Fried rice flour cake with egg (banh bot chien)
Banh bot chien is a much-loved snack of Chinese origin in Saigon: cubes of steamed rice flour cake are fried until golden and crisp, then topped with egg and a sprinkle of green scallions. The cubes are crunchy outside and soft and chewy inside, and dipped in a sweet and tangy soy sauce they make an irresistible afternoon treat.
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Rising or chilling
- 3 hr
- Total time
- 4 hr 20 min
- Method
- Fried
Ingredients
Rice flour cake
Frying with egg
Soy dipping sauce
Instructions
Step 1
Whisk 300 g rice flour, 50 g tapioca starch and 3 g salt into 600 g water in a nonstick saucepan, then set it over low heat and stir constantly for about eight minutes. Cooking the batter on the stove partly gelatinizes the starch, so the steamed cake turns out smooth and doesn't weep water. The dough is ready when it is as thick as paste and the whisk leaves a clear trail as you drag it through.
Step 2
Pour the dough into an oiled square pan, smooth the top to about three centimeters thick and steam over medium heat for about 30 minutes. Thorough steaming cooks the cake all the way to the center and makes it pleasantly chewy. It is done when it turns translucent white and a chopstick inserted in it comes out with no raw dough.
Step 3
Let the pan cool, then cover it tightly and refrigerate for about three hours or overnight. Chilling firms up the cake so it cuts into clean-edged pieces that don't fall apart when fried. It is ready when it feels firm to the touch and is no longer sticky.
Step 4
Stir 40 g soy sauce, 30 g granulated sugar, 60 g water and 10 g lime juice until the sugar dissolves, then add 5 g finely minced garlic. The balance of salty, sweet and sour cuts through the richness of the fried cake. The sauce is ready when it tastes well balanced and the sugar has fully dissolved.
Step 5
Turn the cake out onto a cutting board and cut it into squares or rectangles about the size of two finger joints. Medium-sized pieces turn crisp on every side while staying soft inside. The pieces are ready when they have neat square edges and aren't cracked or stuck together.
Step 6
Heat 40 g vegetable oil in a large nonstick pan, arrange the cake pieces in a single layer and fry over medium heat for about ten minutes, turning them so every side browns. Frying slowly in a moderate amount of oil builds a golden, crisp crust without making the pieces hard. They are ready when every side is evenly golden brown and they sound crisp when tapped.
Step 7
Push the pieces together into a single tight layer, pour 150 g beaten eggs evenly over the top, sprinkle with 20 g finely sliced scallions and leave it undisturbed for about three minutes before flipping the whole thing. The egg runs into the gaps between the pieces and binds them into one rich, fragrant sheet. It is ready when the egg is cooked golden on both sides and the pieces hold together as one piece.
Step 8
Slide the cake onto a plate while hot, serve with pickled papaya if you have it and drizzle the soy dipping sauce over the top. Eating it hot lets you really enjoy the contrast between the crisp crust and the chewy center. The dish is ready when it is still lightly steaming and the golden egg is dotted with green scallions.
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Steamer
- Square pan
- Nonstick skillet
- Spatula
- Whisk
- Mixing bowl
- Kitchen scale
Tips
- You can steam the cake the day before and keep it in the fridge, then simply cut and fry it the next day, which is very handy for breakfast.
- For a crust that stays crisp longer, pat the pieces dry with paper towels before they go into the pan.
- A little salted preserved radish stir-fried with the egg gives it a flavor closer to the traditional Chinese-style version.
Storage
The steamed, unfried cake keeps, tightly wrapped, for three days in the fridge. Once fried, eat it right away because it loses its crispness as it sits; the dipping sauce keeps for a week in an airtight container in the fridge.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The pieces stick to the pan and break apart when you turn them.
- The pan wasn't hot enough or the cake wasn't chilled long enough. Heat the pan well before adding the cake and wait until the underside is fully golden before turning.
- The inside of the cake is hard and dry.
- The dough didn't have enough water or it was fried over high heat for too long. Weigh the water carefully when cooking the dough and fry over medium heat.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
