Savoury steamed rice cakes (bánh bèo)

These chewy little steamed rice cakes are a special snack in Vietnam's city of Huế as it's where they originated. Nowadays they're a popular street food enjoyed across the country.

• serves

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 tbsp tapioca flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cups water
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Nuoc cham

• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 6 tbsp water

Fried baby shrimp

• ½ cup dried baby shrimp
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil, or enough for frying

Spring onion oil

• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

1. For the batter, combine rice flour, tapioca flour, and salt in a large bowl and mix. Add in the water and oil and stir thoroughly with a whisk ensuring there are no lumps in the batter. Set aside.

2. For the nuoc cham, mix the lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, sugar and water in a small bowl. Mix well. Set aside.

3. For the fried shrimp, soak dried shrimp in water for at least 10 minutes. Drain, then pulse in a food processor til the mix resembles breadcrumbs. In a small pan, fry the dried shrimp in oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until crispy. Remove from oil and drain on some paper towel. Set aside.

4. For the spring onion oil, in a small saucepan, heat up 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil on medium-high heat. Add sliced spring onions and cook for about 2 minutes or until softened. Set aside.

5. To make the banh beo, place your steamer basket over a pot of boiling water. Grease some sauce dipping dishes or ramekins with a neutral oil and pour in the batter to about ¾ full. Steam for 10-15 minutes until the rice cakes set. Remove them from the steamer basket and allow to cool before serving.

6. To serve, put some fried baby shrimp and spring onion oil on top of the rice cakes and dress with nuoc cham.

Diana Chan and guests explore the flavours of Asia from her Melbourne home in the second series of Asia Unplated.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

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