Mai

Bánh giò is a classic Vietnamese savory rice-flour cake and another one of my favorites. It is unclear how the name of the dish came to be. Since “giò” refers to Vietnamese sausage (e.g. giò lụa), some believe that vendors used the lean part of pork to make the sausages and the rest to make bánh giò- hence the name.

This rice flour cake slash dumpling is made from non-glutinous rice flour, tapioca starch and bone broth. You can of course, make the batter with water instead of broth- but this would take away at least 20% of the flavor.

The filling is the classic Vietnamese combination of ground pork, wood-ear and shiitake mushrooms, and shallot- also used in bánh đúc nóng, bánh gối, bánh tẻ, bánh cuốn, nem rán, and more. To make this halal or kosher, you can use ground chicken. Some vendors include a quail egg and some don’t. I personally love the quail eggs, but it’s up to your personal preference!

The filling is seasoned with bouillon, fish sauce, and ground black pepper. While the seasoning and flavors are very simple, the combination of the soft and supple exterior which is umami with a hint of herbalness from the banana leaf, and the savory fragrant filling makes this a crowd favorite.

It is usually served with pieces of giò lụa or giò bò, Vietnamese pork or beef sausage, and tương ớt – a chili sauce, like sriracha or chinsu.

INGREDIENTS

• Rice flour – Bột gạo tẻ: Regular/non-glutinous rice flour. The main ingredient in 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 gluten-free starch that comes from the cassava plant. It can be used to thicken soups, stews and sauces; coat foods for frying; or add bounce/chewiness to a dough. For recipes with tapioca starch, click HERE.
• Pork/chicken bone broth or water – Nước hầm xương heo/gà hoặc nước lọc
• Salt – Muối
• Bouillon – Hạt nêm: think broth, but in solid form. Bouillon is an amazingly easy way to bring that umami flavor to your food. We use it instead of salt in many of our dishes. You can usually find chicken, pork, or mushroom bouillon. In Vietnam, Knorr is the most common brand. However, we have only been able to find Knorr in powder form in the US and France, not granules. Instead, we use Totole brand chicken or mushroom bouillon. The quantities on our website are based on the granule-type so if you use powder, adjust to your taste.
• Vegetable oil – Dầu thực vật
• Ground pork – Thịt heo xay/thịt heo băm
• Quail eggs – Trứng cút
• Wood-ear mushrooms – Nấm mộc nhĩ/nấm tai mèo: They don’t bring too much in terms of flavors, but texturally, they are irreplaceable. Crunchy and a bit chewy, wood-ear mushrooms add textural interest, especially to a meaty filling, which is why the trio of wood-ear, shiitake, and minced pork is such a common filling found in many dishes. For recipes with wood-ear mushrooms, click HERE.
• Shiitake mushrooms – Nấm đông cô/nấm hương: These incredibly fragrant mushrooms are a staple in Vietnamese cuisine. Commonly paired with wood-ear mushrooms, this dynamic duo is in more Vietnamese dishes than I can count. For recipes with shiitake mushrooms, click HERE.
• Shallot – Hành khô/hành tím
• 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.).
• Ground black pepper – Tiêu đen xay
• Banana leaves – Lá chuối

