In the past, in Cu Lao Dung district (Soc Trang), there were countless rice snails. During the rainy season, the river water was abundant with food, so the rice snail meat was plump, opaque white, sweet, and crispy. People used the snails to make many delicious dishes, including rice snail pancakes...
The delicious rice snail pancake dish in Cu Lao Dung leaves many memories in the hearts of people far from home and diners.
During a field trip to compose in Cu Lao Dung district, after visiting Uncle Ho's Temple, the delegation of the Soc Trang Province Literature and Arts Association was invited to have dinner at the home of a member's family in An Thanh Dong commune.
There, we were treated to rustic dishes such as: rice snails wrapped in rice paper, rice snails mixed with salad, rice snails stir-fried with lemongrass and chili...
Every dish was delicious, but everyone in the group was eager for the snail pancakes, which were "hot and fresh" and were delicious - according to the host.
Cu Lao Dung rice snail pancake (Soc Trang province). Photo: NGOC NHAN
While waiting, we sat around a small round table, sipping on a plate of snail salad and looking at the two pans in front of us. Every now and then, we heard the familiar, loud "sizzling" sound when the dough touched the hot oil in the pan.
Ms. Linh (the hostess) quickly added some rice snail intestines and a few slices of previously stir-fried pork belly along with bamboo shoots, cassava, and steamed peeled green beans in the middle of the dough layer and covered it.
She said that to have delicious dishes to serve guests, a day before she assigned tasks to family members to find ingredients.
Her husband was assigned to chop bamboo shoots, pick vegetables, buy snails, wash rice and clean snails; her son was in charge of cleaning the snails, and she was in charge of soaking and steaming beans, mixing dipping sauces, etc. and was the “head chef”.
In the past, when it was rice snail season, people were crowded like a festival, people were digging and raking, bustling along a stretch of the river, stretching from the beginning of the sandbank bordering Long Phu district to the end of the sandbank in Tran De district.
The locality also has many "idle boats" that collect rice snails and transport them to sell at markets, especially at Dai Ngai ferry.
Due to over-exploitation, rice snails are becoming scarcer. As she spoke, Linh removed some firewood to reduce the fire, opened the lid, and folded the cake in half. While waiting for the cake to turn golden brown on both sides, she asked me to go to the back garden to cut some banana leaves to line the cake.
Banh xeo is a type of pancake that is fried in oil, not deep-fried, but to make the pancake crispy enough, the baker must spread oil evenly and hot in the pan, and spread the dough thinly. To make the pancake fatty, fragrant, and golden in color, Linh adds coconut milk to the dough, a little ground turmeric juice, and some finely chopped green onions...
To make the cake thin and crispy, in addition to the secret of mixing flour with water so that when dipping chopsticks in and lifting them up, the flour slowly drips, you need to grind cold rice with the flour or add duck eggs and stir well.
The dipping sauce consists of chili, garlic, lemon, sugar, vinegar, and fish sauce, mixed in the right proportions. The accompanying vegetables are mainly vegetables available in the garden: young coc coc shoots, cassava leaves, young cat loi leaves, perilla leaves, and watercress. As for cucumbers, cassava roots, and green mustard, Linh bought them at the local market.
The cake was placed on the table, I took some vegetables, added some banh xeo and carefully rolled it up, dipped it in fish sauce, put it in my mouth, took a big bite and slowly chewed... The harmony of the ingredients combined together to create the wonderful color - aroma - taste of the snail banh xeo, anyone who ate it could only nod and praise it as delicious.
I find Cu Lao Dung snail rice pancakes really unique! It somehow reflects the favor of nature and the generosity and hospitality of the people of the island district.
Even though someone has enjoyed this type of cake many times, they still don't get bored because each time they see it again, the pancake brings a new flavor, thanks to the different mixture of fillings and the vegetables wrapped and eaten with it.
But one thing remains unchanged, that is the rich, fatty taste of green beans, new rice flour soaked in coconut milk, the sweet taste of snail intestines, pork belly, a little salty, spicy, sour taste of the special fish sauce, the pungent taste of herbs... and the enthusiasm of friends.
Source: https://danviet.vn/dac-san-soc-trang-vo-mot-cu-lao-noi-tieng-xem-duc-banh-xeo-oc-gao-nong-hoi-vua-thoi-vua-xoi-202503180825431.htm
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