Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Dim sum classics and Vietnamese banh or dumplings

I was selected to write a post for Foodbuzz's 24, 24, 24 event this month - a fun thing they do every month to showcase 24 meals, over 24 hours, through 24 blogs.  Thanks Foodbuzz!

Many people are familiar with the Chinese dim sum classics - now meet the Vietnamese dishes and dumplings that share a lot of similarities and are seemingly inspired by them, but are uniquely Vietnamese!

We started the day with dim sum in Chinatown in Manhattan, and then had a few friends over to enjoy a feast of Vietnamese dumplings and dishes, all referred to as banh.  I made pork and vegetarian versions of four different dishes - banh bao, banh it tran, banh bot loc, and banh cuon.



You love those steamed barbecued pork buns, or char siu bao:

Now try banh bao, which look similar on the outside but are very different on the inside - they're stuffed with a mixture of ground pork, Chinese sausage, onions, peas and a wedge of hard-boiled egg, or sometimes quail eggs.

You've had cheung fun, or rice noodle rolls - most often with shrimp, but they also can be stuffed with roasted pork, beef and fried dough. They're served with a sweet soy sauce.

Now meet banh cuon, rice noodle rolls stuffed with ground pork, mushrooms and onions and seasoned lightly with fish sauce and pepper and topped with fried shallots, and served with fresh herbs, bean sprouts, cucumbers and gio lua, a Vietnamese pork sausage that is kind of the Vietnamese bologna.




And siu mai are the essential steamed dumpling in dim sum, made most commonly with a mixture of pork and shrimp.  Shrimp har gow, crystal shrimp dumplings, or shrimp dumplings with a soft, clearish wrapper (not pictured) are also a staple of Chinese dim sum.

Try out banh it tran and banh bot loc, Vietnamese dumplings either steamed or boiled and filled with very different mixtures of shrimp and ground pork and shiitake mushrooms and topped with scallion oil.  Banh bot loc, which also has a clearish wrapper, looks a little like shrimp har gow, but the tapioca flour wrapper is very different!

(banh it tran)

(Banh bot loc - boiled on the left, steamed in banana leaves on the right)

This is not about Chinese food versus Vietnamese food or which one is better, but rather comparing and contrasting a few dishes and seeing the similarities and differences.  You might be familiar with pho and banh mi (here in New York, it seems like banh mi are everywhere these days!), but come learn a bit about the world of Vietnamese dumplings, and banh - a term used for a wide array of Vietnamese foods that loosely translates to "cake"maybe - banh can mean basically all kinds of Vietnamese dumplings, but also desserts as well, such as banh bo, pictured left, which is the same as the Chinese steamed rice cakes.

The day started in Chinatown for dim sum at Oriental Garden, so far, our fave dim sum place in Chinatown in Manhattan.  We love all the dim sum classics - siu mai, char siu bao, cheong fun, or rice noodle rolls filled with shrimp, tripe with ginger, pan-fried turnip cakes, sticky rice.  We especially like all the shrimp and seafood here. The pork and shrimp siu mai are even topped with a whole shrimp here. They also come around with salt and pepper squid and whole shrimp, and sometimes clams.

Pan-fried turnip cakes are probably my favorite dim sum food - made from a mixture of rice flour and grated turnips, they often have little bits of dried shrimp and/or pork in them  and are pan-fried on each side.  You get a great contrast in crispy outside and a super soft inside.  I love them!  There is a place in Chinatown at the corner of Bowery and Grant that sells big chunks of fresh turnip cakes you can take home, slice and fry yourself.  You can also buy them in most Asian grocery stores pre-packaged in a refrigerated section - it comes in a big block, a little larger than a tub of tofu - just slice and fry on each side until they're crispy on each side in a nonstick pan with just a tiny bit of oil.  They're delicious with a bit of soy sauce with a little chili sauce mixed in.

Sticky rice is also a great dim sum food and usually contains a mix of sticky rice, pork and Chinese sausage.  In Vietnamese food, there is a whole world of steamed sticky rice dishes, xoi, that range from sweet (usually dyed red or green for Tet, the Vietnamese new year and mixed with sweet shredded coconut) to savory, including a plain sticky rice dish with Chinese sausage, but it's not wrapped up and leaves in steamed but rather just steamed and served as is.  My favorite version of xoi is xoi bap a plain sticky rice with hominy, mung beans, fried shallots, toasted sesame seeds and sugar for a kind of sweet and savory thing.  I thought about making it but I just don't have a good steamer right now to attempt it.  For Tet, there is banh chung, which is sticky rice with a layer of pork and mung bean, and then is wrapped in banana leaves.  But in most cases, Vietnamese cook sticky rice as xoi, and just steam the rice spread out in a steamer.

