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Bánh bò hấp (steamed honeycomb rice cake)
Springy, chewy little steamed cakes of rice flour and coconut milk, plain or pandan green
Bánh bò hấp are the soft, puffed rice cakes sold from glass-fronted carts in southern Vietnam, and children in the Mekong Delta pick them up in white, pink or pandan green on the way home from school. The yeasted rice-flour batter is steamed in small cups, so each cake splits open on top like a flower and is chewy and bouncy inside, with a gentle coconut flavour. The sugar here is a little lower than in market versions. None of the common allergens are in it. Chef's tip: steam over fierce, rolling boiling water; a gentle simmer gives flat, dense cakes that don't open.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 7 oz rice flournot glutinous
- 1 oz tapioca starch
- 3 ⅛ oz sugar
- 1 ½ tsp instant yeast
- ¾ cup warm waterabout 40 °C
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ tsp pandan extract (optional)for green cakes
- 1 tsp vegetable oilfor the moulds
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Whisk 3 ⅛ oz sugar into ¾ cup warm water until dissolved, then stir in 1 ½ tsp instant yeast and leave for 5 minutes until it foams.
5 minStep 2: Mix 7 oz rice flour, 1 oz tapioca starch and 1 pinch salt in a bowl, pour in the yeast water and ½ cup coconut milk and whisk to a smooth, thin batter like single cream. Stir in ½ tsp pandan extract, if using.
Step 3: Cover and leave in a warm place for 60–90 minutes, until the surface is covered in small bubbles and smells slightly yeasty. Rising time is not counted in the times above.
10 minStep 4: Bring a steamer to a rolling boil. Brush 12 small cups or silicone moulds with 1 tsp vegetable oil and set them in the steamer basket to heat for 2 minutes.
2 minStep 5: Stir the batter gently, then fill each hot cup almost to the top. The common mistake is underfilling: the cakes need the full depth to push up and split open.
1 minStep 6: Cover with a lid wrapped in a tea towel, so drips don't fall on the cakes, and steam on a high heat for 12–15 minutes, without lifting the lid for the first 10. They are done when risen, split on top and a skewer comes out clean.
15 minStep 7: Cool for 10 minutes, then ease them out with a small spatula. Eat the same day; they firm up in the fridge, but a minute in the steamer softens them again.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bánh bò hấp (steamed honeycomb rice cake) take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of coconut milk?
- Single cream, same amount (not dairy free).
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