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I’m excited to share with you a recipe that’s close to my heart: Banh Beo, a delightful Vietnamese treat. This recipe, inspired by my own culinary experiments, makes about 75 pieces and takes between 30 minutes to prepare and another 30 minutes to cook. Let’s dive in!
Peter and I visited Hue in Vietnam a while back, and honestly, the food there was the best we tried in the whole country! They have a traditional dish known as Banh beo, or “water fern cakes.” The name comes from its resemblance to delicate white water fern flowers. These little steamed rice cakes, a blend of rice flour and tapioca flour, are a staple street food in Vietnam.
So, instead of the classic mung bean and pork skin topping, I go for a combination of chopped shrimp, carrots, and dried wood ear mushrooms. It’s a bit unconventional but delicious in its own right.
When I have friends over, serving Banh beo becomes a fun experience. I like to describe it as similar to eating an oyster shooter – just a simple drizzle of fish sauce, scoop, and you’re all set for a delightful bite. On a recent visit to Hoi An, we tried their version of Banh beo, which was more sauce-heavy than I prefer, but still a unique experience.
Mastering the batter took some experimentation, but I’ve found that using a squeeze bottle for pouring it into ramekins is the most efficient method. And here’s a neat trick: I discovered the Babycakes maker for Banh beo online and quickly bought one – it’s a fantastic tool for this recipe.
Contrary to what you might think, Banh beo is quite manageable to make. It stands out as a simpler yet fascinating dish among the diverse Vietnamese cuisine. Each time I serve it, it’s like bringing a small piece of Hué’s charm into my own kitchen.
There you have it – a beautiful, flavorful dish that’s sure to impress. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or new to the kitchen, this Banh beo recipe is a great way to bring a taste of Vietnam into your home. Happy cooking! 🍴🌸
Vietnamese Steamed Rice Cake | Banh Beo
Ingredients
Banh Beo Mix:
- 2 cups rice flour
- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 ½ cups water
- ½ cup coconut milk
Topping:
- 1 lb shrimp, with shell on
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil , or any neutral oil
- 1 leek, white part only, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, peeled, finely chopped
- ½ cup dried wood ear mushroom, soaked in warm water for 15 min, then finely chopped
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Garnish:
- 1 cup avocado oil, or any neutral oil
- 4 large shallots, peeled, thinly sliced
- 10 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add rice flour, tapioca starch and salt.
- Mix dry ingredients together, then add water and coconut milk.
- Using a whisk, stir until batter is smooth and there are no more lumps.
- In a frying pan, on medium high heat, add avocado oil, or any cooking oil, and pan fry shrimp with shell on until they are pink and cooked.
- Once it cools, peel shrimp and do a rough chop on them.
- Place chopped shrimp in an electric mixer and pulse until they’re in fine bits. Set aside.
- Brush ramekins with oil.
- Place ramekins in hot steamer and heat them for 3 minutes.
- After 3 minutes, pour banh beo mix onto each oiled ramekin, about 1 ½ tablespoon. I use a squeeze bottle to transfer the mix onto a ramekin.
- Let it steam for 5 mins until the Banh beo is nice and firm, not too hard and not sticky.
- Once done, set aside and repeat the process. If you don't have enough ramekins, wait until Banh Beo cools, then take a butter knife, scrape and remove Banh Beo from ramekin and place on a plate (like food image).
- For the topping, heat a pan on medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Add leek and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add carrots, shrimp and mushroom to the pan.
- Add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
- Stir fry for a few minutes until carrots soften a little and the flavors are mixed in.
- To make the fried shallots, heat 1 cup of oil in a small saucepan.
- Add shallots and fry until they're right about to turn light brown.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Remove the shallots from the oil and put them on a paper towel lined plate.
- While the oil is still hot, away from the heat, add your thinly sliced green onions.
- Add a pinch of salt to green onion oil.
- Garnish each Banh beo with a tablespoon of the topping mix, green onions in oil and fried shallots.
- You can either eat the Banh beo directly from the ramekin by pouring the fish dipping sauce onto the ramekin, or you can wait for the ramekins to cool, then scoop out the Banh beo and stack them up nicely onto a serving plate.
Nutrition
Equipment
- steamer
- ramekins
- squeeze bottle
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