong is Moi Moi. I was quite keen on trying it, but I found it to be slightly disappointing. All of the food for that dinner came out too salty for me. But perhaps I will try it again, because his recipes do look very good in his journals.
Sources
Luke Nguyen, the Songs of Sapa (2009).
Hue Cooking Class, Banh Khoai Hue – Crispy Pancake.