DIRECTIONS

1. If making your own broth: parboil bones for 2-3 minutes before rinsing to clean off scum, then add to pot with water, onion, and salt. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer for at least 1 hour, then strain, and let cool.
2. Add rice flour and tapioca starch to a large pot. Pour in cooled broth and whisk until no lumps remain.
3. Add in salt and bouillon to taste and whisk (you should be able to taste the salt, but it shouldn’t be more salty than a soup). Set aside for at least 1 hour.
4. Poor boiling water over wood-ear and shiitake mushrooms to rehydrate.
5. Bring a small pot of water to boil, add quail eggs, and boil for 7-8 minutes. Remove them to an ice bath, then peel and set aside.
6. Rinse, then finely chop the rehydrated mushrooms.
7. Mince shallot.
8. Cut banana leaves into ~26-30cm squares. If using, cut food wrap or foil into same size squares.
   Note: you can either wrap the bánh giò with 2 layers of banana leaf, or you can use one layer of banana leaf along with a layer of food wrap or aluminium foil. The first option looks nicer, whereas the second is easier- since the food wrap or foil help keep the bánh giò together. If you use 2 layers of banana leaf, you will need twice the amount of leaf squares as the number of bánh giò you’re making (i.e. 20 squares for 10 bánh giò). If you’re using one layer, you will ned the same number of leaf squares as the number of bánh giò, but you will also need the same number of food wrap/foil squares (i.e. 10 leaf squares and 10 wrap/foil squares for 10 bánh giò).
9. Wash banana leaf squares.
10. Bring a large pot of water to boil and poach each banana leaf square for about 15-20 seconds. Wipe dry.
11. Place two banana leaf squares together or 1 piece of wrap/foil at the bottom, then one banana leaf square on top.
12. Fold the pair of layers from the bottom left corner up to the top right corner into a triangle.
13. Now fold this triangle in half to make a smaller triangle. Repeat with all remaining pairs of layers.
14. Heat a pan on medium and add vegetable oil.
15. Add shallot and sauté for 30 seconds.
16. Add in the pork and bouillon. Sauté, breaking up the chunks with a spatula until no longer pink.
17. Add in mushrooms and sauté for 1 minute.
18. Season to taste with fish sauce, then add in ground black pepper and mix well. Remove from heat.
19. Place pot of batter on the stove and add vegetable oil.
20. Heat on medium, stirring continuously. The batter will start to thicken and lumps will start to form. Continue stirring.
21. Once 75% of the liquid is gone, reduce heat to medium low and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain. Reduce heat to the lowest level.
22. Hold a leaf triangle with the closed tip at the bottom in your hand and the open side at the top.
23. Open it into a funnel so that 2 layers are on one side and all the rest are on the other.
24. Add a generous spoonful of batter to the bottom of the funnel and spread it into a thin layer halfway up the sides.
25. Add in a small spoon of the filling, followed by a quail egg, and about two more spoons of the filling to cover the egg.
26. Scoop in 2-3 more generous spoonfuls of batter to completely cover the filling and smooth it out with the back of the spoon or a spatula.
27. Fold the side with only 2 layers down over the batter, right at the point where the batter stops. Fold down the opposite side.
28. Fold in the two flaps and tuck one underneath the other to seal the bánh giò.
29. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling.
30. Add water to a steamer pot and bring to boil on high.
31. Once boiling, add the bánh giò into the steamer basket.
    TIP: place as many as you can into the basket with the pointy side up. If they do not all fit, place the rest pointy side down, nestled in between the others so that the tip does not get crushed.
32. Add the lid, reduce heat to medium high, and steam for 25 minutes.
33. Carefully remove from pot and let sit pointy side up for at least 5 minutes to fully set.
34. Serve while hot by themselves or with some giò lụa/giò bò (Vietnamese sausage). Some people enjoy them with a chili sauce like sriracha or chinsu.
    Storage: I do not recommend freezing uncooked bánh giò because this will change the texture of the uncooked dough too much. On the otherhand, cooked bánh giò freezes very well. I recommend letting them cool for at least half an hour after steaming, then placing in the fridge for a few hours before placing in the freezer.
    Reheat: For cooked bánh giò in the fridge, microwave 3 minutes or steam 5-7 minutes. For frozen bánh giò, let thaw overnight in the fridge, then steam for 15-20 minutes or microwave for 4-5 minutes.

RECIPE VIDEO

Bánh giò • Vietnamese pyramid rice cake

Recipe by MM Bon Appétit Course: Main, BreakfastCuisine: VietnameseDifficulty: Medium

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

0

minutes

A plump and tender pyramid-shaped rice flour cake/dumpling filled with a savory mixture of ground pork and mushrooms.

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Batter

• 200 g 200 rice flour

• 50 g 50 tapioca starch

• 1 liter 1 pork/chicken bone broth (store-bought or made from 1.5 liter water + 500g pork/chicken bones + 1/2 onion + 2 tsp salt) or water

• 1 tsp 1 salt

• 2 tsp 2 bouillon (to taste)

• 1 tbsp 1 vegetable oil

• Filling

• 250 g 250 ground pork

• 10 10 quail eggs

• 10 g 10 wood-ear mushrooms (dry)

• 10 g 10 shiitake mushrooms (dry)

• 1 1 shallot

• 1 tbsp 1 vegetable oil

• 1 tsp 1 bouillon

• 2 tsp 2 fish sauce (to taste)

