Homemade Banh Beo - Steamed Rice cakes with Shrimp Flakes

Homemade Banh Beo - Steamed Rice cakes with Shrimp Flakes

Appetizer Rice Cakes Shrimp Vietnamese

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Out of all the steamed cakes Vietnam has to offer, Banh Beo is definitely in my top three.  Banh Beo originated from Hue city in central Vietnam, but loved throughout Vietnam.  The rice cakes are made from steaming a rice flour batter in little bowls.  Once the batter has cooked we then pile on fine shrimp flakes.  Other common toppings associated with Banh Beo are oil scallion, ground mung beans, and roasted bread.  You can eat it them in individual bowls or the rice cakes can be transfer to a plate.  Banh Beo can be unique to certain city, therefore preparation of toppings and sauce may differ.  Like most rice cakes Banh Beo is eaten with prepared fish sauce, I prefer eating them with a light and sweet fish sauce so I can slurp everything up.

About 5 years ago I learned that my soon to be sister-in-law is from Hue.  Knowing that she will be moving to the Midwest where Vietnamese food is non-existent, I decided to learn a few specialties of central Vietnam so she won't feel so homesick.  I was lucky to be able to learn how to make Banh Bot Loc from my friend's mother.  As for Banh Beo, my first attempt was following the directions on the back of a bag of pre-mixed flour.  It was pretty successful but I know the rice cakes could have been better.  My mother often mix extra ingredients whenever she use a pre-mixed flour bag to make Banh Cuon so I thought I test it out.  After many ups and downs in the kitchen, I have found a recipe which I am very satisfy with the texture of the rice cakes. Every bite is soft and chewy!

I do not make Banh Beo very often because it is very time consuming.  Nowadays I usually only make it when i'm home and with my sister-in-law, because we have develop a pretty efficient system over the years.  I posted a recipe for Banh Beo before using pre-mixed flour package a several years ago, I finally got around to writing an entry this new recipe.   I love and cherish this recipe very much so enjoy!

Batter For the Rice Cakes:

3 cups of rice flour
1 cup of tapioca flour
5 cups of water
a pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Steamer
Little shallow bowls

1.  Mix all the ingredients together and let sit a couple hours to let the flour expand.  I like to mix the flour the night before and use it the next day.
2.  Before steaming make sure you stir the flour mixture again because it may have clumped up.
3.  Add water to your steamer and heat it up.
4.  Brush some cooking oil onto the little bowls and ladle in the rice flour mixture.  How much goes into the bowls depends on how thin you like your cakes to be.
5. Transfer to steamer and let cook for about 5 minutes or until cakes are firm.  Remove and let it cool a bit.

Toppings:

1 lb of shrimp ( I use Argentina shrimp that is naturally more orange, I usually do not add any coloring to my shrimp)
4-5 green onions (minced)
4-5 carrots julienned (optional I like eating pickled carrots with Banh Beo)
cooking oil
vinegar
sugar
fish sauce
water
fresh chili

1.  Wash and peel the shrimps.
2.  Heat up some cooking oil in a pan.  On low heat, cook the shrimp in the oil.  Once cooked remove to paper towel to soak up some of that oil.
3.  Smash the shrimp flat with a pestle on a cutting board.  And then use your hand to shred down the shrimp even more.

4. Transfer shrimp to a non stick pan (NO oil is needed) on low to medium heat.  Stir the shrimp meat until it dries up.  Transfer to a bowl.

5.  Marinade the julienned carrots with half a cup of sugar and 3 tablespoon of vingear.  Mix together, this is how I made super fast pickled carrots.
6.  Heat up some cooking oil in a pan, add the minced green onions.  Let onions cook in the oil.  Transfer to a bowl.
7.  Add 2.5 cups of boiling water to 1 cup of sugar.  Let cool.  Add fish sauce, lime, and fresh chili to the sugar water to make a sauce.

How to Prepare your Banh Beo:

Spread some scallion oil on top of the rice cakes, and then shrimp. Pour lots of fish sauce and pickled carrots on top and enjoy!

Goi Cuon Thit Ba Roi - Vietnamese Summer Roll w/ Pork Belly

Goi Cuon Thit Ba Roi - Vietnamese Summer Roll w/ Pork Belly

Appetizer Noodle Pork Shrimp Vietnamese

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I'm sure many of you are already familiar with Goi Cuon so I won't write too much about it. Like I have said before I love just about anything roll in rice paper. This particular Summer Roll has thinly sliced pork belly, shrimp, vermicelli rice noodle, lettuce, cucumber, and Chinese chives. Most Vietnamese restaurant serve Summer Roll as an appetizer along with a hoison-peanut sauce, I always ask for nuoc mam cham (diluted fish sauce) instead. I'm one of those people that really appreciate a good batch of nuoc mam cham. I actually base restaurant on how well they prepare their nuoc mam cham. I really do see a correlation between how well restaurant cook their food and how well they prepare their fish sauce. Making the perfect fish sauce for dipping require a balance between sugar, lime, chili, water, and fish sauce, and if you can master that you definitely can balance the flavor in other food. I sure have a lot to say about nuoc mam cham therefore I will save that entry for another time.

Ingredients:

pork belly
tiger shrimp
vermicelli rice noodle
rice paper
lettuceEnglish cucumber
Chinese chives
nuoc mam cham

1. Boil a portion of pork belly in water until it is fully cooked. Remove, let it cooled, and then slice thinly.
2. Boil the dry vermicelli rice noodle in water.
3. Cook shrimp the shrimp, in water or microwave, and then cut in half.
4. Wash the lettuce and chives and let it dry.
5. Thinly slice the cucumber into flat strips.

To Roll:

1. Have a bowl of hot water ready.
2. Reconstitute the rice paper in hot water and wait until it's flexible again.
3. Add the remaining ingredient be careful not to over stuff. Fold the two side toward the middle and then roll foward.

Serve with nuoc mam cham and enjoy!

Mi Quang - Quang Nam Noodles

Mi Quang - Quang Nam Noodles

Chicken Noodle Soup Pork Shrimp Vietnamese

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Whoever came up with the idea for mi quang, thank you!  Mi quang originated from Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, hence the name mi quang.  According to my dad mi quang was created during tough times when food were very scarce.  People made the most out of whatever ingredients they have at home.  For that reason, there are many different ways you can make mi quang.  I guess that's why I love this dish so much because you can can throw whatever you want in the pot.

Mi quang is eaten with a lot of fresh vegetables another reason why it appeals to me because i'm a veggie lover.  It is not exactly a soup but it's not like hu tieu kho either.  You add just enough broth to the bowl so you can easily mix all the ingredients together and slurp that thick noodle.  Because you add very little broth, it is important that you season your broth and meat very well.  That's the one thing I notice when I eat a bowl of mi quang from Vietnam versus a bowl from the states.  Mi quang from Vietnam is seasoned very well and I find the mi quang I've had from the states to be too bland.  You almost want to over salt your broth and meat because the vegetables and noodles will balanced everything out.

The most common version of mi quang contain shrimp and pork belly.  Chicken mi quang is a close second.  I've tried it with king crab and beef as well.  Honestly, anything will work!  One day i'm going to have to experiment with fish.  To me the most important part about mi quang is the broth.  It doesn't matter to me if you use pork or chicken to make the broth, the deal breaker is the shrimp head.  I always use shrimp with the head to make mi quang because it gives the broth so much flavor.  I also like using fresh pineapples to give the broth a very subtle tart.

Ingredients:  

1 lb of pork bones
2 lb of pork belly
1 lb of shrimp w/ head
1 can of quail egg

2 yellow onion

2 cups of fresh pineapple (1in chunk)
sesame rice cracker
roasted peanuts
lettuce/bean sprouts/herbs
dry mi quang noodles
rock sugar
mushroom seasoning
salt
fishsauce
paprika
cooking oil
onion salt
garlic powder
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoon of minced shallots
8-10 green onion head ( optional for sweetness)
minced green onions/cilantro (garnish)
lime
chili
water

1.  Par boil your pork bones with plenty of salt.  Rinse with cool water.
2.  Fill a 6 quart pot with water.  Add the clean pork bones to the pot.  Let simmer meat on the bone begin to fall apart and remove scum when necessary.
3. Add the yellow onions, 4 tablespoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of rock sugar, and 1 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning.
4.  Thinly slice the pork belly.   Marinade with a little bit of sugar, 4 tablespoon fish sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 1/2 of the shallots, 1/2 of the minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon of paprika.
6.  Trim your shrimp, you can peel the shell or leave the shell on your preference.
7.  Now it's time to cook all the proteins.
8.  Heat up 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil in a pan,  add the shrimp season with just a dash of fish sauce, paprika and sugar.   Cook shrimp all the way through.
9.  Drain any extra liquid from cooking the shrimp to the broth.   Set shrimp aside for later.
10.  Repeat step #9 with the marinaded pork belly.  You can sprinkle additional paprika for more color.  Don't forget to drain left over liquid to the broth.

11.  Add pineapple chunk to to the broth.
12.  Heat up 1/8 cup of oil and cook the rest of the garlic and shallots until fragrance.  Lower your heat source and then add two tablespoon of paprika.  Let the paprika dissolve into the oil.  This will be the coloring of the broth, add the oil mixture to the broth.
13.  Remove pork bones (you can munch on this) and onions from the pot.  You are left with only the liquid and pineapple chunk.
14.  Taste your broth, remember it's ok to over salt the broth slightly.  Add additional sugar and fish sauce if needed.
15.  Your broth is done!  Prepare green onions, cilantro, lime, quail eggs, roasted peanuts, and fresh greens for eating.

How to Serve
1. At the bottom of the bowl add your lettuce and bean sprouts.
2. Add noodles.
3.  Add the pork belly, shrimp, and quail eggs.
4.  Add the sesame cracker and roasted peanuts.
5.  Add herbs, green onions, and cilantro.
6.  Ladle enough broth to the bowl.
7.  Squeeze some lime and add chili to your liking.
8.  Mix and enjoy!