Sandwich Shop Goodies 19 – Bánh tiêu (Chinese sesame beignet)
Little Mom and I… we just have different tastes. She likes seafood. She prefers crunchy to soft. She doesn’t like sticky rice (!) She thinks the mini sponge muffins (bánh bò bông, the Vietnamese kind) are sourer than the white chewy honeycombs (bánh bò, the Chinese kind). I beg to differ. The mini sponges can be eaten alone; the honeycombs are almost always stuffed inside a hollow fried doughnut that is more savory than sweet: their sourness needs to be suppressed by the natural saltiness of oil and the airy crunch of fried batter. That doughnut, brought to us by the Chinese and called by us “bánh tiêu“, saves the honeycombs.
The honeycombs could go hang out with the dodo for all I care, but this Saigonese would always appreciate a well-fried bánh tiêu. At any time of the day, one would be able to spot a street cart with the signature double-shelf glass box next to a vat of dark yellow oil. The oil gets darkened from frying too many doughnuts too many times. Sure, it isn’t healthy. But should you really care about health when you eat fried dough?
“Fried dough has appeared in different forms – round, square, triangular, twisted – under many different names. The Dutch settlers had olykoeks (oily cakes); the French in Louisiana had beignets; the Spanish from Mexico made puchas de canela; and the Pennsylvania Germans made fastnachts around Lent.” (Jill MacNeice, “Doughnuts“, in the Roadside Food collection) Now I may add that the Vietnamese in California and Texas have bánh tiêu. One quality of bánh tiêu to make it superior over the other fried doughs: it isn’t coated in powder sugar. Studded with white sesame on one side, it tastes subtly salty of dough, fat, and roasted grain.
An excerpt about Vietnamese vendors making dầu cháo quẩy and bánh tiêu:
Vốc một nhúm bột khô rải đều trên bề mặt miếng gỗ đã trơn bóng – cốt để bột nhồi không bị dính – tiếp tục ngắt một cục bột đã ủ cho lên men, nhẹ nhàng vuốt dọc rồi dùng cây lăn cán qua, miếng bột đã được kéo ra thành một dây bột dài mỏng đều. Người bán lại tiếp tục dùng một thanh tre cật mỏng, xắn bột thành từng miếng đều nhau. Xếp chồng hai miếng bột lên rồi dùng một chiếc đũa ấn mạnh ở giữa, thế là đã được miếng bột “chuẩn” để làm bánh quẩy. Còn bánh tiêu thì phải qua công đoạn vốc một nắm mè vất ra giữa miếng gỗ để mè tự rải đều, sau đó mới dùng bột đã ủ đã nhồi cán thành miếng tròn dẹp, một mặt dính mè, một mặt không.
[…]
Bánh quẩy và bánh tiêu thường bán chung, có lẽ chủ yếu là vì hai loại bột làm bánh này không khác nhau là mấy. Cũng bột mì nhồi với bột khai là chính. Nhưng với bánh quẩy, người ta cho thêm chút muối, chỉ một chút thôi đủ để bánh không lạt lẽo, nhưng vẫn còn giữ được độ ngọt nguyên thủy của bột mì.
Còn với bánh tiêu, người ta lại cho thêm ít đường, cũng rất ít, đủ để làm dậy hơn vị ngọt của bột. Vị ngọt của bánh tiêu vì thế rất nhẹ, không như những loại bánh ngọt khác. Với bánh tiêu, người mua cũng không đòi hỏi phải giòn đến như bánh quẩy. Cái hấp dẫn ở bánh tiêu lại là ở những hạt mè thơm ngậy. Những hạt mè trắng li ti sau khi chiên trở nên căng mẩy, quyện với mùi thơm của bột mì chiên giòn trở nên hấp dẫn kỳ lạ. Nếu như bánh quẩy thường được cho vào dùng chung với cháo, với phở thì bánh tiêu thường được dùng kèm với bánh bò. Xẻ đôi chiếc bánh tiêu, kẹp vào giữa miếng bánh bò nữa là được một loại hương vị khác hẳn. Cái mềm xốp của bánh bò khiến bánh tiêu – vốn hơi khô – trở nên dễ ăn hơn, đỡ ngán hơn. Các loại nhân ăn kèm bánh tiêu cũng khá phong phú, tùy sở thích mỗi người. Có người mách nhau kẹp xôi vào giữa, ăn cũng rất ngon, lại có thể thay quà sáng. Có người lại thích nhân “cadé”, là loại nhân làm bằng trứng gà có vị béo ngầy ngậy, rất hợp với bánh tiêu.
Translated and abridged:
[The vendor] scoops up some flour and sprinkles them on the shining flat wooden board, to keep the dough from sticking, then he pinches off a ball of fermented dough, gently pulls it and runs the rolling pin once over to stretch the ball into a thin strip. Then he grabs a sharp bamboo stick, swiftly cuts the strip into smaller, even strips. Putting two strips on top of each other, pressing a chopstick down in the middle, and he gets a “standard” piece of bánh quẩy ready to fry. For bánh tiêu, he would need to sprinkle a pinch of sesame seeds on the board, then flatten the dough into disks, one side studded with seeds, the other side having none.
