The smell of mom's pancakes

In May, the sky poured down rain. On long, rainy nights, lying with my arms on my forehead, I heard so many memories come back.

In the past, when my mother was still alive. It was raining in May, especially on the Duanwu Festival, the whole family gathered around the fire, everyone sniffing, waiting for the pancakes my mother would make. The pancakes were made from rice flour that my mother soaked and ground herself all night. The filling was monitor lizard meat that my brothers dug up from the fields and minced for my mother to marinate with spices and mix with the batter. It was raining, the fire was warm, the pancakes were hot and fragrant. Whatever my mother made, my brothers would eat right away. Looking at the children gathered around to eat the pancakes, my mother wiped her sweat, smiled and said: "Banh xeo is delicious when eaten hot, when it's cold it's terrible". Despite that, my mother didn't eat any of it, she just sat there diligently scooping batter for her children. After much begging, my mother picked up a bit of the burnt edge of the pancake and put it in her mouth, nodding her head: "Yes! It's delicious, you guys eat until you're full, I'll eat my share later". At that time I saw my mother was extremely happy, her face was radiant by the firelight, her mouth always had a satisfied smile.

In my hometown, almost every house has a pan for making banh xeo, and those who can afford it also have a stone mortar to grind flour. On rainy days, during the Duanwu Festival, the whole neighborhood competes to soak rice, grind flour, dig for worms, and catch shrimp to make banh xeo. Every family gathers together. The sound of the fire crackling, the sound of banh xeo sizzling in the pan, along with the happy voices and laughter, the happiness of the village seems to multiply.

Now, it has been several rainy seasons in May and July, many times the Duanwu Festival has come and gone. The old house is still there, the old kitchen is still there. But mom is far away! The banh xeo that was waiting for mom to “eat later” has gone cold with time. Mom! I miss the smell of mom’s banh xeo from the old days!

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