Meaty fillings encased in dough transcends cultures. So many different peoples have come up with their own version- there’s the Cornish pasty, Eastern European piroshki, Jamaican patty, Spanish & Latin American empanada, Levantine fatayer, South Asian samosa, Southeast Asian curry puff, Cantonese ham sui gok- you get the idea.

Vietnam’s version is called bánh gối or bánh xếp- depending on the region you’re in. Both of these names refer to the shape/design of the pastry: “Gối” means pillow and “xếp” means fold. The most common version is filled with the tried and true Vietnamese filling of ground pork, and woodear and shiitake mushrooms, with the addition of jicama, carrots, miến noodles, quail eggs and lạp xưởng- Chinese lap cheong sausage.

The patties are fried until golden a crispy, then served with lettuce and herbs, alongside our classic savory, sweet, and tangy nước mắm chấm. Vietnamese cuisine is a beautiful tapestry of many influences due to the country’s long history of international trading, colonization, wars, and migrations, as you can clearly see in this recipe.

If you are ever in Hà Nội, the most famous bánh gối shop in the city is on Lý Quốc Sư street and has been in operations since 1983.

INGREDIENTS

Dough

• All-purpose flour – Bột mì đa dụng
• Rice flour – Bột gạo
• Baking powder – Bột nở
• Salt – Muối
• Egg – Trứng
• Turmeric powder – Bột nghệ
• Vegetable oil – Dầu thực vật

Filling

• Ground pork – Thịt heo xay/băm
• 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.
• Carrot – Cà rốt
• Jicama – củ sắn/củ đậu
• White onion – Hành tây trắng
• Mung bean/bean thread noodles – Miến đậu xanh
• 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.).
• 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.
• Ground black pepper – Tiêu đen xay
• Quail eggs – Trứng cút
• Lap cheong Chinese sausage – Lạp xưởng/lạp sườn

DIRECTIONS

Make the dough

1. Sift the all-purpose flour, rice flour, baking powder turmeric powder into a large bowl. Add salt and mix.
2. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add in the oil and egg. With your hand or a spatula, mix until you get a rough crumbly mixture.
3. Pour in the water and continue to mix until the dough sticks together, forming a lump.
   On a floured surface, gently knead dough for a few minutes until smooth. If the dough seems too wet or too dry, add a bit of flour or water, respectively. Do not over-knead.
4. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover, and let rest for 1 hour at room temperature.

Make the filling

1. In the meantime, rehydrate woodear and shiitake mushrooms in a bowl with boiling water.
2. Soak mung bean noodles in room temperature water.
3. Bring a small pot of water to boil, add the quail eggs, then cook for 6 minutes. Remove the eggs to an ice bath until cool. Peel and set aside.
4. Peel carrots and kohlrabi, then dice into small 1/2cm cubes.
5. Peel and dice onion.
6. Once mushrooms have rehydrated: rinse, drain, then finely chop. I like doing this by cutting them into thin ribbons/strips first, then turning those strips 90° and chop.
7. Cut the sausages into 1/2cm-thick diagonal slices. Set aside.
8. Drain mung bean noodles, then chop into1/2-1cm lengths (or cut with scissors).
9. To a bowl, add the ground pork, mushrooms, carrot, kohlrabi, onion, and noodles, along with fish sauce, bouillon, and ground black pepper.
10. Mix well until everything is fully combined.

Make the dipping sauce

1. If you are using carrot and kohlrabi for the dipping sauce: thinly slice them, add to a bowl, sprinkle some salt, mix gently and let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Mince garlic and bird’s eye chili (if using).
3. In a bowl, combine the fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, and water. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then add in the garlic & chili.
4. Rinse the carrot and kohlrabi with water, then add to the dipping sauce.

Assemble the pies

1. Dust your work surface with a little bit of flour.
2. Cut your dough into the number of bánh gối you are making.
   You can cut the dough block like a pizza, or gently roll it into a long log and cut into sections, cross-wise.
3. Shape each piece of dough into a circle, press down gently with your hand, then use a rolling pin to roll into a circle of ~10cm diameter.
   As you roll the dough circles, do not stack them as they might stick together. To prevent the rolled out circles from drying, you can cover them with a kitchen towel.
4. To fill: Place a quail egg in the center. Add about 2 tbsps of filling around the quail egg in the top half of the circle. Place a slice of lap-cheong sausage on top.
5. Dip a finger into water and brush along the edge of the top half of the circle. Fold the bottom half of the circle up so that the edges meet and press the edges together gently to seal. Gently press around to even out the filling if needed.
6. Starting from one folded corner, press down with your thumb, then place your thumb under the flap and fold up to create the first pleat.
7. Press down with your thumb again on the edge of the first pleat, then place your thumb under the flap and fold up to create the second pleat. You can continue all around or until the middle and mirror on the other side until the pleats meet in the middle.
8. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling

Fry the pies

1. Heat vegetable oil over medium in a large frying pan or pot with deep sides. The oil is ready when it bubbles around a wooden chopstick and spatula.
2. Add in a few pies at a time, depending on the size of your pan. Fry until golden on both sides.
   Remove to oil-draining rack.
3. Serve immediately while hot with dipping sauce, lettuce, and herbs.