Bánh bò (literally "cow cake"[1] or "crawl cake"[2]) is a sweet, chewysponge cake fromVietnam.[3][4] It is made fromrice flour, water, sugar, and yeast,[5] and has ahoneycomb-like appearance (calledrễ tre, literally "bamboo roots," in Vietnamese) on the inside due to the presence of numerous small air bubbles.Coconut milk is also usually a part of the batter, imparting a slight flavor and aroma of coconut. The cake is ofSouthern Chinese origin, although the Chinese version, calledbái táng gāo (白糖糕), does not contain coconut milk.[6]Bánh bò are generally eaten as a dessert, although they may also be consumed as an accompaniment to a meal.[7]
In theVietnamese language,bánh means "cake", andbò can either mean "cow" or "to crawl".[8] According to the entry for "𤙭" (bò) inPaulus Huỳnh Tịnh Của's 1895 dictionaryĐại Nam quấc âm tự vị, the dessert is named for its resemblance to a cow'sudder,[9] implying that the name was shortened frombánh vú bò.[10] However, according to a popularfolk etymology,bò refers to how the cake "crawls" up to the rim of the bowl when steamed to completion.[11]
Bánh bò is to be distinguished from the less commonbánh bó ("pressed cake"), a fruit cake found inQuảng Ngãi Province;bò ("cow", "beef") is pronounced with a falling tone, whereasbó ("pressed") has a rising tone.
^The Chinese version, calledbai tang gao (白糖糕;pinyin: bái táng gāo;Cantonese: baak6 tong2 gou1; literally "white sugar cake," is always white and is often slightly sour in taste due to the fermentation of the batter before cooking. The Vietnamese version should not have any sourness.
^Andrea NguyenInto the Vietnamese Kitchen p291 "bánh bò"
^Huình-Tịnh Paulus Của (1895)."𤙭 Bò".Đại Nam Quấc Âm Tự Vị. Đại Nam quốc âm tự vị (in Vietnamese). Vol. 1. Saigon: Imprimerie Rey, Curiol, & Compagnie. p. 61.hdl:2027/mdp.39015005758449.
