Bánh

"Bánh" is a Vietnamese term translating loosely as "cake" or "bread." As such, it may, with the addition of qualifying adjectives, refer to a wide variety of distinct cakes, buns, pastries, and other similar food items from Vietnamese cuisine, which may be cooked by steaming, baking, frying, deep-frying, or boiling. In general, anything made from flour can be called "bánh".

"Bánh" may also refer to certain varieties of noodles, such as for example "bánh canh" or "bánh hỏi".

Each variety of "bánh" is designated by a descriptive word or phrase that follows the word "bánh", such as "bánh bò" (literally "cow cake") or "bánh chuối" (literally "banana cake").

"Bánh" that are wrapped in leaves before steaming are called "bánh lá" (literally "leaf cakes").

The term is derived from the Sino-Vietnamese character (which is pronounced bǐng in Mandarin Chinese).

Varieties

There is a nearly endless variety of named dishes with the prefix "bánh". What follows is a list of the most typical traditional varieties of "bánh".

Noodles

*Bánh canh - thick noodle
*Bánh hỏi ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/nghiadangoi/454893250/ photo]} - extremely thin noodles that are woven into intricate bundles and often topped with chopped scallions and a complementary meat dish
*Bánh phở - rice noodles

Dumplings

* Bánh bá trạng (Bak Chang dumplings) - like Chinese "zongzi" [http://pwmf.blogspot.com/2006/05/bnh-b-trng-bak-chang-dumplings.html]
*Bánh bao ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/run_time/448447636/ photo]} - ball-shaped bun filled with pork and/or other ingredients
* Bánh bột lọc, dumplings
** Bánh bột lọc trần ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/53433754@N00/2370292856/ photo]} - dumplings with wrappers made of tapioca starch; similar to Chaozhou "fun guo"
** Bánh bột lọc lá ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/8512966@N06/591104565/ photo]} - tiny rice flour dumplings stuffed with shrimp and ground pork and wrapped in a banana leaf; from Hue
* Bánh cam - deep-fried glutinous rice sesame balls filled with sweetened mung bean paste; from southern Vietnam
* Bánh ít - small stuffed glutinous rice flour balls
** Bánh ít trần ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/20933125@N00/150952822/ photo]} - "naked" small stuffed glutinous rice flour balls
* Bánh khúc ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/mongan/10426194/ photo]} - glutinous rice ball
* Bánh nậm ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/8122627@N03/507471453/ photo]} - flat rice flour dumpling from Hue stuffed with minced pork and mushroom, and seasoned with pepper and spices; wrapped in a banana leaf
* [http://pwmf.blogspot.com/2006/02/bnh-phu-th-husband-and-wife-cakes.html Bánh phu thê] ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/petebeck/507859060/ photo]} - (literally "husband and wife cake"; a sweet cake made of rice or tapioca flour and gelatin, filled with mung bean paste; also spelled "bánh xu xê")
**Bánh phu thê bột bán (husband and wife cakes made with tapioca pearls)
*Bánh rán - deep-fried glutinous rice sesame balls filled with sweetened mung bean paste; from northern Vietnam
* Bánh tẻ, small steamed rice cake wrapped with leaves of some local trees into a long, thin cylindrical shape, and boiled thoroughly.

Pancakes

* Bánh bèo ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/professorsalt/45272318/ photo]} - small steamed savory rice cakes
* Bánh căn ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/vietnamfriendly/875418763/ photo]} - a southern specialty consisting of small pancakes made with quail eggs, cooked in small clay pans
* Bánh đúc, rice cake or corn cake eaten as a dessert or savory meal ^{[http://www.fao.org/inpho/content/documents/vlibrary/AE617e/25.htm photo]}
* Bánh rế - deep-fried pancake
* Bánh khọt ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginnyle/58540335/ photo]} - a southern specialty consisting of small, fried rice flour pancakes
* Bánh xèo - coconut milk-flavored crepes

Rolls

* Bánh cuốn - steamed rice roll
* Bánh tôm - shrimp patties
** Bánh tôm Hồ Tây ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/33218371@N00/254667247/ photo]} - a shrimp patty specialty originating from the area around West Lake (Hồ Tây), Hanoi

Rice paper

*Bánh tráng - rice paper
*Bánh ướt - steamed rice paper

andwiches

*Bánh mì - Vietnamese sandwich

weet cakes

* Bánh bò - "cow cake," made from glutinous rice flour and coconut milk, with a honeycomb-like texture
* Bánh cáy, rectangular-shaped sweet dessert made by roasting and grinding glutinous rice and other ingredients
* Bánh da lợn - colored steamed layer cake made from tapioca starch, rice flour, coconut milk and/or water, sugar, and other ingredients
* Bánh đúc, rice cake or corn cake eaten as a dessert or savory meal ^{[http://www.fao.org/inpho/content/documents/vlibrary/AE617e/25.htm photo]}
* Bánh chuối - banana cake
* Bánh khoai môn - taro cake
* Bánh tiêu - hollow doughnuts ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronhuynh/706470172/ photo]}
* Bánh trung thu - mooncake
* Bánh khoai mì ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/diepphi_tran/623314931/ photo]} - sweet cassava cake

Dishes for special occasions

* Bánh chưng - square-shaped steamed glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in a dong leaf ("lá dong")
* Bánh tét - log-shaped cylindrical glutinous rice cake, wrapped in a banana leaf and filled with a meat or vegetarian filling
* Bánh trôi ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/phuongnguyen/173383935/ photo]} (also called "bánh chay"; literally "floating cake") - served together with "bánh chay"

Others

* Bánh bông hồng ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/8512966@N06/591104607/in/photostream/ photo]}
* Bánh bông lan
* Bánh chay - served together with "bánh trôi"
* Bánh cốm
* Bánh đa
* Bánh đậu xanh ^{[http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoangtungx/123256443/ photo]}
* Bánh dứa
* Bánh gai
* Bánh giầy, also written as "bánh dầy"
* Bánh giò
* Bánh ít lá gai
* Bánh kẹp
* Bánh mật
* Bánh lá dừa
* Bánh phồng tôm
* Bánh phục linh
* Bánh quế
* Bánh tráng nướng

External links

* [http://dina-n-brian.com/Alice/Banhguide.htm Alice's Guide to Vietnamese Banh]
* [http://pitchblack70.tripod.com/gaijingirl/MealsVietnamese.html List of varieties of "bánh"]

ee also

*Bing (Chinese flatbread)
*Vietnamese cuisine