Banh Beo

Ingredients:

Batter:

3 cups of rice flour

½ cup of tapioca starch 

2 cups of hot water

5 cups of cold water

2 teaspoons of salt

Olive oil

Banh Beo dishes

Toppings:

Green onion

A little sugar, a little salt

Shrimp

Pork Rinds

Croutons

Fish sauce for Banh Beo:

⅓ + ¼ cup of sugar

4 cups of water

Warm on the stove but don’t boil

Add ½ cup of fish sauce

Take off the heat

Cut a jalapeño and add it and slices of garlic if it please you

Instructions:

1. Mix the rice flour and tapioca starch with hot water to help it dissolve. Then add the cold water and salt. Cover and let rest overnight. The next day pour out clear water and replace it with new water. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. 

2. Fill the bottom of the steamer with water and put the stove on high. Put the Banh Beo dishes in to warm them, once steam starts coming out, put the batter into the dishes and close the lid again and let it steam for 3 minutes. If you have multiple layers to your steamer you can switch out the layers, so while you take out the cooked dishes, another layer can warm up. By the time you are done, the dishes should be warmed and you can pour the batter into those. It may be helpful to use tongs to take the dishes out as they will be hot.

 3. Slice the green onion and put into heated oil on the stove but not boiling and add a little sugar and a little salt. Pretty much once you add the onions and it doesn’t the loud sizzle thing, take it off the heat. 

4. Cook shrimp if not already cooked. Rinse with warm water and dry with a paper towel. Pound the shrimp in the mortar and pestle until sort of fluffy, definitely thoroughly crushed. Get a pan and put it on high on the stove and add the shrimp and push it around until it largely dries out. You can scoop out excess juice as needed rather than let it boil away. Mix a teaspoon of salt, pepper, and sugar together and then add it little by little to the shrimp until it fits your liking. 

The easiest way to eat this is to add a little fish sauce to the little dish and use a teaspoon to loosen the edges of the rice cake from the dish. Then cut in half or scoop up whole.