In Vietnamese, the term ''bánh'' ( or ,

Chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ; ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters ('' Chữ Hán'') to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represent ...

: 餅) translates loosely as "cake" or "bread", but refers to a wide variety of prepared foods that can easily be eaten by hands or

chopsticks Chopsticks ( or ; Pinyin: ''kuaizi'' or ''zhu'') are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of Chinese origin that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most of East and Southeast Asia for over three millennia. They are held in the ...

. With the addition of qualifying adjectives, ''bánh'' refers to a wide variety of sweet or savory, distinct cakes, buns, pastries, sandwiches, and other food items, which may be cooked by steaming, baking, frying, deep-frying, or boiling. Foods made from

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bre ...

rice flour Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...

are generally called ''bánh'', but the term may also refer to certain varieties of noodle and fish cake dishes, such as ''

bánh canh ''Bánh canh'' () are a thick Vietnamese noodles that can be made from tapioca flour or a mixture of rice and tapioca flour. "Cake" refers to the thick sheet of uncooked dough from which the noodles are cut. *''Bánh canh cua'' – a rich, th ...

'' and ''

bánh hỏi ''Bánh hỏi'' ( is a Vietnamese dish consisting of rice vermicelli woven into intricate bundles and often topped with chopped scallions or garlic chives sauteed in oil, served with a complementary meat dish. The strings of noodles are usuall ...

''. Each variety of ''bánh'' is designated by a descriptive word or phrase that follows the word ''bánh'', such as ''

bánh bò ''Bánh bò'' (literally "cow cake" or "crawl cake") is a sweet, chewy sponge cake from Vietnam. It is made from rice flour, water, sugar, and yeast, and has a honeycomb-like appearance (called ''rễ tre'', literally "bamboo roots," in Vie ...

'' () or '' bánh chuối'' (). ''Bánh'' that are wrapped in leaves before steaming are called ''

bánh lá ''Bánh lá'' (/bǎɲ lǎ/), literally meaning "leaf cake", is a category of '' bánh'', or Vietnamese cakes, that consist of a parcel of a variety of rice stuffed with some fillings and wrapped in a leaf or leaves. Varieties *Bánh bột l� ...

'' (). In Vietnamese, the term ' is not limited to

Vietnamese cuisine Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the foods and beverages of Vietnam. Meals feature a combination of five fundamental tastes ( vi, ngũ vị, links=no, label=none): sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and spicy. The distinctive nature of each dish refle ...

: it applies equally to items as varied as

fortune cookie A fortune cookie is a crisp and sugary cookie wafer usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil with a piece of paper inside, a "fortune", usually an aphorism, or a vague prophecy. The message inside may also include a Chine ...

s ('),

pudding Pudding is a type of food. It can be either a dessert or a savoury (salty or spicy) dish served as part of the main meal. In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, inst ...

('', ''), caramel custard ('', ''),

sacramental bread Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host ( la, hostia, lit=sacrificial victim), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two eleme ...

('),

Hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, ...

('', ''), etc. In some cases, the word can also refer to inedibles that have a cake-like shape, such as car tires ('), bath soaps, and compressed tobacco wheels.

Varieties

There is a nearly endless variety of named dishes with the prefix ''bánh''. What follows is a list of the most typical traditional varieties of ''bánh''.

Noodles

Bánh canh ''Bánh canh'' () are a thick Vietnamese noodles that can be made from tapioca flour or a mixture of rice and tapioca flour. "Cake" refers to the thick sheet of uncooked dough from which the noodles are cut. *''Bánh canh cua'' – a rich, th ...

– tapioca noodles which are cut from a large sheet. *

Bánh hỏi ''Bánh hỏi'' ( is a Vietnamese dish consisting of rice vermicelli woven into intricate bundles and often topped with chopped scallions or garlic chives sauteed in oil, served with a complementary meat dish. The strings of noodles are usuall ...

– extremely thin noodles that are woven into intricate bundles and often topped with chopped scallions and a complementary meat dish *Bánh phở – The steamed flat and thin cake made from rice flour and water before being cut into strips. The strips are not only called Bánh phở but also "con phở" or "cọng phở," noodles that are used in

phở Phở or pho (, , ; ) is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles (), herbs, and meat (usually beef (), sometimes chicken ()). Phở is a popular food in Vietnam where it is served in households, street stalls and restaurants ...

. The width of the strips is usually around 1 cm or less.

Dumplings

* Bánh bá trạng (Bak Chang dumplings) – like Chinese ''

zongzi ''Zongzi'' (; ), ''rouzong'' () or simply ''zong'' (Cantonese Jyutping: ''zung2'') is a traditional Chinese rice dish made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves (generally of the species ''Indocalamus t ...

