The Banh Dictionary
To those of us who raise an eyebrow over names like “fish cake”, “spicy rice cake”, “sticky rice cake”: you’re not alone. Whether you actually know what they are, you know that they must not be the right translation, and more amusingly, that they’re not even related enough to live together under the “cake” category. The Vietnamese label “bánh” (pronounced |beng| in the North and a no-equivalent-English-sound, mouth-horizontally-widened fashion in the South) for everything made from flour, whether it be a noodle or a gateau. And it’s tiring to hear every “bánh” turns into a “cake” after translation. So this page is my comprehensive and continuously updated list of the Vietnamese bánh‘s and their correct translations (and an extremely feeble attempt to phoneticize the Northern pronunciation).
B
Bánh bao – |beng bao| – steamed bun – “bao”: to wrap up; bánh bao is the Vietnamese version of baozi, wheat flour, savory
— Bánh bao chỉ – |beng bao ji| – snowball, Vietnamese mochi, loh mai chi – sticky rice flour, sweet, Southern VN
— Bánh bao chiên – |beng bao jien| – fried bánh bao – savory
Bánh bèo – |beng beo| – waterfern banh – “bèo”: waterfern, referring to the shape and size of the banh – rice flour, savory(*), Central VN
Bánh bía – |beng bia| – pia pastry, Vietnamese-adapted Suzhou mooncake – wheat flour, savory or sweet, Southern VN
Bánh bò – |beng bo| – steamed rice sponge cake, bak tong goh – rice flour, sweet, Southern VN
— Bánh bò bông – |beng bo bong| – steamed sponge muffin
— Bánh bò nướng – |beng bo nu-eung| – grilled sponge muffin
Bánh bông lan – |beng bong lan| – cake (birthday cake and stuff like that) – sweet
Bánh bột lọc – |beng bot lok| – clear flat dumpling – cassava flour with savory shrimp fillings, Central VN
C
Bánh cam – |beng kam| – deep fried sesame ball – “cam”: orange (the color of the banh) – sticky rice flour, sesame coating, red bean filling, sweet, Southern VN
Bánh canh – |beng keng| – chewy short rice noodle – used in noodle soup, similar to udon but shorter and translucent, also referring to the noodle soup itself, savory
Bánh cáy – |beng kay| – crispy rice treats with crab egg – “cáy”: a kind of small crab – sticky rice, sweet, Northern VN
Bánh căn – |beng kaen| – stone grilled flat banh – a crunchy, airy, chewy, and thicker version of bánh bèo, rice flour, savory(*), Central VN
Bánh chuối nướng – |beng jui nu-eung| – baked banana bread – bread and banana, sweet, Southern VN
Bánh chưng – |beng jung| – Lunar New Year cake – sticky rice with mung bean and lean pork filling, savory, Northern VN
Bánh cốm – |beng kom| – rice flake minicake – “cốm”: rice flake, made from dried flattened young grains – rice, sweet, Northern VN
Bánh cống – |beng kong| – fried mung bean minibread – mung bean with shrimp or pork, savory(*), Southern VN
Bánh cuốn – |beng kuon| – steamed (rice) roll – rice flour with pork and mushroom filling , savory(*), Northern VN
D
Bánh da lợn – |beng yah leun| – pig skin pie – tapioca flour, with at least 3 layers: 1 layer of mung bean sandwiched between 2 chewy tapioca layers that resemble pig skin, sweet, Southern VN
Bánh dầy |beng yay|
— Bánh dầy giò – |beng yay zoh| – sticky rice bun with sausage, chewy bun with sausage – sticky rice, chả lụa, savory, Northern VN
— Bánh dầy đậu – |beng yay dou| – mung bean mochi – sticky rice, mung bean, savory, Northern VN
Bánh dừa – |beng yuah| – coconut (sticky rice) stick – sweet, Southern VN
Bánh đa – |beng dah| – the Northern Vietnamese name of grilled thick Bánh Tráng
Bánh đập – |beng dup| – mashed banh – pieces of grilled bánh tráng and fresh bánh ướt stick together (i.e. a bánh tráng and a bánh ướt is mashed together) – rice flour, savory(*), Central VN
Bánh đậu (bánh đậu xanh) – |beng deu-ooh xeng| – mung bean cookie – mung bean flour, sweet, Northern VN
