Bánh xèo & nem lụi - crunchy stuffed pancake and lemon grass pork skewer

bánh xèo, ready to get wrapped together with greens, herbs, pickles and dipped in peanut-liver sauce

One of the most delicious and best examples of a typical Vietnamese dish: bánh xèo.

It has the 5 must-have Vietnamese flavours (sweet, sour, salty, spicy & bitter) with an abundance in different textures; the crunchy pancake, the salty & juicy pork, fragrant herbs, pickled veggies, the bitterness of the unripe banana, crispy lettuce, rich and creamy peanut sauce (or a refreshing tangy one).. need I say more?

And another great thing, like many VN dishes, you devour it with your bare hands! As a wise friend once said "you taste more when eating with your bare hands, as you'll be using one more of your sense". Therefore, using cutlery would be foolish; like watching a movie in the cinema with sunglasses on.


Bánh xèo itself is the stuffed savory pancake/omelet made of rice flour and water, with turmeric powder that gives its distinctive color. It is stuffed with shrimp, pork, green onion and bean sprouts. It is almost always served with lettuce, herbs, unripe bananas (taste slightly bitter) and pickled vegetables, like carrots and green papaya. All of this you will try to wrap in some rice paper and then dip it in the thick peanut-liver sauce.

Unripe banana and cucumber

When you think you master the wrapping skills, try to add nem lụi - roasted (pork) skewer with lemongrass (not present in the picture).

The herbs mixture contained Thai basil, rice paddy herb (rau om) and fish mint (diếp cá). The last one indeed tasted fishy, literally, but when wrapped all together with the other ingredients, it made a good combo.

There many places selling bánh xèo in Da Nang, but the most famous one (among the tourists) must be Bánh Xèo Bà Dưỡng. I was told this place is known for its special sauce; the rich and creamy peanut sauce made with pork liver. The restaurant is located at the very end of a small alley, that contains many other bánh xèo restaurants.

Details

Restaurant Bánh Xèo Bà Dưỡng

K280/23, Đường Hoàng Diệu, Đà Nẵng




How to order

bánh xèo - the crunchy pancake, includes herb salads and all the other accompaniments except for nem lui. It is ordered per portion, one portion is good for 2 persons

nem lui - skewer with lemon grass pork meat, ordered & payed per stick.

I don't remember the prices per item, but it was about 40.000 VND per full belly.

(price dates from Feb2015)