Banh Beo
A Vietnamese snack built around rice flour and tapioca starch — on the table in 45 minutes.
✓ USDA-verified nutrition data
398 calories
13g protein
59g carbs
12g fat
2g fiber
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups Rice flour
- 1/4 cup Tapioca starch
- 3 cups Water
- 1/2 cup Dried shrimp
- 1/4 cup Split mung beans
- 4 Scallions
- 3 tbsp Neutral oil
- 1/4 cup Fried shallots
- 1/3 cup Fish sauce
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- 2 tbsp Lime juice
- 2 cloves Garlic
Steps
- Whisk the rice flour, tapioca starch, water, and a pinch of salt into a thin batter and rest 20 minutes. The batter should be the consistency of whole milk.
- Steam the mung beans until soft, then mash with salt. Pound the dried shrimp in a mortar to a fluffy orange floss; this takes a few minutes but the texture is unmistakable.
- Oil small ramekins or saucers and set them in a steamer over boiling water to heat for 2 minutes. Hot dishes set the batter on contact and prevent sticking.
- Pour a thin layer of batter into each dish, about 2 tablespoons, and steam 5 minutes until the centers turn opaque and the cakes pull from the sides.
- Top each cake with mung bean, shrimp floss, scallion oil, and fried shallots.
- Stir fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, garlic, and warm water into a light dipping sauce.
- Spoon the sauce over each little cake and eat them straight from the dish. They are meant to be small, so make plenty.