Bánh đúc – |beng dook| – rice slab – “đúc”: to cast (in sculpture), batter is steamed in a bowl to form a white gelatinous slab, eaten with savory sauces, pork, mushroom – rice or corn flour, savory(*), Northern VN
G
Bánh gai (bánh ít lá gai) – |beng it lah ghai| – thorn leaf sticky rice bun – sticky rice flour, sweet, Northern VN
Bánh gio – |beng zo| – the Northern Vietnamese name of Bánh Ú Tro
Bánh giò – |beng zo| – savory steamed rice dumpling – rice flour, pork and mushroom filling, savory, Northern VN
H
Bánh hỏi – |beng hoi| – rice noodle mesh – savory(*), Central and Southern VN
I
Bánh in – the Southern name of Bánh khảo
Bánh ít – |beng it| – sweet sticky rice cone – sticky rice flour, coconut or mung bean filling, sweet, Northern VN
— Bánh ít quy – see Bánh quy
— Bánh ít ram – |beng it ram| – half fried mochi ball – sticky rice flour, shrimp and meat filling, Central VN
K
bánh khảo/bánh in – |beng khao/beng in| – “pressed” snack bar with mung bean paste – “in”: to print, to press – dried sticky rice flour, sweet, Northern VN
Bánh khoai mì – |beng kho-ai mee| – cassava banh – cassava flour, sweet, Southern VN
Bánh khoái – |beng kho-ai| – fried rice pizza – similar to Bánh Xèo but thicker and crunchier – rice flour, meat, shrimp, vegetable, savory, Central VN
Bánh khọt – |beng khot| – fried coconut rice minibread – rice flour mixed with coconut milk, shrimp, savory(*), Southern VN
Bánh khúc (xôi khúc, xôi cúc) – |beng khook| – cudweed xoi – Jersey-cudweed– (gnaphalium affine) leaf-flavoring sticky rice, steamed, mung bean (and sometimes fatty pork) filling, savory, Northern VN
L
Bánh lọt – |beng lot| –
Bánh lỗ tai heo (bánh tai heo) – |beng loh tai heo| – pig ear cookie (cookies shaped like pig ears) – sweet, crunchy, Southern VN
M
Bánh mật – |beng muht| –
Bánh men – |beng men| – yeast cookie – tapioca flour, sweet, crunchy, powdery, Southern VN
Bánh mì – |beng mee| – Vietnamese sandwich – savory
N
Bánh nậm – |beng num| –
P
Bánh phồng tôm – |beng fong tom| – shrimp cracker – a crunchy, airy cracker often accompanying salads, savory
Bánh phục linh – |beng fook ling| – tapioca cookie – similar to Bánh men but thicker, sweet, powdery
Bánh phu thê – |beng foo theh| – see Bánh xu xê
Q
Bánh quế – |beng kueh| –
Bánh quy – |beng kwee| – turtle mochi – sweet, sticky rice dumpling with coconut or mung bean paste filling
S
Bánh su kem -|beng shu kem| – choux pastry, creme puff
T
Bánh tầm bì – |beng tum bee| – thick rice noodle with shredded pork skin, savory(*)
Bánh tẻ – |beng tae| –
Bánh tét – |beng taet| – sticky rice log – mung bean paste and fatty pork filling, savory, Southern VN
Bánh tiêu – |beng teew| – Chinese sesame beignet – hollow plain doughnut (not sweet), Southern VN
Bánh tổ – |beng toh| –
Bánh tổ ong – |beng toh ong| – waffle
— Bánh tổ ong lá dứa – |beng toh ong lah yuah| – green waffle, pandan leaf waffle
Bánh tôm – |beng tom| –
Bánh tráng – |beng jang| – rice paper – rice flour, either use as wrapper for rolls (if thin) or toasted and eaten as snack (if thick)
Bánh trôi – |beng joi| – (chè trôi nước, chè xôi nước) – mochi in ginger syrup – mung bean filling, sweet, Northern VN
Bánh trung thu – |beng jung thoo| – mooncake, sweet or savory
U
Bánh ú tro – |beng ooh joh| – Vietnamese-adapted jianshui zong – ash dumpling – sticky rice, red bean paste filling, sweet
Bánh ướt – |beng uout| – rice noodle sheet – “ướt”: wet – rice flour, eaten with meat and savory dipping sauces(*), Northern VN
X
Bánh xèo – |beng xe-oh| – sizzling crepe – eaten with mixed fish sauce (nước chấm), savory, Southern VN
Bánh xu xê – |beng xoo xeh| – (couple cookie) – a strayed pronunciation but more-commonly-used name of Bánh Phu Thê , a jello pastry made of sticky rice flour and arrowroot starch, mung bean paste filling, sweet, Northern VN
—————————————————–
(*): eaten with mixed fish sauce (nước chấm)
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