This dish originated from the city of Huế, which is where my dad’s side of the family is from. “Bánh” in Vietnamese loosely translates to “cake” and “bèo” means duckweed – aptly named because these cakes resemble the circular leaves that float on water in lakes and ponds.

There are different versions of bánh bèo with different toppings across the country, but the classic Huế version consists of flat rice cakes steamed in small ceramic dishes, topped with mashed mung beans, shrimp floss, scallion oil, crispy pork rind, and a sweet and savory sauce.

While shrimp is a classic topping, the cakes themselves are vegan, so you can definitely omit or use an alternative to make this dish vegan!

The city of Huế was the old Imperial city and the capital for the Nguyễn dynasty from late 19th to mid 20th century. Huế cuisine is known for being flavorful, complex, and “fussy” or intricate due to the influence of royal culture. You’ll find incredibly presented dishes like “Nem công, chả phượng”, i.e. Peacock fried rolls and Phoenix meat loaf.

A really popular category of Huế foods is rice cakes: bánh nậm, bánh bột lọc, bánh ram ít, and of course bánh bèo. In Vietnam, you’ll find specialized Huế food restaurants that serve a variety. Each order is small so you can have a taste of everything – think dimsum and tapas. This was one of my family’s favorite Sunday brunch options: we would start with a few different types of rice cakes and finish by sharing some bún bò Huế.

I love all Huế rice cakes, but bánh bèo might be my favorite. The combination of all the different flavors and textures checks all the boxes. Plus, scooping the cakes from their little dishes is just so much fun.

INGREDIENTS FOR BÁNH BÈO

• Rice flour – Bột gạo tẻ: Regular non-glutinous rice flour – the base of our rice cake, along with hundreds of other “rice cakes” that we have in Vietnamese cuisine. It is naturally gluten free. For other recipes with rice flour, click HERE.
• Tapioca starch – Bột năng: A common binding/crispifying/thickening agent in Vietnamese cuisine. In this recipe, it helps bind the rice flour and gives the rice cake bounciness. For other recipes with tapioca starch, click HERE.
• Mung beans – Đậu xanh: They are commonly used as a filling for sweet or savory cakes and in chè (Vietnamese sweet soups). Peeled split mung beans are the most convenient type to use. Your best bet to find them is at your local Asian/International grocery store, particularly in the Indian section as “moong dal”. Some of my other favorite dishes with mung beans are bánh xèo and xôi xéo.
• Dried shrimps – Tôm khô: A pantry must-have for most Vietnamese households. As with other dried ingredients, the flavors have been super concentrated through the drying process. Dried shrimps are an easy way to add umami and depth to broths and soups. My family commonly uses them for canh – vegetable-based soups that are always present on the dinner table. You can find dried shrimps in the refrigerated or freezer section at Asian/International grocery stores, or buy them directly from brands like Khô Market (US-based).
• Green onion – Hành lá
• Pork crackling – Da heo chiên giòn
• Fish sauce – Nước mắm: arguably the most important seasoning sauce in Vietnamese cuisine. Made from fermented anchovies, it is salty and incredibly umami. Non-vegan Vietnamese recipes without fish sauce are very rare. The best nước mắm comes from Phú Quốc or surrounding islands off the coast- Southwest of mainland Vietnam. Our favorite brand available outside of Vietnam is Red Boat (U.S.).
• White granulated sugar – Đường cát trắng
• Salt – Muối
• Vegetable oil – Dầu thực vật
• Water – Nước

TOOLS FOR BÁNH BÈO

• Shallow ceramic dishes – the same type used for dipping sauces (9-10m cm diameter)
• Steamer/steamer pot
• Blender/food processor or mortar and pestle

DIRECTIONS FOR BÁNH BÈO

1. Rinse mung beans 2-3 times, then add to a bowl and pour in water to soak for 3 hours.
2. After 2 hours, add shrimps in a bowl along with warm water and let soak for 30 minutes.
3. While shrimp is soaking: add rice flour, tapioca starch, and salt to a large bowl.
4. Add room-temperature water and whisk until you have a smooth batter with no lumps.
5. Add boiling water gradually while whisking continuously until fully combined.
6. Cover the bowl with a lid or food wrap and let rest for at least an hour.
7. Dice green onion greens.
8. Heat a small pan on medium and add the oil from the Scallion oil section.
9. Once the oil is simmering, add diced green onion and sauté for 1 minute.
10. Pour the scallion oil into a small bowl and set aside.
11. After 30 minutes of soaking, strain and de-vein shrimps if needed.
12. Add the shrimps to a pot along with the water in the Shrimp floss section.
13. Bring to boil on medium, add a lid, and cook for 5 minutes.
14. Strain the shrimp broth into a bowl and set the shrimps aside.
15. To the shrimp broth, add fish sauce and sugar from the Sauce section. Stir until the sugar has fully dissolved and set aside.
16. Add the shrimps to a food processor/blender and blend until you have fine flakes.
    You can also use a mortar and pestle to crush the shrimps.
17. Heat a pan on medium, add the blended shrimp flakes along with fish sauce and sugar.
18. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring continuously to beak up clumps and prevent burning, until dry and fluffy. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
19. Strain the mung beans, then add to a small pot with water and salt.
20. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium low, cover with lid, then cook for 7-10 minutes until tender. The beans should no longer have a hard center.
    NOTE: if you are comfortable with multitasking, as soon as the mung beans are done cooking, start steps 23-25 then return to steps 21-22 while the dishes are pre-heating.
21. Strain the mung beans well, add to a bowl, and mash. I like using a pestle for this.
22. Add salt and sugar, mix to fully combine, and set aside.
23. Add water to your pot, place on the stove, and place the steamer on top.
24. Arrange the ceramic dishes inside the steamer, add the lid, and bring water to boil.
    NOTE: if your lid is glass or metal, wrap it in a towel to reduce the amount of condensation that will slide back down to the dishes.
25. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and set timer for 10 minutes. This step of pre-heating the dishes allow the cakes to cook evenly and create the iconic divot in the center.
26. Add vegetable oil to the rice flour batter and whisk.
27. Optional but recommended: Pour the batter into a jug/pitcher with a spout. This allows you to pour the batter in a clean steady stream.
28. After the dishes have pre-heated for 10 minutes, pour enough batter in each dish to create a ~1cm layer. Try to pour from a height of at least 5-10 cm above the surface of the dishes. This will help create the divot in the center of the rice cakes.
29. Add the lid back onto the steamer and steam for 7 minutes.
30. Carefully remove the dishes from the steamer with tongs or oven mitts and set them on the counter.
31. Let them sit for 2-3 minutes. In the meantime, gather your toppings for assembly.
32. Assemble by adding some mashed mung bean, shrimp floss, scallion oil, and a piece of crackling on top of each rice cake.
33. Serve with the sauce on the side. When you’re ready to eat:
    – Pour a little bit of sauce on top of a bánh bèo
    – Pick up the dish and a spoon
    – Insert your spoon into a spot between the cake and the side wall of the dish
    – Turn the spoon and/or dish to separate the cake from the dish.
    – I like using the spoon to cut the cake in half down the center, but you can eat the whole thing in one bite if you wish!
    – Scoop and enjoy!

RECIPE VIDEO