The Cambodian culinary adventure continues, although now I have been joined by the wonderful people at Food Explorer, the people and the tuk-tuk.
It was on a trip to 60 meter street that we decided to try banh chao. To give a brief introduction to 60 meter street, this is the place to try Khmer cuisine with Cambodian people, bugs an all!
To read more about 60 meter street read here.
It was whilst strolling down the street that we stopped to try a local delicacy, namely nom krok, a coconut custard type desert. It was here that we noticed a yellow pancake being made in front of our very eyes! Peter of food explorer said he wanted to try it, so one was ordered.
What is banh chao?
Banh chao is a dish from southern Vietnam known as banh xeo. Banh means cake, whilst geo means sizzle, so its like s sizzling rice pancake. Generally speaking it is a little more crunchy on the outside, but softer on the inside. It is then stuffed with things like minced pork and onions and then served with a big bowl of Khmer, or Vietnamese vegetables.
How do you eat banh chao?
This is the fun part, the eating bit! What makes this most fun is that banh chao/banh xeo is very much communal dish. What you do is rip off parts of the yellow pancake whilst grabbing some of the stuffing. You can then eat it exactly like that, or go whole hog and do it local style. Local style means grabbing one of the leaves, such as Cambodian coriander, or better still one of the “jungles leaves” and then wrapping the banh chao round it. Like a sandwich within a sandwich and with some elements of Korean BBQ.
What you are left with is a filling snack that can be eaten perfectly with an Angkor Beer, or even heaven forbid Khmer Whisky.
Another great Vietnamese dish presented with classic Khmer flair…