Banh X

If anyone with a little nest egg is looking to start a new food craze in America, this is for you. Banh xeo is a pancake-type food which folds over shrimp and sprouts, and as if that wasn't enough, you take a piece and wrap it in lettuce with some fresh mint (and some other herbs, many of which are NOT suited to tourists) and dip it in sauce. The one above was handmade by Jenny's mom and is absolutely delicious.

Unfortunately, the original recipe calls for shrimp in the shell, which is a little hard to swallow. There is a large chain of restaurants with a nice bamboo-art motif that offers more fillings, like pork and squid, which breaks tradition in a much needed way. There are so many ways to Americanize it--someone steal this please. Elsewhere on this blog is the ancilliary Apple Snails appetizer, which is yummy but will frighten away all your customers.