[…]
Bánh quẩy and bánh tiêu are often sold together because they have similar dough. Mainly, flour and baking soda. For bánh quẩy, they add some salt to make it savory, but not too much that it would diminish the flour’s natural sweetness. But for bánh tiêu, they would add a pinch of sugar to boost that sweetness. Bánh tiêu doesn’t have to be as crunchy as bánh quẩy either. Its goodness lies in the sesames’ fragrant nuttiness. As bánh quẩy is often eaten with rice porridge or noodle soup, bánh tiêu goes with bánh bò. Slit the bánh tiêu open, stuff in a piece of the soft white honeycomb bánh bò, and you get a whole new snack. Some people substitute bánh bò with sweet sticky rice or with egg custard, that really fattens it up.
In Saigon, Vietnam: 1000 VND each.
At Bánh Mì Ba Lẹ, Oakland: 1 USD each. (1 USD ~ 20000 VND)
Address: Bánh Mì Ba Lẹ (East Oakland)
1909 International Blvd
Oakland, CA 94606
(510) 261-9800
Previously on Sandwich Shop Goodies: steamed taro cake (bánh khoai môn hấp)
Next on Sandwich Shop Goodies: Xôi khúc (cudweed sticky rice)
What’s Happening i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I have found It absolutely helpful and it has aided me out loads. I hope to contribute & help other users like its aided me. Great job.
1Keep up the excellent work, I read few blog posts on this web site and I conceive that your website is real interesting and contains circles of superb info .
2Great blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog shine. Please let me know where you got your theme. Thank you
3I have recently started a web site, the information you provide on this website has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work.
4Hello! I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you have here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon.
5You should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will recommend this site!
6Having read this I thought it was very informative. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself spending way to much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!
7An interesting discussion is worth comment. I think that you should write more on this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people are not enough to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers
8I’ve been exploring for a little for any high-quality articles or blog posts on this kind of space . Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this website. Studying this information So i’m glad to exhibit that I have an incredibly good uncanny feeling I came upon exactly what I needed. I so much indisputably will make certain to do not omit this website and provides it a glance on a continuing basis.
9It is perfect time to make a few plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I have read this put up and if I could I desire to suggest you few fascinating things or suggestions. Perhaps you could write subsequent articles relating to this article. I want to read more issues about it!
10จุดเด่นของข่าวเกมจาก.
Also visit my web-site; gamestation
11You have mentioned very interesting details! ps decent site.
12Oh my goodness! a tremendous article dude. Thank you However I’m experiencing subject with ur rss . Don’t know why Unable to subscribe to it. Is there anybody getting an identical rss problem? Anybody who knows kindly respond. Thnkx
13You could definitely see your expertise within the work you write. The arena hopes for more passionate writers such as you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe. At all times follow your heart. “Every man serves a useful purpose A miser, for example, makes a wonderful ancestor.” by Laurence J. Peter.
14Hello.This article was extremely fascinating, particularly because I was searching for thoughts on this subject last Monday.
15Valuable info. Lucky me I found your site by accident, and I’m shocked why this accident did not happened earlier! I bookmarked it.
16you’re really a good webmaster. The web site loading speed is amazing. It seems that you are doing any unique trick. Also, The contents are masterwork. you’ve performed a fantastic process on this subject!
17It’s best to take part in a contest for among the best blogs on the web. I’ll suggest this web site!
18A powerful share, I just given this onto a colleague who was doing a little evaluation on this. And he in truth purchased me breakfast because I discovered it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the treat! However yeah Thnkx for spending the time to debate this, I feel strongly about it and love reading more on this topic. If attainable, as you change into expertise, would you thoughts updating your blog with extra details? It is highly helpful for me. Massive thumb up for this weblog put up!
19you’re actually a excellent webmaster. The site loading pace is incredible. It seems that you are doing any distinctive trick. Also, The contents are masterpiece. you’ve done a excellent task in this matter!
20Incredible! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a completely different topic but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Great choice of colors!
21I was examining some of your articles on this website and I conceive this web site is very informative ! Keep putting up.
22Great work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the net. Shame on Google for not positioning this post higher! Come on over and visit my site . Thanks =)
23I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz answer back as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. kudos
24It’s hard to find knowledgeable people on this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
25Good day! I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the good information you could have right here on this post. I might be coming back to your weblog for extra soon.
26Hi there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is truly informative. I am going to watch out for brussels. I will be grateful if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
27When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get three e-mails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove people from that service? Bless you!
28Do you have a spam issue on this site; I also am a blogger, and I was wondering your situation; we have created some nice methods and we are looking to swap solutions with other folks, why not shoot me an e-mail if interested.
29Terrific post but I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this topic? I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Kudos!
30Hello. fantastic job. I did not anticipate this. This is a great story. Thanks!
31This blog is definitely rather handy since I’m at the moment creating an internet floral website – although I am only starting out therefore it’s really fairly small, nothing like this site. Can link to a few of the posts here as they are quite. Thanks much. Zoey Olsen
32I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back down the road. Many thanks
33Lovely just what I was searching for.Thanks to the author for taking his time on this one.
34I dugg some of you post as I cerebrated they were handy invaluable
35hello!,I like your writing very much! share we communicate more about your post on AOL? I need a specialist on this area to solve my problem. May be that’s you! Looking forward to see you.
36Some truly good information, Glad I observed this. “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly what is essential is invisible to the eye.” by Antoine De Saint-Exupery.
37I’d have to examine with you here. Which is not one thing I usually do! I take pleasure in reading a post that may make folks think. Additionally, thanks for permitting me to comment!
38Great paintings! This is the kind of info that are meant to be shared around the net. Disgrace on Google for not positioning this post higher! Come on over and talk over with my web site . Thanks =)
39