If you know, you know… And if you don’t know, trust me, you want to!

Definitely one of my favorite childhood street foods, growing up in Ho Chi Minh city. Bánh bột chiên is a Chinese-influenced dish, likely popularized in Sài Gòn by người Hoa (Ethnically-Chinese Vietnamese people). It is similar to Chai tow kway.

Pieces of rice cake are fried until crispy, then cooked into a flat “cake” with eggs, and doused in a sweet & tangy soy sauce. It made the perfect after school meal.

My mom would come pick me up from elementary school and on our walk home, I would beg to stop at the street vendor selling this. We would sit on little plastic chairs in front of flimsy fold out tables, drooling at the smell of bánh bột chiên being cooked while waiting for a steaming plate to be placed in front of us.

Some stalls use plain rice cakes – that’s the version I grew up with, whereas others use rice cakes with bits of radish, turnip, or taro.

You might be able to find pre-made packaged blocks of rice cake for bánh bột chiên at Asian grocery stores- they look something like this:

If you can, this will be a super easy 15 minute recipe. If you can’t, don’t worry- I’ll show you how to make it from scratch at home. It is not complicated, but does take some time and patience.

BONUS: this dish is vegetarian and gluten free!

INGREDIENTS FOR BÁNH BỘT CHIÊN

• Pre-made rice cake block: you may be able to find this at your local Asian grocery store. You might find plain cakes or ones with bits of radish, turnip, or taro. It’s up to your personal preference, any will work. Or see ingredients and instructions below to make it yourself!
• Rice flour – Bột gao 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.
• Black vinegar – Dấm đen: Adds some lovely flavor and tanginess to the sauce. Traditionally the sauce uses black vinegar and I recommend this for better flavor, but you can also use white rice vinegar in a pinch.
• Eggs – Trứng
• Daikon radish – Củ cải trắng
• Carrot – Cà rốt
• Green onion – Hành lá
• Soy sauce – Nước tương
• Salt – Muối
• White granulated sugar – Đường cát trắng
• Vegetable oil – Dầu thực vật

DIRECTIONS FOR BÁNH BỘT CHIÊN

Make the rice cake block

1. In a large mixing bowl, add rice flour, tapioca starch (minus the extra tbsp), salt, and warm water. Whisk until the batter is smooth and no clumps remain.
2. Let sit for 30 minutes for flour to fully absorb water.
3. Add the vegetable oil in the Rice cake batter section to the batter and whisk.
4. Pour batter into a sauce pan or pot and heat on medium low.
5. Stir batter continuously, making sure you are scraping the bottom and sides of the pan/pot to prevent batter from getting stuck and burnt.
6. When about 3/4 of the liquid is gone (after about 5 minutes), remove from heat and continue to stir. The batter will continue to cook and thicken.
7. You can stop stirring once all of the batter is thick and there is no more liquid.
8. Optional: Stir in the extra tapioca starch. This helps remove the lumps and smooth out the batter.
9. Oil a metal baking pan. It can be rectangular or round, as long as it fits in your steamer/water bath. The pan should be large enough that your batter forms a 2-3cm layer.
10. Scoop the batter into the baking pan. Use a silicone spatula to create an even layer and smooth out the surface.
11. Pour the vegetable oil from the For steaming rice cake section on top and brush it across the surface.
12. Add the baking pan to a steamer or a water-bath. I use a large pan. If using a water-bath, add water halfway up the sides of the baking pan.
13. Bring the water to boil on medium high.
14. Once the water is boiling, wrap lid in a clean kitchen towel and place on top. The towel will absorb water condensation and prevent it from falling onto the cake.
15. Steam for 25-30 minutes, starting from when water is boiling.
16. When the cake is done steaming, let cool on the counter for 30 minutes.
17. Cover with a lid or foil (to prevent it from drying out) and place in the fridge for another 30 minutes to cool completely.

Make the sauce and prep toppings (start here if you are using pre-made rice cake)

1. Peel and julienne the daikon radish and carrot. We want these to be as thin as possible since they will be served raw on top of the finished bánh bột chiên.
2. Slice the green parts of green onions.
3. In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the sauce.

Make bánh bột chiên

1. Cut the cake into strips, then into small pieces. The size of these pieces is up to your personal preference. They can be square or rectangle. I recommend cutting them no larger than 3 cm on each side. The thickness should be around 1-1.5cm.
2. Place the rice cake pieces into a mixing bowl and add soy sauce from the For marinating and frying section. Mix or toss to ensure all pieces are coated.
3. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes.
4. Choose a frying pan large enough to fit one serving of rice cake pieces in a single layer. Heat on medium and add oil.
5. Once the oil is ready, add the rice cake pieces in a single layer.
6. Fry for about 4-5 minutes, flipping so that both sides are golden and crispy.
   Don’t fry them longer than 5 minutes, this will cause the rice cakes to dry out and harden.
7. Crack two eggs on top. Use a spatula to break the yolks and spread them around.
8. Reduce heat to medium low to prevent the egg from burning and cook until the egg is no longer runny – about 4 minutes.
9. Transfer the cake to a plate, add some julienned radish & carrot and sprinkle sliced green onion on top.
10. Serve with the sauce on the side, to be drizzled on top when ready to be eaten. If you like spicy, add chili sauce or chili oil!

RECIPE VIDEO