A steaming bowl of banh tam – a favorite in the Mekong city of Can Tho.

Banh tam (silkworm-like rice-flour cake) is a scrumptious, traditional snack from the Mekong Delta that resembles the long, string shape of silkworms, giving the dish its peculiar name.

Rice is ground and mixed with water, then stirred continuously over a low fire.

When the mixture turns into a paste, it is removed from the heat and allowed to cool.

The paste is placed on a tray and shaped into strings by hand.

The strings are then covered with a layer of flour so they won’t stick together when they are steamed in a xung (a container used to make cakes).

They noodle-shaped delicacy retains the natural sweetness of rice and tastes best when served with a range of accompaniments.

In the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu, bi (pig skin and pork cut into strings) and xiu mai (meat balls) perfectly compliment banh tam.

The dish also goes well with nem nuong (grilled pork roll) and nem chua (traditional fermented pork roll) – a favorite combination in the Mekong city of Can Tho.

This specialty is accompanied with string cucumber, herbs and bean sprouts.

It can also be eaten with tomato sauce, sprinkled with a little pepper and sweet and sour fish sauce.

Nuoc cot dua (the extract of fresh coconut flesh) can also be added to the dish, giving it a distinctive sweet flavor.

To incorporate the coconut, a small amount of boiled water is added to the coconut flesh and then squeezed.

The initial extract is taken off while more water is added to the coconut.

The second extract is then cooked together with the first to make it a little thicker.

Vegetarians can also enjoy the rich flavor of the rice-flour cake.

When making vegetarian banh tam, the rice is ground and mixed with water. Sugar is then added to the paste.

When making the paste into strings, an extract of coconut flesh juice is added.

The dish tastes best right after the strings are rolled.

Reported by Diem Thu