Super popular street food! Everywhere! In every province! Different recipes! Different colors - green (with pandan leaves flavor!), light violet (with taro flavor)!
Bánh bao always associated with two images in my childhood!
First.
For those who live in Asia and martial art fan - probably know a famous novelist Jin Yong (Kim Dung or his real name Louis Cha), in many of his novels - bánh bao has been described as no filling (không nhân) and only for the poors or good knights (hảo hán!).
I love Jin Yong's martial art novels and remember bánh bao in his stories!
By the way I heard the origin of bánh bao related to famous Chinese historical character - Zhuge Liang (Khổng Minh Gia Cát Lượng), he created small steamed buns filled with horse meat in the shape of human head in order to save his soldiers from the sacrifice to some angered river's spirits!
Second.
After 1975, i.e after the liberation, bánh bao was so unaffordable to me! Especially those big ones from famous stalls, filled with ground pork, egg, Chinese sausage...it was a dream for me - a little kid at that time!
