Banh Cam – Vietnam
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| Banh Cam is made with tender glutinous rice flour and filled with mung bean paste, the balls are then rolled in sesame seeds and fried. Banh ran is a similar variation found in northern Vietnam. Photo: CNN |
“Though the name translates to “orange cake,” there’s no orange flavor in these deep-fried rice balls. Instead, these southern Vietnamese sweets are named for their visual resemblance to an orange,” CNN editors said.
Banh cam is made with tender glutinous rice flour and filled with mung bean paste. The balls are then rolled in sesame seeds and fried. It is a highly favored dessert in the southern region.
A northern parallel to this dish is the “banh ran”, but this variation has a sugary syrup poured over it. The best combination to try is to mix the banh cam and banh ran, according to the locals.
Earlier this month, CNN has included Vietnam’s popular banh mi in a list of the world’s 23 best sandwiches, saying “it is widely loved well beyond the country’s borders.”
The CNN list also includes Japan’s tempura, India’s jalebi, a batter piped through a muslin cloth into the oil and then dipped in sugar syrup, the U.S.’s cronuts, Japan’s panko-breaded chicken cutlets called katsu, South Korea’s fried chicken and Hong Kong’s prawn toast.
Tempura – Japan
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| Photo: CNN |
Tempura is a popular Japanese deep-fried dish of seafood and vegetables encased in a light yet crispy batter. When juicy plump shrimp, thinly sliced Japanese sweet potato, creamy eggplant, and fragrant shiso leaves get dunked in batter and deep-fried to light, irresistible crunch, you know you’re going to have some superb meal.
Pakora – India
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| Photo: CNN |
Pakora are crispy fritters made with vegetables like onions, potatoes, gram flour, spices and herbs. Also known as pikora or pakura, it is a popular snack and street food from the Indian sub-continent. You will find many kinds of pakoras made in the homes, restaurants and street stalls.
Traditionally made with a variety of chickpea flour known as besan flour, these fritters can vary in shape and size depending on the specific vegetables used. Bread pakora consists of slices of bread dipped in batter and deep fried, often with vegetables such as potatoes stuffed between slices.
Churros – Spain, Portugal and Latin America
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| Photo: CNN |
A churro is a cinnamon- and sugar-topped fried pastry dough stick with Spanish and Portuguese origins.You can dip them into melted chocolate.The batter is piped through a star-shaped tip into hot oil to give the churro its signature shape. Churros are frequently dusted with cinnamon sugar and dipped into café con leche, hot chocolate or dulce de leche.
Jalebi – India
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| Photo: CNN |
Jalebi is a spiral shaped crisp & juicy sweet made with all-purpose flour, gram flour and sugar syrup. In some west Asian cuisines, jalebi may consist of a yeast dough fried and then dipped in a syrup of honey and rose water. The batter is piped through a muslin cloth into the oil, then dipped in sugar syrup for a chewy-crunchy texture.
