2 Simple Ways to Make Soft and Delicious Vegetarian Banh Beo

Prepare the ingredients

Soak the wood ear mushrooms, rinse them well, and cut them into strips. Cut the vegetarian pork into strips. Peel the shallots and slice them thinly.

Mix the flour

Put all the rice flour and tapioca flour into a bowl along with 150 ml of water, using a whisk to mix until the flour is smooth, then add another 150 ml of boiling water and 1 teaspoon of salt, mixing well for 2 minutes.

Use a sieve to filter the rice flour and tapioca flour mixture.

Make the filling

Add oil to the pan and wait for it to heat up, then sauté the sliced shallots until golden and remove them. Add the small pieces of vegetarian pork to fry until golden and remove.

Next, add the sliced green onions to fry until fragrant, then add the cut wood ear mushrooms and vegetarian pork, stir-frying evenly and drizzling with more oil, seasoning to taste, then stir well and turn off the heat.

Prepare the dipping sauce

Prepare the dipping sauce with a ratio of 3 tablespoons of vegetarian fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of lime juice (or calamondin juice).

Add the fish sauce to a pot on the stove along with 2 tablespoons of sugar, add a little water and cook until the sugar dissolves, then turn off the heat and let the fish sauce cool.

Once cooled, mix the fish sauce with lime juice, along with 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon of minced chili.

Pour the Bánh bèo

Add one tablespoon of cooking oil to the prepared batter to create a glossy finish for the Bánh bèo after steaming, making it easier to remove from the mold.

Scoop the batter into small round bowls or molds for steaming. You only need to pour a moderate layer of batter into the bowls.

After steaming for about 25 minutes, remove the Bánh bèo, arrange them on a plate, and top with the sautéed filling, fried shallots, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Final Product

The vegetarian rice cakes after completion have a very appealing glossy surface. The cakes are soft with a chewy and sticky texture.

The filling is crispy and fragrant with the aroma of fried onions, and the cake filling harmoniously brings an attractive flavor.

Prepare the ingredients

With 20g of mini chicken leg mushrooms, clean the mushroom stems, wash them with water to remove the dirt, then chop finely.

Next, soak 3 pieces of dried shiitake mushrooms in cold water for about 15 minutes until soft, then chop finely.

With 1/2 a bell pepper, wash it clean and then dice it.

After peeling the carrot, wash it clean and then finely chop it.

Next, add 4 tablespoons of cooking oil to a frying pan. When the oil is hot, add in sliced shallots and sauté until they change color and become fragrant, then remove them.

Mixing the vegetarian bánh bèo flour

You add water to 170g of rice flour and stir until the flour is dissolved, then let the flour rest for about 1 hour.

When the flour settles and leaves a layer of clear water on top, you pour off about 300ml of the water.

Then, you measure 300ml of boiling water and add it to the bowl of flour and stir well, then let the flour rest for another hour. When the flour settles again, you continue to measure 300ml of the water on top and discard it, then add 300ml of boiling water to the bowl of flour and let it rest once more for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, you add 4 tablespoons of fried onion oil to the bowl of flour.

Making mushroom sauce to accompany

You heat the pan with fried onion on stove, then add ingredients including carrots, shiitake mushrooms, chicken leg mushrooms that have been prepared, and 10g of corn kernels to sauté until fragrant.

Next, you season the pan with 1 teaspoon of vegetable seasoning powder, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon of rock sugar.

You sauté all the ingredients until cooked, then add a little water to the pan. Wait until the water boils, then add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch that has been dissolved and cook until the sauce thickens, then turn off the heat.

Making Vegetarian Bánh Bèo

You place a steamer on the stove to boil water, then put small bowls in the steamer to heat them up.

Next, you brush a layer of cooking oil on each bowl, then pour in the prepared batter, and steam the cakes for 30 minutes. When the cakes are done, you take the bowls out to cool.

Finally, you drizzle the sauce you made over each bowl of bánh bèo.

Final Product

The completed vegetarian bánh bèo has a smooth, soft skin with just the right amount of chewiness. When enjoyed, you will experience the gentle aroma of rice cake batter blending with the rich sweet and salty flavor of the vegetable filling.