The
main ingredient in the exterior is rice flour mixed with water and yolk and
flavoured with cumin. The mixed flour layer is fried until crispy around the
edges, then filled with pepper, green onions, shelled shrimp, sliced broiled
beef or pounded pork belly, fresh bean sprouts and field mushrooms.
Next,
it is folded in half to make it “smile.” After breaking off the cake with
chopsticks and wrapping it in fresh mustard greens with aromatic herbs, sliced
green banana and fig, the cake is dipped in a special sauce (called tương) that is rather thick,
salty and moderately sweet made from fine-ground rice flour, thick soya sauce,
fried sesame, chopped pig liver, garlic and chili. Adding a little shrimp paste
to the sauce is certain to make it more delicious.
All
the flavours seem to converge in a small piece of cake, harmonising with each
other so perfectly that a single bite is worth a thousand words.
All
sorts of cakes can be found in other regions of Vietnam, but nowhere else can
you savour the harmony of ingredients, the rustic simplicity of decorations and
the tranquil ambience that belong only to Hue and its hospitable citizens.
By Nhan Dan