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What is banh khot?
It’s a famous Vietnamese dish of miniature pancakes served with herbs and vegetables and spicy sweet fish sauce for dipping. The batter is made of a combination of mostly rice flour, and even leftover grains of rice, with a hint of turmeric to give them a beautiful yellow tinge, and mixed together with coconut milk to make it extra creamy and rich. Finally, the topping is usually shrimp and diced up green onions, and in this case, extra coconut milk.
The little mini pancakes are cooked in the same type of griddle as Thai khanom krok, but instead of being a sweet dessert like the Thai version, they are savory and eaten with one of the great joys of Vietnamese cuisine – fresh herbs and leafy green vegetables.
While the Vietnamese banh xeo is a mega sized crepe (at least that’s the case in southern Vietnam), banh khot are much smaller in size, usually thicker and more hearty with batter. And just like banh xeo, it seems to be a Vietnamese dish that many locals are passionate about and absolutely love to eat.
In my personal experience, I have to say that so far I would typically choose banh khot over banh xeo. I had already eaten banh khot a number of times at more sit down restaurants in Saigon, like at one of the most famous places in the city, Cô Ba Vũng Tàu.
But as I was meandering through Chợ Bàn Cờ market, a wonderful local market one day, a lady was frying up a storm of pancakes, and the aroma of sizzling batter and shrimp gave both myself and my wife the immediate irresistible urge to stop everything we were doing and eat.
Although there were only about 4 seats available at the counter space, luckily there were two open chairs, which, as we learned in Vietnam – if you see an empty chair and want to eat there, you better sit down immediately. If you contemplate for too long, your seats will be taken. Just like in Tokyo, seats at meal times in restaurants and street food stalls are prime real estate in busy areas of Saigon.
She allowed the mini griddle pancakes to cook for a few minutes, with the lid on, until they were nearly all the way cooked through, fully crispy golden on the bottom side. Then, she tossed on a sprinkle of fried mung beans (I believe that’s what they were), and finally she artfully placed on a little pre-cooked shrimp, and a sprinkle of sliced green onions to top it off. The shrimp added a protein touch, and the pieces with the extra coconut cream topping, added just a hint of even more richness.
The dipping sauce, a version of nuoc cham, was sweet and salty, and supplemented with thin slices of carrot, daikon, and chilies.
Again, I can hardly express how much I love the Vietnamese style of eating where the main dish is wrapped within leaves and herbs, and dipped into a delicious sauce, before being consumed.
The crispy pancakes were then scooped out of their oily homes onto a plate, and she then asked me if I’d like some extra sauce – which I think was just straight coconut cream – on top.
I decided to go half and half, and she quickly topped half of the plate with the creamy sauce and handed it to me.
As normal, they were served with a plate piled high of leafy vegetables like lettuce and mustard greens, and there were some sprigs of basil and shiso leaves as well.
The basic method for eating is to take one of the wider leaves like a mustard greens leaf for instance, hold it in your palm, then take a mini pancake, place it in the middle, layer it with extra herbs, kind of wrap the entire agglomeration into a spring roll shape (or however it turns out), and then dip into the Vietnamese fish sauce dressing.
I also saw others dip their mini pancake into the sauce, before adding it to the middle of their handful of leaves.
The pancakes were as crispy as fried chicken on the outside, but the batter on the inside was smooth and almost creamy – it actually reminded me of creamy mashed potatoes, yet richer and more coconut flavored.
Banh khot, depending on how hungry you are, can either be a light meal, or just a snack. Like so many other Vietnamese street food dishes, it’s a great social food, something that not only tastes great, but is also fun to assemble and eat.
Not to mention, sitting on a stool, surrounded by a constant flow of shoppers, noise in every direction, commotion everywhere I looked, is in my opinion, one of the finest environments for dining.
Conclusion
Banh khot is a crispy Vietnamese bite-sized mini pancake, often eaten as a snack or light meal, and consumed with stacks of green leafy vegetables and herbs, and sweet salty fish sauce.
When I was in Saigon, while exploring a local market, I stopped in the midst of the busy morning shopping bustle, for a hot fresh plate of mini pancakes. Sitting on a stool using the countertop, I enjoyed probably the best Vietnamese mini rice pancakes I’ve ever had.
What I really love about Vietnamese banh khot is the combination of herbs and vegetables paired with the pancakes that are crispy and oily. The contrast of both flavors and textures is what really makes them delicious.