Finally, we had the steamed tripe with ginger and a little scallion.  This is a dish that really can vary each visit and from restaurant to restaurant - sometimes the tripe has been steamed for a long time and is very soft and tender, sometimes it's a little firmer and chewier, and sometimes, it is very firm and chewy.  Rick and I prefer it somewhere in between and fragrant with ginger.  I would say on this particular busy Saturday, it was ok - a little chewier than we like, and the ginger flavor didn't really come through that much.

There are also many dishes we like that we didn't get today - some other favorites include har gow, or shrimp dumplings that are in a kind of clear wrapper, and fried taro puffs - taro mixed with pork and shrimp and fried with these kind of fried threads of dough or starch coming off them - I'm not sure how they make them, but they are delicious!

So now, on to the Vietnamese food. I'll post the recipes separately so this post isn't crazy long.

I'm not going to lie, making dumplings is a time-consuming process, especially when doing it alone.  I used to make them with my mother all the time growing up but she was fast and we'd make dozens of dumplings in no time.  It's a little more slow-going doing it yourself so if you have someone that isn't busy and is dexterous with their hands, recruit them to help you!

Knowing I'd be doing this mostly on my own - Rick did help in making some of the fillings but I knew I'd have to do the actual dumpling making on my own - I prepped the fillings for all the dumplings ahead of time.  I did complicate things a little bit by having inviting a vegetarian friend over, so not only was I making four different types of dumplings and dishes, but I was also making a pork filling and a vegetarian filling for each.

Chay is the Vietnamese word for vegetarian - even if you love your pork, give the veggie fillings a try sometime.  Or you can even make the fillings as a dish to eat with rice if you like, which is probably what we'll be doing this week with the little bits of leftover filling sitting in the fridge.

Earlier in the week, I made some do chua, or Vietnamese pickles of daikon radish and carrots.  I, of course, completely forgot to serve them!  But they are a nice accompaniment to any spread of Vietnamese food so try them out sometime.

The menu:

Banh bao - Vietnamese steamed buns.  For the meat eaters, they were filled with ground pork, onions, peas, Chinese sausage, and a quarter of a hard-boiled egg.  The banh bao chay included a mixture of cabbage, carrots, shallots, garlic, fungus, shiitake, vegetarian curry "chicken", mushroom sauce, fried tofu, scallions and a quarter wedge of egg.

Banh it tran - also sometimes called banh nep, nep being the term for glutinous rice.  These dumplings are made with glutinous rice flour.  You'll also see sweet versions of banh nep, filled with mung beans and coconut.  The savory ones are most commonly filled with a mixture of ground pork, onions and shrimp, and sometimes mung bean as well, though I prefer them without.  For the vegetarian version, I did a filling of cabbage, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, black fungus or wood ear mushrooms, fried tofu, scallions, and mung beans.

Banh bot loc - a dumpling made with tapioca flour.  These have a firm, chewy outside and are filled sparingly with strongly seasoned pork and shrimp in caramel sauce and fish sauce.  The vegetarian version included fried gluten and tofu and enoki mushrooms braised in caramel sauce, soy sauce, onions and garlic.

Banh cuon - rice noodle rolls filled with ground pork, onions and wood ear mushrooms for the meat-eaters, and fried tofu, gluten, enoki mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms and onions for the vegetarians.  They are served with steamed bean sprouts, fresh veggies and fish sauce, and for the meat version, pieces of gio lua, a boiled pork sausage that is basically Vietnamese bologna.

Serve everything with a large plate of chopped mint, thai basil, cilantro, steamed bean sprouts and strips of cucumber, lots of nuoc cham and nuoc cham chay to pour over everything.  And serve with a side of do chua if you like, and some extra Sriracha, chili sauce or tuong ot on the side for those that want some extra spice.

Banh bao

Chinese bao are typically filled with barbecued pork or chicken.  The Vietnamese version of bao is a little heartier and a lot more interesting - ground pork, Chinese sausage, peas, onions, and a quarter wedge of hard-boiled egg for fun :)  You can also include sliced cabbage and shiitake mushrooms if you like.

They tend to develop a "skin" or smooth layer on top because they are steamed for longer with the raw pork filling, and aren't as pretty as the Chinese bao in the picture above.  I also include a bit of white whole wheat flour, which really isn't that white so the color isn't as nice - you can use all bleached flour if you prefer to make them nice and white but I do try to cook with whole wheat flour whenever possible.  At Vietnamese delis, you'll see huge ones that are larger than a softball, and they are typically individually wrapped in plastic wrap.  That said, I thought I was making smaller ones, but they really do get much bigger when you steam them!

I started out with these because they required steaming, and as I don't currently have a good steamer pot - who has room for it in a small kitchen and small apartment? - and only have one of those silicone steamers that fit inside a regular pot, I knew making these was going to take some serious time since I'd only be able to steam about four banh bao at a time.  I did make these the night before the big dinner since they would be so time-consuming and I was already planning on making three other types of time-consuming dumplings in addition to these, and they reheat well.

