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Vegan Bánh Bèo Chay – A Show-Stopping Vietnamese Delight
If you’re looking for a dish that’s as beautiful as it is delicious, let me introduce you to Bánh Bèo Chay—the vegan version of the beloved Vietnamese steamed rice cakes. For a plant-based dish, this one delivers big on flavor. It’s light yet satisfying, making it perfect as a snack or even as a main course. And if you’re hosting a dinner party? Get ready to wow your guests—they won’t believe something this tasty is completely vegan!
The magic really happens when you drizzle a generous amount of vegan fish sauce over the delicate, chewy rice cakes. I love eating them like oyster shooters, just slurping them up straight from the dish—it’s the most fun and delicious way to enjoy them!
Making Bánh Bèo is easier than you think. You can steam them in ramekins, a small muffin pan, or even traditional Bánh Bèo trays if you can find them. Pro tip: Use a squirt bottle to pour the batter into your steaming trays for the perfect shape and texture every time.
This dish comes together quickly and is guaranteed to impress. Whether you’re making it for yourself or serving it to friends, it’s a winner every time.
Vietnamese Steamed Vegan Rice Cakes | Banh Beo Chay
Ingredients
Banh Beo mix:
- 2 cups rice flour
- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 ½ cups water
- ½ cup coconut milk
Topping:
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil, or any neutral oil
- 1 leek, white part only, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, peeled, finely chopped
- 14 oz firm tofu, crumbled
- ½ cup dried wood ear mushroom, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes, then finely chopped
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Garnish:
- 1 cup avocado oil, or any neutral oil
- 4 large shallots, peeled, thinly sliced
- 10 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add rice flour, tapioca starch and salt. Mix dry ingredients together, then add water and coconut milk.
- Using a whisk, stir until batter is smooth and there are no more lumps.
- Brush ramekins with oil. Place ramekins in steamer and heat them for 3 minutes. Then pour banh beo mix into each oiled ramekin, about 1 ½ tablespoon.
- I usually use a squeeze bottle for this. Let it steam for 5 mins until the banh beo is nice and firm, not too hard and not sticky. Repeat the process until banh beo mix is finished.
- For the topping, heat a pan with 1 tablespoon of oil. Add leek and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Then add carrots, crumbled tofu, mushroom and salt to the pan. Stir fry for a couple of minutes until carrots soften a little and the tofu is slightly brown.
- For your garnish, heat 1 cup of oil in a pan. Add shallots and fry until it’s right about to turn brown. Remove the pan from the heat, then remove the shallots and put them on a paper lined plate.
- Since the oil is still hot, pour it into a bowl with your thinly sliced green onions. Sprinkle the fried green onions with salt.
- Garnish each banh beo with a tablespoon of the topping mix, then top it with a teaspoon of green onions in oil and sprinkle with fried shallots.
- You can either eat the banh beo directly from the ramekin by pouring the fish dipping sauce onto the ramekin, or you can wait for the ramekins to cool off, scoop out the banh beo and stack them up nicely onto a serving plate.
Nutrition
Equipment
- steamer
- ramekins
- squeeze bottle
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