Bánh tai yến are fried cakes made from a sweet rice-flour batter. They come from the western region of Vietnam, were usually sold by street hawkers, and are a favourite snack in Saigon. The edge of each cake fries crisp, while the middle stays soft, like steamed rice cake (bánh bò). They’re harder to find on the street these days, but the batter is simple to make at home. Ingredients 1 kg rice flour 50 g glutinous (sticky) rice flour 600 g white sugar 50 g yellow sugar 1 litre water ½ teaspoon vanilla powder Cooking oil for frying How to make bánh tai yến 1. Make the batter Mix the rice flour and sticky rice flour with the 1 litre of water, and work the mixture well for 7–10 minutes. Add the sugar and stir gently. Then add the vanilla powder, stir gently again and leave the batter to rest for 15 minutes before frying. If you want bigger cakes, add a little more water to the batter. Only a little, though, not much. 2. Fry the cakes Heat 4–5 tablespoons of oil in a pan. Check that it’s deep enough to cover the cakes as they fry. Pour a medium scoop of batter slowly into the pan. When the underside turns golden, flip the cake with chopsticks to fry the other side. 3. Drain Lift the cakes into a basket lined with paper towels to soak up the excess oil. A good bánh tai yến has a crisp edge and a middle as soft as bánh bò. Share:
