Banh Bot Chien - Fried Rice Cubes w/ Eggs

Banh Bot Chien - Fried Rice Cubes w/ Eggs

Appetizer Snack Vietnamese

Join 21:40 Add Comment

Crispy cubes of dough dip in a special soy sauce, I can eat these like candies! I actually have no recollection of eating bot chien as a child when I still lived in Vietnam. I was first introduced to this popular street snack in Seattle by my brother. The dough is pan fry to a crisp on the outside but soft and warm on the inside. It doesn't stop there, they scramble these crispy goodness with eggs. Eggs makes everything oh so more delicious! Banh Bot Chien is often pair with a plate of raw green papaya salad. I'm not sure why they are paired that way but the special soy sauce is very similar to the sauce eaten with Green Papaya Beef Jerky Salad.

I always crave these but the thought of mixing flour, steaming, and then frying doesn't really work well with my schedule lately. I'm so glad I found some premade cake at our local Vietnamese market. All you have to do is cut them into small cubes, and then start cooking. In Vietnam, we often eat Bot Chien after dinner almost like a dessert. Over here I like eating these at brunch, you got your eggs and carbohydrate to jump start your metabolism. I would so take Bot Chien over pancakes any day!


Ingredients:

Premade cake
eggs (to your liking because I like A LOT of eggs)
1-2 stalk green onions minced
cooking oil

Sauce:

2 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon of sugar
1/2 tablespoon of water
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of vinegar
fresh chili (optional)



1. Cut cake into the size of your liking.
2. Heat up a pan with a oil.
3. Add 1/2 of the green onions until your can smell fragrance.
4. Add cake cubes to the pan and let it fry to a crisp on the outside.
5. Once the cubes is to a crisp, slightly burned, add enough eggs to cover every single cube. Continue to flip and fry until the eggs are cook.
6. Sprinkle the remaining half of the green onions and serve.

Enjoy!

Banh Bao - Steamed Pork Bun

Banh Bao - Steamed Pork Bun

Pork Snack Vietnamese

Join 16:23 Add Comment

Banh Bao is a Vietnamese variation of a Chinese delicacy, Baozi. They are steamed buns filled with different meats and sweets. You often find mini steamed buns at Chinese buffets with a sesame paste or a yellow custard filling. Walk into any Chinese bakery and you can fine these beautiful plump buns filled with delicious BBQ pork, char siu. The Vietnamese version is usually filled with a seasoned pork mixture, chinese sausage, and eggs. I like eating my banh bao a certain way by tearing it in half and eating the filling first. My favorite part is the shell so I like to save the best for last.

My mom doesn't like making banh bao very often, but now I understand why. It is very time consuming because you have to wait for the dough to rise, make them, and then steam them. I used to watch my mom make these late at night so they will be ready for breakfast the next morning. I remember her making them for the very first time and they still turn out flawless. The buns are a beautiful white color and soft when you bite into them. I should have paid closer attention because I had a hard time getting them to stay close after steaming. Overall I was satisfied with the outcome and I'm begining to like playing with dough.

Ingredients:

1 bag banh bao flour
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of cooking oil
1/2 lb of pork
1/2 medium size jicama diced
1/2 medium size yellow onion diced
1/4 cup of black fungus soften with warm water and then diced
2 chinese sausage link
1 can of quail eggs
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
a couple dash of fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon of chicken bouillon

How to make the dough:

I used the instruction found on the bag

1. Save 1 tablespoon of flour for later use.
2. Combine sugar, flour, and milk.
3. Knead dough for 15 minutes.
4. Add cooking oil to dough and continue to knead for 10 minutes.
5. Wrap up the dough and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.

Filling:

1. Combine pork, onions, jicama, black fungus, salt, pepper, and fish sauce. Taste to your liking.
2. Cut each sausage link into 10 smaller pieces.
3. Rinse quail eggs.


How to make the bun:

The bag states that you should be able to make 18 buns. I didn't really portion uniformly because I made a few mini buns, a few standard size, and some without fillings. Basically this was a trial cooking of banh bao :) I do suggest you getting a small rolling pin because it's a lot easier to work with.

1. Cut the the dough into smaller portion to your liking and roll it into a ball. Make sure you cover whatever you are not working with because they will harden.
2. Flatten the dough with your palm and then use the rolling pin to shape and flatten your dough more evenly. This is a good time to use the flour you saved from before. Rub some on the rolling pin and the surface you are working on.
3. Once you get it into a flat circular shape, you are now ready for the filling. Scoop about 1/2-1 tablespoon portion of the pork mixture. Add the chinese sausage and quail eggs as well.
4. Begin bringing the corner of the dough to the middle and scrunch them together. Twist and seal the dough together.


It takes about 10 minutes to steam a batch of 5 buns. Enjoy!