Vietnamese Bánh Bò Recipe
Bánh bò is believed to have originated from Southern China. However, the Chinese version, known as Bái Táng Gāo, does not include coconut milk.In Vietnamese, bánh means "cake," and bò can mean either "cow" or "to crawl." Some people believe the dish is named for its resemblance to a cow’s udder, suggesting the name was shortened from bánh vú bò. Others think bò refers to the way the cake "crawls" up the sides of the container once it’s fully steamed.Other names for this dish include steamed rice cakes, cow cakes, and steamed honeycomb cakes.
Ingredients
For the yeast
- Water - 1/2 cup
- Active dry yeast - 2 tsp
- Sugar - 1 tsp
For the batter
- Rice flour - 3 3/4 cups
- Tapioca starch - 1/3 cup
- Water - 3 cups
- Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
- Packet vanilla sugar - 0.28 oz.
- Coconut milk - 14 oz.
- Food coloring: green, pink and yellow
Other
- Vegetable oil - 1/4 cup
Instructions
Activating the yeast
- Begin by heating 1/2 cup of water to about 100 F. Add the active dry yeast and sugar and mix all the ingredients together. Allow the prepared mixture to rest for approximately 10 minutes, or until it becomes frothy.
Making the batter
- Take a large bowl and add the rice flour, tapioca starch and 2 cups of water to it. Mix everything together until the combination is smooth and has no lumps.
- Now, pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and mix properly. Place a plastic wrap on top of the bowl to cover the batter. Allow it to rest for about 2 hours.
- Take a large measuring cup. Add sugar, vanilla sugar, coconut milk and the remaining 1 cup of water. Combine all the ingredients together until the sugar is completely dissolved. Place the mixture in a microwave on high for 1 minute.
- Once done, allow the mixture to cool until the temperature is about 100 F.
- It’s time to pour the coconut milk mixture into the batter and whisk all the ingredients together. Strain the batter. Transfer the prepared batter into 4 different cups or bowls. You can also add any food coloring of your preference to all the batches. Set the batter aside for 30 minutes.
Steaming the cakes
- Begin by taking a steamer and filling the basin three-quarters with water. Cover it and bring the water to a quick boil over a high flame.
- Now take the muffin cups and brush each one of them lightly with vegetable oil. Place the vacant mini muffin pan into the steamer tray and steam for about 1 minute.
- Mix the batter a little more and then transfer it into the muffin cups. Make sure to fill each cup nearly to the top. Remember to leave some space for the cake to expand and rise.
- Steam for 3 minutes, covered. Take the steamer lid off and wipe away the moisture with a kitchen towel. Place the lid back and allow the cakes to steam for 3 more minutes.
- Take the mini muffin pan out of the steamer. Allow the cakes to cool for 5 minutes before taking them out of the pan.
- Before serving, you can add some coconut sauce on top and garnish with roasted sesame seeds. Voila!
Nutrition
Calories: 80kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 1gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 2mgSugar: 5g
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