Royal Menu Item · Crispy Rice Pancake
Bánh Khoái
Photo: Charles Haynes / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Its name can be read as 'happy pancake' — though some scholars believe the original name was actually 'bánh khói,' or 'smoke cake,' after the clouds it kicks up on the grill, with Huế pronunciation blurring the two words together over time.
A turmeric rice-flour batter is poured into a small, very hot pan with shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts and fried until the edges crackle, then served flat rather than folded, with a rich dipping sauce of fermented soybean paste, pork liver, and sesame that's distinct to Huế. It's smaller, thicker, and crunchier than its southern cousin bánh xèo.
Why it's made this way: Huế's cooks lean on the city's imperial-capital pedigree for many of its signature dishes, and bánh khoái — especially the famous version sold near the old Citadel's Thượng Tứ gate — is often included in that lineage, though the precise history of its royal-court ties is not well documented.
More from Vietnam
Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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