• 1 tsp 1 ground black pepper

• Others

• Banana leaves (optional: food wrap or aluminium foil) – See Notes

Directions

• If making your own broth: parboil bones for 2-3 minutes before rinsing to clean off scum, then add to pot with water, onion, and salt. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer for at least 1 hour, then strain, and let cool.
• Add rice flour and tapioca starch to a large pot. Pour in cooled broth and whisk until no lumps remain.
• Add in salt and bouillon to taste and whisk (you should be able to taste the salt, but it shouldn’t be more salty than a soup). Set aside for at least 1 hour.
• Poor boiling water over wood-ear and shiitake mushrooms to rehydrate.
• Bring a small pot of water to boil, add quail eggs, and boil for 7-8 minutes. Remove them to an ice bath, then peel and set aside.
• Rinse, then finely chop the rehydrated mushrooms.
• Mince shallot.
• Cut banana leaves into ~26-30cm squares. If using, cut food wrap or foil into same size squares (see Notes).
• Wash banana leaf squares.
• Bring a large pot of water to boil and poach each banana leaf square for about 15-20 seconds. Wipe dry.
• Place two banana leaf squares together or 1 piece of wrap/foil at the bottom, then one banana leaf square on top.
• Fold the pair of layers from the bottom left corner up to the top right corner into a triangle.
• Now fold this triangle in half to make a smaller triangle. Repeat with all remaining pairs of layers.
• Heat a pan on medium and add vegetable oil.
• Add shallot and sauté for 30 seconds.
• Add in the pork and bouillon. Sauté, breaking up the chunks with a spatula until no longer pink.
• Add in mushrooms and sauté for 1 minute.
• Season to taste with fish sauce, then add in ground black pepper and mix well. Remove from heat.
• Place pot of batter on the stove and add vegetable oil.
• Heat on medium, stirring continuously. The batter will start to thicken and lumps will start to form. Continue stirring.
• Once 75% of the liquid is gone, reduce heat to medium low and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain. Reduce heat to the lowest level.
• Hold a leaf triangle with the closed tip at the bottom in your hand and the open side at the top.
• Open it into a funnel so that 2 layers are on one side and all the rest are on the other.
• Add a generous spoonful of batter to the bottom of the funnel and spread it into a thin layer halfway up the sides.
• Add in a small spoon of the filling, followed by a quail egg, and about two more spoons of the filling to cover the egg.
• Scoop in 2-3 more generous spoonfuls of batter to completely cover the filling and smooth it out with the back of the spoon or a spatula.
• Fold the side with only 2 layers down over the batter, right at the point where the batter stops. Fold down the opposite side.
• Fold in the two flaps and tuck one underneath the other to seal the bánh giò.
• Repeat with the remaining batter and filling.
• Add water to a steamer pot and bring to boil on high.
• Once boiling, add the bánh giò into the steamer basket.
  TIP: place as many as you can into the basket with the pointy side up. If they do not all fit, place the rest pointy side down, nestled in between the others so that the tip does not get crushed.
• Add the lid, reduce heat to medium high, and steam for 25 minutes.
• Carefully remove from pot and let sit pointy side up for at least 5 minutes to fully set.
• Serve while hot by themselves or with some giò lụa/giò bò (Vietnamese sausage). Some people enjoy them with a chili sauce like sriracha or chinsu.
  See Notes for storage and reheating instructions

Recipe Video

Notes

• Banana leaves: you can either wrap the bánh giò with 2 layers of banana leaf, or you can use one layer of banana leaf along with a layer of food wrap or aluminium foil. The first option looks nicer, whereas the second is easier- since the food wrap or foil help keep the bánh giò together. If you use 2 layers of banana leaf, you will need twice the amount of leaf squares as the number of bánh giò you’re making (i.e. 20 squares for 10 bánh giò). If you’re using one layer, you will ned the same number of leaf squares as the number of bánh giò, but you will also need the same number of food wrap/foil squares (i.e. 10 leaf squares and 10 wrap/foil squares for 10 bánh giò).
• Storage: I do not recommend freezing uncooked bánh giò because this will change the texture of the uncooked dough too much. On the otherhand, cooked bánh giò freezes very well. I recommend letting them cool for at least half an hour after steaming, then placing in the fridge for a few hours before placing in the freezer.
• Reheat: For cooked bánh giò in the fridge, microwave 3 minutes or steam 5-7 minutes. For frozen bánh giò, let thaw overnight in the fridge, then steam for 15-20 minutes or microwave for 4-5 minutes.

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