Cupcakes
are predictable – they are named that way because they are baked in cup-shaped
containers, and they are cakes.
Then
comes the Vietnamese banh cong, which
can turn your conventional idea of cupcakes on its head.
The
cake is made in a mold that is half a soup ladle half a tube. The final result
may look similar to your favorite dessert at a quick glance, but it’s not.
Banh cong is originally a dish of the Khmer
in southern Vietnam. A long time ago it could only be found in Soc Trang
Province, but southerners loved it so much they brought it around the Mekong
Delta with them and turned the cake into the popular dish that it is today.
Its
recipe is straightforward: a mixture of rice and soy flour, mung beans,
shredded taro, minced pork and shrimps.
The
frying method is a lot more complicated – there’s an order of what to put into
the mold: first the batter, the beans and taro, the meat and then more batter.
The cooks will carefully place a shrimp on top (or two if they are generous).
The
whole mold is then dunked into boiling oil. After around 20 minutes, the cake
is removed from the mold. But don’t salivate just yet.
The
secret of the cake is that it will be quickly fried one more time, mold-free.
This gives banh cong a perfectly
crispy skin, but the cake inside is still very soft as if it were baked, not
fried.
And
because the Vietnamese cuisine is all about balance, a fried cake will be
served with a lot of fresh herbs and vegetables.
Finally,
the genius thing about banh cong is
its dipping sauce, similar to the version paired with the famous banh xeo.
The
lightly sweetened sauce with a touch of lime takes the cake to a whole new
level. It’s truly the proverbial icing on the cake.
Where to try: Can Tho City and Soc Trang
Province in the delta are arguably two best places in for banh cong.
In
Ho Chi Minh City, check out the small shop at 8 Ly Thuong Kiet Street in Go Vap
District.
By Nhung
Nguyen/ VnExpress