Banh Dap – A Must Try Food Of Hoi An
Banh Dap is an extremely simple but delicious dish in the land of Hoai River, Ben Doi. Visitors coming here should try once to stop to enjoy this delicious Hoi An dish.
Hoi An was a large trading port that held back international traders during the 17th-18th centuries. In foreign geographical documents, this place was once called Hai Pho (city located close to the sea). Today, part of the “Hoi An port” in the past has become a marina to bring visitors on the river.
In a boat tour along the Thu Bon river to visit the old town, the last stop is usually across the river in Cam Nam ward. Here, visitors can easily enjoy the specialty of this region, because stretching along the winding tree-lined road, there are many shops that are always ready to serve.
Cam Nam dam cake consists of 3 layers: 2 layers of dry, crispy rice paper wrapped around the outside, in the middle is a layer of soft rice paper. All are made from clean white rice, soaked in water for about 2-3 hours until soft and then ground into a fine powder. The dough brought home is mixed with water to medium. The fire to cook the cake is made of large willow wood to help the charcoal last long, with less firewood consumption.
After that, the cake maker put water in a large pot and brought to a boil. On the mouth of the pot, a round bamboo frame has been placed to stretch the fabric so that it is very flat. Next, the person makes a thin layer of flour on the canvas and then closes the lid to seal. About 1 minute later, the steam in the pot will rise and the cake will be cooked. At this time, the new chef used a thin bamboo stick about 40cm long to take the cake out of the canvas. So the soft rice paper is out of the oven.
Soft rice paper is brought out and placed on a tray that has been coated with a very thin layer of oil, for each layer of cake, a layer of oil is applied so that when taking the cake, it does not stick to each other. This soft rice paper is coated and sold gradually from morning to evening. If you want to make dry rice paper, just bring the soft rice paper to dry on a grid (woven with coconut leaves) in the sun for 3-4 hours. If preserved well, the cake can be left for 5-7 days to be sold gradually.
In the morning, along with pouring soft rice paper, the owner will bake dry rice paper over charcoal fire. When baking, the cake must be constantly turned over to make it even. After baking, the cake is left to cool and then placed in a plastic bag.
If there are guests in to eat, the owner only needs to cover two layers of crispy rice paper with a layer of soft rice paper to finish a battered cake. The price of this Hoi An specialty dish is very cheap, each plate of pound cake is usually only a few thousand VND.
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Banh Dap is usually eaten with a dipping sauce made from anchovies and onions. Thinly sliced onion, sauteed until golden, crispy and then removed to a bowl. When eating, diners pick up onions in a bowl of seasoning fish sauce that has been prepared to taste. If you like spicy food, add a little chili.
Before eating, diners spread their hands over the middle of the pound cake and press down until the cake breaks into pieces, then separate, take the handle and dip it into the dipping sauce. Someone also took a spoon to scoop the dipping sauce on the cake and put it in their mouth.
Today, in addition to seasoning and pilgrimage, many diners also like to enjoy pound cake with fried mussels with a little herbs, chili or eat with boiled pork and raw vegetables.
When eaten, the batter is both crispy and soft, with the sweet and cool taste of starch. The fish sauce seasoning brings the rich aroma of anchovies from the sea and the crisp sweetness of the pilgrimage. Surely the unique taste, both salty and sweet of the sea, will make diners even once enjoy it, it will be difficult to forget the very popular but equally attractive Hoi An specialty dish. this.
