After the midday market shift, Hai, 69, and her friend Muoi, 62, stop by an alley at No 565 Nguyen Trai Street in District 5, HCMC to buy piping-hot banh khot (mini savory pancake).

The two sit in front of a small stall with a glowing charcoal stove. The owner, Le Thi Le, 80, with her silver hair, was seen recently sitting by the stove with her back to the house door. She deftly stirred a pot of batter, ladling it into round molds in a sizzling oil-filled pan.

After a few minutes, the aroma of frying cakes filled the air. Le topped each with roasted shrimp, then plated them for customers to savor.

The rich, crispy flavor had Hai and Muoi raving that this was one of the best banh khot spots they’ve tried. Few would guess that Le only started selling it after Covid-19 was contained.

Before selling banh khot, she stayed home taking care of her younger sibling’s kids. When her nieces and nephews went abroad to study, childless and alone, she moved in with her aunt.

After her aunt grew frail and passed away, Le returned home to live by herself. Feeling bored, she decided to make and sell cakes for fun.

She recalled a dish with the quirky name ‘banh khot’ she’d once eaten. From there, she experimented with making it herself.

“I mix the batter and make it to my taste—no one taught me a recipe. I use banh xeo batter for making banh khot,” she said. “I add coconut milk, eggs, peeled mung beans, and season it just right. My cakes don’t have meat—just roasted shrimp.

“I make one small pot of batter daily and sell for two hours. Once it’s gone, I stop—no more making or selling. That pot yields about 200 cakes, with the revenue of around VND1 million, but I can pocket only VND100,000,” she said.

Though she sells banh khot just for fun, not for profit, Le always uses the best ingredients. She uses premium rice flour, large, golden, intact mung beans—clean and husk-free.

Every morning, she goes to the market to collect fresh shrimp, greens, and herbs, cleaning and storing them in a cooler. She preps the shrimp—cleaned and roasted—half an hour before frying.

Le fries with bottled cooking oil she uses at home, and her secret lies in a perfectly balanced sweet-sour fish sauce dip that earns rave reviews.

She uses a charcoal stove, keeping the heat moderate. Some people advised her to use a gas cooker, but she insists on a charcoal stove to make better cakes.

Ha Nguyen