Banh kep Hoi An is full of flavors, the salty taste of paté, hot spicy flavor of pepper and chili sauce, a fatty taste of coconut, enchanting tourists who visit Hoi An.
In Saigon, there are famous banh trang tron, in Dalat, there are hot and crispy grilled rice paper. In Hoi An, there is also banh kep that make people attracted.
To Hoi An (Quang Nam), just wandering in Hoi An Old Quarter, travelers will not find it difficult to find stalls selling banh kep. It just looks like a stall, but in fact, it’s just a small vendor, with a stove, rice paper which is cut into pieces small as a hand and the jars of butter, paté and chili paste. Though it is small, the stall always crowded and fun.
The popular snack
Walking around the streets of Hoi An, we also feel the smell of the food somewhere. The aroma of banh kep blends in with the aromas of other dishes, but people can still recognize the characteristic aroma. In the middle of the winter, the aroma of banh kep Hoi An was warm up the air of Hai An and the heart of visitors on Vietnam food tours coming here.
This street food is sold everywhere, raw materials are available all year round, simple processing so banh kep is very popular. This snack is very popular among young people in Hoi An and tourists on food walking tour.
How to make banh kep
Ingredients for making banh kep are very simple and rustic, available all year round such as rice paper, scallions, paté, jerky. However, it seems only in the cold weather of winter, that flavor is attractive to people who are on Vietnam food tours.
For a delicious banh kep, paté processing is very important. Delicious paté must be made from fresh pig liver. The liver will be washed, filtered the fiber, sliced and then soaked in fresh milk for about 20 minutes. Next, sellers will remove the milk and water from the liver, continue to grind the liver with a little pork meat. Add the toasted bread, add a little pepper, spice and grind this mixture until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into the mold, spread evenly and place in steamer within a few hours for the pate well cooked. Paté to make delicious banh kep must have the fragrance of liver but also nice fatty taste.
Rice paper selected to make banh kep are coconut rice papers which are cut into small triangular pieces. Rice paper is very hard, so it is necessary to spread water through the surface of the rice paper to soften the paper and help rice paper expand when being grilled. Quickly spread a thin layer of butter before, then the layer of paté, layer of onion and can not lack some herbs. The sellers can add more jerky if you would like to order. Continue to place another layer of triangular rice paper up, lightly fold the edge of the cake so that the piece of cake remains the same shape.
The last stage is grilling cake. Banh kep are often grilled by large earthenware pots or no-rusty metal brasses. Pour a layer of ash on top of the charcoal fire, then place a steel furnace bar over the top of the pot and grill cake. When the sides of the cake turned yellow, they quickly took out the plate. Banh kep after grilled is crispy and hot and cut into small pieces, dipped with thick chili sauce with spicy and sweet taste.
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