Banh xeo (crispy rice pancake) is one of the most famous specialty foods in Da Nang & Hoi An, Vietnam. It originates from central and southern regions of the country. A full set of banh xeo includes crispy rice pancakes, rice papers, raw vegetables, herbs, pickles, and dipping sauce. Locals eat this dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Now let’s HoiAn Day Trip tell you everything about local crispy rice pancakes in Da Nang and Hoi An.
You may also like: Hue Style Crispy Pancake (Banh Khoai)
• Content by Tam Le, founder of HOIAN DAY TRIP CO.,LTD
• Designed by Giang Cong Minh, co-founder of LS E&C LTD and his team
• Photo by Dang Cong Loi, Dao Xuan Son, Tam Le & others
Must Knows about Banh Xeo (Crispy Rice Pancake)
– Main ingredients: rice milk (rice flour), pork, shrimp, rice papers, bean sprouts, raw vegetables, fresh herbs, dipping sauce
– Origin: central and southern Vietnam
– Where to find: local restaurants & markets
– Time: everyday from morning to evening, vegetarian option available in 1st and 15th day of each lunar month
– Price: 50,000 to 100,000 VND/a dish of 5-7 pieces
– Calories:
– Travel blog: https://hoiandaytrip.com/banh-xeo-crispy-pancake-da-nang-hoi-an
Names of Banh Xeo (Crispy Pancake)
In Vietnamese language, ‘banh’ means ‘cake’ and ‘xeo’ means ‘sizzling’ (a sound made when frying the cakes on a hot pan). In Hue, banh xeo is called ‘banh khoai’ (having some differences but the general recipe is the same). This name means ‘happy cake’. Origin of the name is that people feel so happy when eating crispy and delicious rice cakes.
Ingredients & How to Make Banh Xeo (Crispy Pancake)
A full set of banh xeo includes crispy rice pancakes, rice papers, raw vegetables, fresh herbs, pickles, and dipping sauce. In many local restaurants, banh xeo is sold with nem lui (grilled pork lemongrass skewers), grilled pork skewers or bo la lot (grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves).
To make banh xeo (crispy rice pancakes), local people need to buy the rice at local markets first. The most suitable rice is gao te or ordinary rice (if choose the sticky rice, the cake is too wet or not too crispy later). This kind of rice is used to cook common steamed rice in family meals of Vietnamese people.
The dipping sauce for crispy rice cakes (banh xeo) in central Vietnam is different from the one in southern Vietnam (fish sauce with garlic, chilli, lime, sugar). It’s made from local nuts that are grinded well and spices. In Da Nang and Hoi An, local people use peanut, sesame,
The rice paper is dried, and there is no need to dip it into the water (to soften it) when eating anymore. People add a little bit of tapioca powder into the rice milk before making it, to make it more flexible and easier to wrap or roll.
How to Eat Banh Xeo (Crispy Pancake) Like A Local
A full set of banh xeo includes crispy rice pancakes, rice papers, raw vegetables, fresh herbs, pickles, and dipping sauce.
To eat banh xeo (crispy rice pancakes) like a local in Da Nang, Hoi An & Hue, visitors need to use a scissor or spoon, to cut the cake into half. After that, take one rice paper and top it with a piece of rice pancake. Next, pick up some vegetables and herbs according to personal preference, and roll everything together. Sure, for more flavours, visitors should dip the roll into the dipping sauce.
To personalize the taste of dipping sauce, visitors can use lime, fresh chilli, chilli sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, garlic. Local people in central Vietnam prefer a spicy flavour.
Making Banh Xeo in Hoi An’s Cooking Classes
Banh xeo (crispy rice pancakes) is a popular dish on the menu of cooking classes in Hoi An. In which, visitors will see how a local chef makes a cake first, from adding oil on the pan, checking the heat, stir frying shrimp & pork, pouring the rice milk on a hot pan, adding bean sprouts, waiting for frying, and taking off the cake to the plate. After that, visitors make a cake on their own (with instruction of the chief if needed). It’s a fun experience. Additionally, each person will try their hand at flipping the rice pancake (and landing on the right place!)