Please take a look at the following reviews from our customers
Israel | 11/02/2018
Trip to Vietnam and Cambodia
We would like to highly recommend Funny Travel as travel agency to arrange a trip as you desire. We asked Joe to help us arrange a honeymoon trip for 3 weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia. He did everything and sent us a done schedule with every fine details (activities, flights, hotels, guides, drivers, meals etc.). From the moment we arrived, we didn't have to worry about nothing (pick up from and to an airports/hotels, a local sim, money exchange, advises, making sure daily that we are ok and if we need anything). A very big appriciation to Joe, Vicky and their staff, everything they did for us was above and beyond. It was a pleasure. We absolutely sure that whoever will choose Funny Travel, will not regret. Thank you again for a perfect honeymoon, Ovad and Angela
Australia | 11/02/2018
Motorcycle city and street food tour
Loved it, loved it, loved it. We organised a tour with Joe at the last minute but our guide and 3 drivers turned up at 9am the following morning. Our guide Chien was very knowledgeable and made it a fantastic day for us. He had a great personality and sense of humour and the street food we tried was beautiful. Joe has gone out of his way to help us with anything we needed. He is a wealth of information and local knowledge. Do yourself a favour and book a tour with Funny Travel. They have a tour to suit everyone. I highly recommend Funny Travel.
United Kingdom | 11/02/2018
Funny Travel made our trip amazing!
WOW, where to start. We had the most amazing experience in Vietnam with Vicky and the Funny Travel staff and there is no way we would have had such an incredible experience without their expertise. From the moment we booked Vicky communicated with us about what we hoped for in our 8 day trip in North Vietnam and now at the conclusion of our trip we are so happy because of the incredible experience they arranged. Everything was thoughtful and we'll orchestrated - we had great accommodations everywhere (including a homestay in an ethnic village near Sa Pa), we had AMAZING GUIDES!!! (thank you Thuc, Ben, and Hieu) and they were so knowledgeable of the communities and places we were visiting, Vicky set us up with a Sim card which made communication easy, she checked in and helped us easily get things done to make our trip more comfortable (arranging laundry, mail, etc), showed us amazing food and answered every question, and all around was so warm and welcoming. It was an incredible trip because of Funny Travel. We 100% recommend and plan to use Funny Travel again when we are back in Asia!
Switzerland | 11/02/2018
Tour Halong Bay e Sapa
Dopo aver visto le varie recensioni positive, ci siamo rivolti pure noi a questa agenzia. All'ultimo minuto Vicky è riuscita ad organizzarci due giorni e una notte in crociera alla baia di Halong e tre giorni e due notti alle risaie terrazzate di Sapa. Tutto organizzato al meglio: trasporti comodissimi, hotel al top, guide simpaticissime e sempre disponibili, escursioni e attività molto piacevoli, abbiamo trascorso anche una notte in una homestay a sapa ed è stato davvero tutto perfetto. Un paese molto interessante abitato da persone gentilissime. Se volete andare sul sicuro rivolgetevi anche voi a questa agenzia!! Super raccomandata!!
Australia | 11/02/2018
Perfect Travel Agency
It's not just a funny travel agency - it's a perfect agency! We've never aspected to get such a good trip to sapa and halong bay! Everything was organised very well. They took care about us the whole trip, they were always very frindly, kind and funny :p was a pleasure to meet them in Hanoi! thank you Vicky!!!
Poland | 11/02/2018
Wonderfully warm, friendly and excellent service!
I would like to thank Funny Travel for their absolute fabulous service. We had a great time doing the bicycle and food tour and highly recommendit to anyone in the Hanoi area! A definite must-have experience!!
Philippines | 11/02/2018
Hanoi Vacation
Funny Travel, you made our vacation memorable, great experience. We had fun in our day tour, friendly staff. They even have an incredible food trip to top it all with. The whole trip was exceptional! A must do when you head over to Hanoi. Thank you to all our guide and to the staff. Keep up the great work
Australia | 11/02/2018
Craig & Danielle Overend
We were lucky enough to come across Joe and he offered a street food tour to us. He and his colleague Ken took us on a tour trying all different types of food in the old quarter. He was also full of information about his country, we had a fantastic day and highly recommend Joe and his team. Great value for money.
Spain | 11/02/2018
Buen hacer y excelente trato
Si quieres evitar agencias sospechosamente baratas y no te importa pagar un poco más, esta es una excelente opcion. Muy atentos en el trato, tanto a la hora de la contratación como durante el tour. Hicimos un tour de un día sin prisas, a nuestro ritmo, con un guía muy agradable y seguimos exactamente el recorrido que queríamos dedicando el tiempo que considerábamos necesario. ¿Hay otras agencias más baratas? Sí, las hay, pero a veces por unos pocos dólares no merece la pena arriesgarte con sorpresas que puedan estropear tus ilusiones. Con esta agencia te quedará un muy buen recuerdo de un día irrepetible, en nuestro caso en Mua Cave y Tam Cốc.
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