Vietnamese Food, specific dish

[ELA]

OK, so I would like to ask the in-house experts for some help. Many years ago I had a Vietnamese dish that was really great. It was prepared by a street vendor situated outside a Vietnamese restaurant in San Franciso (no, the restaurant is no longer there and nobody remembers the name of it or the dish).

Anyway, it was a great little snack. It was a pancake mix/batter that was spread out across a circular griddle (like a crepe, with a similar texture and taste) in the shape of a circle. Then, after the crepe becomes solidified, where it could be flipped -- the guy cracks a couple of eggs right on top of the crepe. He cooks the eggs, let's the whole thing cook a bit more -- then I forget if anything else was added, mixed in, etc. -- he folds up, and BANG!

It was really great. Does anyone know what I am talking about?

Thank you in advance.

Eric

[SheenaGreena]

was there little dried shrimps in it by any chance?

[ELA]

For the life of me, I just can't remember. A friend of mine said that he thought some shrimp were added, but another friend said he was wrong.

What do you have in mind? Thanks so much.

Eric

Edited April 5, 2007 by ELA (log)

[SheenaGreena]

maybe banh beo? Then again, that is probably not it. I will do a google search for you, cause I'm so interested in finding out what it is. It sounds yummy

nakji is better at this since she lives in vietnam.

[ELA]

Thanks so much. I greatly appreciate it. So, I've been calling everyone who I came into contact with on the trip. Because I told people about it, took them there, etc. Anyway, I have one friend who came to see me when I was on this trip, and he kind of remembers seeing the street vendor -- reason being was that he had told me at the time that he had the dish in the Far East years before. However, he thought it was Thai -- and thought he had it in Thailand (and some other places in the Far East). He said that street vendors all throughout Bangkok (???) were preparing/selling it. But he wasn't sure if it was Bangkok or somewhere in Vietnam.

I am going to do some search and research as well. Thanks again.

Eric

[ELA]

Just got off the phone with my "expert" friend, LOL. So, he said I am stupid because I left so much out and have no idea what I am talking about, LOL. He said the dish a very common street food and is a version of scallion pancakes. According to him, the dish I am talking about is jian bing -- with a certain version also known as "jian bi gua za" and there are numerous variations (another being called jian bing guozhi) -- but the version I had was without the "fried bread" that is normally put on the "crepe" before it's folded up. (Note -- he also mentioned "dan bing" as another variation, but I couldn't take notes that fast, LOL).

So, he told me that he had it all over Bejing and other parts of China and the far east (or variations of it). He told me the reason I forgot this and didn't equate this to "scallion pancakes" is that these are very, very different from the scallion pancakes that we know here in the US and order from the take-out/delivery Chineese restaurant. They are a much more of a "pancake" and soft, as opposed to the crusty scallion pancake from the take-out place.

Here's the details of this great dish from my expert friend . . . In the basic, traditional version, the crepe comes from a flour mix batter and it's spread out onto a griddle wth a "T" shaped tool. Then they put in some scallions -- which I of course didn't remember. I am not sure, but mine might not have had scallions. Then they crack open a couple of eggs onto the crepe/pancake which is still cooking a bit, but is somewhat solidified. He said cilantro is often used as well. After the eggs and the pancake cooks for another minute or two the crepe is then flipped over. A bean paste is added (now that I remember this part, I remember thinking at the time that it was some sort of hoisen sauce, which I happen to like).

He said at this stage a piece of fried crispy bread (or two) is placed onto the pancake and then the pancake is folded up into a nice little "burrito" type (often somewhat) sqaure-shaped finished dish.

So -- thanks for helping out on this. If you have a chance to get this -- any version -- get it!!! They were great.

Eric

[ELA]

maybe banh beo? Then again, that is probably not it.  I will do a google search for you, cause I'm so interested in finding out what it is.  It sounds yummy

nakji is better at this since she lives in vietnam.

←

Sheena, the banh beo sounds interesting. Is it common? Street vendors, restaurants? Is this the kind of thing I can find in an authentic Thai or Vietnamese place?

Thank you again Sheena.

Eric

[v. gautam]

Sounds very much like a variation of the martabak/moghlai paratha found from India, Sri Lanka [godamba roti], Thailand, Malaysia [martabak], and onwards, same general principles: dough, egg, skillet, fry, fold like handkerchief, variation in filling ingredients.

Look also for Chinese specialists [esp. San Jose area], and for martabak restaurants and vendors on West coast, not excluding specific Bangladeshi placese.g. Cafe Dhaka, Santa Clara http://cafedhaka.com [but always ask, doubly make sure their cook is specially trained for moghlai paratha]

g

[trillium]

maybe banh beo? Then again, that is probably not it.  I will do a google search for you, cause I'm so interested in finding out what it is.  It sounds yummy

nakji is better at this since she lives in vietnam.

←

Sheena, the banh beo sounds interesting. Is it common? Street vendors, restaurants? Is this the kind of thing I can find in an authentic Thai or Vietnamese place?

Thank you again Sheena.

Eric

←

You can find banh xeo in many Vietnamese restaurants, it's a Viet dish, not a Thai one.

regards,

trillium