Cooking classes in Hoi An are often organized in Hoi An Ancient Town, Tra Que Vegetable Village or Cam Thanh Coconut Village or Tra Nhieu Fishing Village
Best Banh Xeo (Crispy Pancake) in Hoi An
Here are the best local restaurants to eat banh xeo (crispy rice pancakes) in Da Nang:
– Bale Well Restaurant at 45/51 Tran Hung Dao Street (often sold in a combo with grilled pork lemongrass skewers, grilled pork skewers, fried shrimp spring rolls, etc)
– Banh Xeo Hai Dao at 160 Ly Thai To Street
Best Banh Xeo (Crispy Pancake) in Da Nang
Here are the best local restaurants to eat banh xeo (crispy rice pancakes) in Da Nang:
– Banh Xeo Ba Duong at 280/23 Hoang Dieu Street (Michelin-star)
– food sellers inside Con Market
Food Tours in Hoi An Vietnam
– Hoi An Old Town Food Tour with Lantern Boat Ride (5:00-8:00 PM)
– Hoi An Private Food Tour with Local Expert (3:00-6:00 PM, 4:00-7:00 PM, 5:00-8:00 PM, 6:00-9:00 PM)
– Hoi An Night Food Tour – Best Walking Food Tour in Hoi An (5:00-8:00 PM)
– Hoi An Night Markets Food Tour with Lantern Boat Ride (6:00-9:00 PM)
– Hoi An Morning Food Tour with Local Coffee (7:00-10:00 AM)
– Hoi An Afternoon Food Tour (3:00-6:00 PM)
– Hoi An Street Food Tour (4:00-7:00 PM)
– Hoi An Vegetarian Food Tour – Hoi An Vegan Food Tour (4:00-7:00 PM)
– Hoi An Food Tour by Bike
– Hoi An Motorbike Food Tour
– Tan An Market Food Tour (4:00-7:00 PM)
HOIAN DAY TRIP CO.,LTD organizes guided tours and transfers everyday in Da Nang and Hoi An. Contact us by +84968009827 (hotline/whatsapp/line/zalo) or browse www.hoiandaytrip.com to see tours & make a reservation. Thank you very much!
Better to Know about Eating Local in Hoi An/Da Nang
– Local family-run restaurants always serve better local foods than tourist restaurants. Places inside small alleyways potentially are hidden gems. The price is even more affordable at these lesser known spots.
– Restaurants where you can see a queue or crowds, food or drinks there are absolutely better or safer than others. Vietnamese people also avoid places without people eating, such as roadside eateries.
– Hot foods are often safe to eat for non-Vietnamese people. Refuse cold food (especially ones sold on the street, markets) or things you don’t see people cooking.
– Make sure that you learn some basic Vietnamese words or sentences to order foods, such as xin chao (hello, hi), cho toi mot (something) (I want one…), toi an chay (I am vegetarian), khong cay (no spicy), cam on (thank you), tam biet (goodbye) or numbers (mot/one, hai/two, ba/three, bon/four, nam/five, sau/six, bay/seven, tam/eight, chin/nine, and muoi/ten).
– Ask any local people you know (tour guide, driver, hotel receptionists, bellmen, etc) to receive their recommendation for good places to eat local.
– Raw vegetables are popularly used in local dishes, such as noodles or noodle soup or sandwich. They are often washed by tap water or unwashed. If can not drink tap water, remove or refuse them. Likewise, in most iced drinks (such as coffee or herbal tea), people add ice made by tap water also.
– On the 1st day and 14th-15th days of each lunar month, Hoi An citizens eat vegetarians. Many local restaurants and street businesses will be closed by that.
– If you don’t eat pork or beef, due to diet or religious restrictions, be careful when want to try local food here, if don’t see the ingredient description. Pork and beef are very popular meats, so they will be in numerous dishes. Street vendors may say ‘no pork’ or ‘no beef’ for better business, but please check before buying!
– Consider joining a food tour guided by locals who know much better about dishes in the city, including things never mentioned in guidebooks or on the internet.
– If have an allergy (milk, egg, peanut, wheat,…), ask anybody you know before trying or search for ingredients on the internet. By the way, fish sauce is popularly used to marinate Vietnamese foods, so make sure that you know this information if you’re fish allergic.
– Food portion (or size) here is often not really big (locals prefer eating with their family at home). You may try double or some different dishes for main meals.
– If don’t see the price on the menu, please ask in advance to avoid overcharging, especially when you are not a local. In Vietnamese, how much is bao nhieu.
– Most popular cutleries are chopsticks and spoons. To know how to use it, browse here
Photos, Videos about Banh Xeo in Da Nang/Hoi An
