Local flavor

Crispy fried banana cakes

Crispy fried banana cakes are well known as a street food with amazing taste for locals and visitors to Ho Chi Minh City.
For a long time, the cake has been a favorite and popular snack of locals, especially many generations of students. People are attracted by the delightful smell and the taste of the crispy, and slightly sweet cake.

It is very easy to find street vendors who cook banana cakes on corners and at school entrances. Sitting around the vendors, children are eager for the first taste of the cakes that recall the most beautiful moments in everyone’s childhood. 



Crispy fried banana cakes. Photo: Nguyen Luan

The cake has cheap but tasty ingredients and a simple recipe. The main ingredients are bananas, wheat flour and rice flour. Honey, eggs, butter, sugar and salt are optional. Besides the fresh ingredients, the skill of the cook also decides the quality of the dish.

Bananas are peeled and dipped into the batter made from wheat flour and the optional ingredients. The cake is deep-fried in oil until it turns crispy and golden brown. It’s best served hot right after frying so that diners can enjoy all the crispy, soft and sweet taste.

It can be said that there is no snack better than a crispy banana cake on rainy days in the southern city.

 
By Nguyen Luan
 

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