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Bánh bột lọc
Tapioca dumplings with prawn and pork
Bánh bột lọc lá: Huế tapioca dumplings with prawn and pork belly, steamed in banana leaf
Huế's market stalls pile up flat banana-leaf packets of bánh bột lọc for an afternoon snack, unwrapped at the table and dipped in sweet, chilli-hot fish sauce. Inside each is a chewy, see-through tapioca dough with a single prawn and a nugget of pork belly cooked down with fish sauce and annatto, so you can see the orange filling glowing through. The prawn and pork are cooked before wrapping, then steamed again. Chef's tip: mix the tapioca starch with boiling water, not warm; with water that is not hot enough the dough stays crumbly and splits around the filling.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the filling
- 5 ½ oz pork bellyskin removed, cut into 24 small cubes
- 24 small raw prawnsabout 250 g, shell on, deveined
- 2 shallotsfinely chopped
- 1 ½ tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp annatto oilor neutral oil with a pinch of paprika
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the dough
- 10 ½ oz tapioca starch
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup boiling water
To wrap and serve
- 24 pieces banana leavescut into 12 × 15 cm rectangles, oiled
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Fry 2 shallots in 1 tbsp annatto oil in a small pan over a medium heat until soft and orange.
2 minStep 2: Add 5 ½ oz pork belly and fry until the fat starts to render and no pink remains, then add 24 small raw prawns, 1 ½ tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar and ½ tsp black pepper. Toss over a medium-high heat until the prawns are pink and curled and the sauce has reduced to a sticky glaze.
8 minStep 3: Cool the filling. Leave the prawn shells on if you like the crunch Huế cooks prefer, or peel them.
10 minStep 4: Mix 10 ½ oz tapioca starch and ½ tsp salt in a bowl, pour over 1 cup boiling water and stir fast with chopsticks, then knead with oiled hands into a smooth, putty-like dough that does not crack at the edges.
6 minStep 5: Lay a 24 pieces banana leaves rectangle shiny side up, press a walnut-sized piece of dough into a thin 6 × 3 cm strip, place a prawn and a cube of pork on it and fold the leaf over so the dough closes around the filling. Fold the ends under.
25 minStep 6: Steam the packets in a single layer over boiling water on a high heat until the dough has turned completely clear, with no white patches.
20 minStep 7: Serve warm in their leaves with ¾ cup nước chấm (sweet chilli fish-sauce dip) for dipping.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 310 kcal
- Protein
- 12 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
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Good to know
- How long does bánh bột lọc take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 50 minutes to prepare and 40 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 gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of shallots?
- Half an onion per 2 shallots.
- What can I use instead of fish sauce?
- Soy sauce with a squeeze of lime (vegetarian).
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