'' *

Bánh bao ''Bánh bao'' (literally "dumplings") is a Vietnamese bun based on the Cantonese ''da bao'' (大包, literally "big bun") brought to Vietnam by Cantonese immigrants. It is a ball-shaped bun containing pork or chicken meat, onions, eggs, mush ...

– ball-shaped bun filled with pork and/or other ingredients * Bánh bột lọc –

tapioca Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America ...

cake packed with shrimp ** Bánh bột lọc trần – dumplings with wrappers made of tapioca starch; similar to Chaozhou ''

fun guo ''Fun guo'', or ''Chaozhou fun guo'', sometimes spelled fun quor, fun gor, fen guo, Chiu Chow dumpling, Teochew dumpling, or fun kor, is a variety of steamed dumpling from the Chaoshan area of coastal eastern Guangdong, a province in Southern Ch ...

'' ** Bánh bột lọc lá – tiny rice flour dumplings stuffed with shrimp and ground pork and wrapped in a banana leaf; from Hue * Bánh cam – deep-fried glutinous rice sesame balls filled with sweetened mung bean paste; from southern Vietnam * Bánh ít – small stuffed glutinous rice flour balls ** Bánh ít trần – "naked" small stuffed glutinous rice flour balls * Bánh khúc – glutinous rice ball * Bánh nậm – flat rice flour dumpling from Hue stuffed with minced pork and wood ear mushroom, and seasoned with black pepper and spices; wrapped in a banana leaf *Bánh phu thê – () * Bánh Bò Mã Lai (Hong Kong Style Malaysian Steamed Sponge Cake) * Bánh Bò Nướng (Vietnamese Baked Honey Comb Cake) * Bánh Bò Nướng Chay (Vietnamese Baked Honeycomb Cake Eggless Version) * Bánh Bông Lan Bơ (Fruit/Butter Cake) * Bánh Bông Lan Cuốn (Swiss Roll) * Bánh Bông Lan Phú Sĩ (Mountain Fuji Cake) * Bánh Bông Lan Rễ Tre (Honeycomb Sponge Cakes) *

Bánh pía Bánh bía, sometimes spelled bánh pía, is a type of Vietnamese cuisine bánh (translates loosely as "cake" or "bread"). A Suzhou style mooncake adapted from Teochew cuisine. The Vietnamese name comes from the Teochew word for pastry, "pia". ...

(Theochew "Pia" Pastry) * Bánh Chuối Hấp (Steamed Banana Cake) * Bánh Chuối Nướng (Baked Banana Bread Pudding) * Bánh Cốm (Rice Flake Cakes) * Bánh Choux (aka Bánh Xu, Bánh Su, Choux À la Cream, Bánh Sữa, Cream Puffs) * Banh Dap - Rice crackers stuck together * Bánh Dẻo (Vietnamese Ping Pei Mooncakes) * Bánh Dẻo Cuộn (Ping Pei Rolls) * Bánh Flan (Caramel Flan) * Bánh Gan ("Liver" Cake) * Bánh Hạnh Nhân (Vietnamese Almond/Peanut Cookies) * Bánh Hạnh Nhân Kiểu Tàu (Chinese Almond Cookies) * Bánh Hoa Mai/Hoa Đào (Cherry/Plum Blossom Cookies) * Bánh Hoa Sen (Lotus Pastries) * Bánh in (Print Cakes) * Bánh Men (Yeast Cookies) * Bánh Mì Ngọt Nhân Xoài và Phô Mai(Mango and Cream Cheese Bun) * Bánh Quai Vạc (Coconut/Mung Bean Puffs) * Bánh quai vạt – (Couldron Cakes) * Bánh Quế/Bánh Kẹp (Vietnamese Love Letters) * Bánh Sát Phu (Husband Killers) * Bánh Thuẫn Hấp (Steamed Cup Cakes) * Bánh Vòng (donuts) * Bánh Ú Nước Tro (Lye Water Dumplings) * Bánh Xốp Bơ (Chewy Butter Cookies) * Bánh Bao Nương Nhân Xá Xíu (Baked Char Siu Paus * Bào Ngư Xào Nấm Đông Cô (Braised Shitake Mushrooms with Abalone) * Bánh Hoa Hồng (Rose Dumplings) * Bánh Khoai Môn Tàn Ong (Dimsum Taro Puffs) * Bánh Mì Chiên (Fried Baguettes) * Bánh Mì Hấp (Steamed Baguettes) * Pa tê sô – A French-inspired meat-filled pastry. Characterized by flaky crust and either pork or chicken as the filling. * Bánh Phồng Tôm (Shrimp Crackers/Chips) * Bánh trôi nước

References

External links

Alice's Guide to Vietnamese Banhche bot loc
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banh Vietnamese words and phrases Deep fried foods Steamed foods Bánh

Varieties

Noodles

Dumplings

See also

References

External links