Click here to see the recipe and details on assembling banh bao.  To reheat them, cover them with a moistened paper towel and heat in a microwave.  The wet paper towel will help steam them a bit.

Banh it tran
These are my favorite Vietnamese dumplings - my mother used to make them every time I came home to visit, and still does occasionally. They are made from glutinous rice flour and are filled with pork and shrimp, and traditionally, mung beans. My mother never really made them with mung beans so I’ve grown up eating them with only shrimp and pork filling. Some people use pork belly, like in banh bot loc, but our family always used ground pork. One of the keys to great banh it tran is to use fatty ground pork so the filling is nice and juicy.

We used to always take the time to steam the dumplings, but my mother learned a tip from a friend a few years ago to just boil them, which was such a revelation! It makes things so much easier. We also started boiling banh bot loc as well – they lose a little something without being wrapped in banana leaves but are still great and I think the increased ease is worth it.

You might also see them called banh nep – which is basically the same dough and filling but wrapped in banana leaves and steamed, and are more in a small pillow or rectangle shape. This is how banh bot loc are also typically shaped when wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. Bot nep refers to the glutinous rice flour, so banh nep just means banh made from this kind of flour. Banh nep can also refer to the sweet version - filled with mung bean and sweet coconut - these are often shaped as cones so you can tell the difference between sweet and savory.

Click here for the recipes for both the pork and shrimp filled banh it tran, and vegetarian banh it tran chay, filled with a mixture of cabbage, carrots, shallots, garlic, shiitake, fried tofu, scallions, mushroom sauce and mung beans.  Top with scallion oil and serve with nuoc cham.  I've also included a vegetarian filling in the recipe and you can serve vegetarian banh it with nuoc cham chay.

Banh it can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and reheated in the microwave. Just don’t over-heat or they’ll deflate into one big gooey mess - still edible but not so pretty to look at.

Banh bot loc

Banh bot loc is another type of Vietnamese dumpling that is wrapped in a dough made from tapioca flour, creating an almost clear but firm and chewy exterior. They're prized for the firm and chewy texture, but if you don't like them too firm, you can heat them up until they are pretty hot and they'll soften up more.  The texture might not be for everyone, but I love them.  

They can be boiled or individually wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.  Boiling is much easier so that's what I've done here.  I do think the boiled version is a little firmer because you have to make the dough a little stiffer to work with it, but they're still good. 

The traditional filling includes pork and shrimp strongly seasoned with fish sauce, sugar and black pepper. Often, the shrimp are small and left with the shell on - they have thinner shells - but I make them with peeled shrimp instead. You can use pork belly a fatty boneless piece of pork shoulder, braised until a little tender but still has some firm texture and a little chewiness. Try to include a little pork, a little pork fat, and a little shrimp in every dumpling.

The vegetarian version is filled with fried gluten, fried tofu, shallots, garlic and enoki mushrooms that have been braised in caramel sauce. 

I've used banh bot loc flour mix so I'm not sure how to make it without it - but I'd guess that an Asian grocery that carries tapioca flour probably carries this mix as well.

The dumplings are boiled until they float to the top, and then topped with  scallion oil.  Serve with nuoc cham or nuoc cham chay.  They can also be wrapped in banana leaves and steamed, like the picture posted earlier in this post.  If you're interested in doing this, you can follow the directions on the package - the dough will be very wet and sticky to make the wrapped version and you'll just be mixing the dough with a spoon or chopsticks and not kneading it by hand.  

Click here for the recipes.

Banh cuon

Admittedly, after all the time I spent making the other dishes, I just didn't have it in me to make these from scratch.  So I bought the rice noodle sheets in Chinatown after we got dim sum - find them on the corner of Grand and Bowery - there are usually two ladies on the corner selling both the rolled up rice noodles (banh uot in Vietnamese), plain or with bits of scallion and dried shrimp, and then large folded sheets that you can cut apart to fill with your filling of choice.  They also sell the sheets cut up in wide noodles for dishes like chow fun, and inside the shop, you can find fresh and fried tofu, turnip and taro cakes and they also have a hot food counter in the back for lunch - and it's cheap!

I'll make the rice noodle sheets some other time and post the recipe but for now, click here for the recipes for the pork and mushroom filling and the vegetarian filling.

Serve with fried shallots and onions, chopped mint, cilantro and basil, steamed bean sprouts (cook them in the microwave for a few minutes), julienned cucumbers, and plenty of nuoc cham or nuoc cham chay.  For the pork version, you can also serve it with gio lua, or Vietnamese bolgna - a boiled pork sausage.  You can find this at most Asian groceries that carry Vietnamese ingredients and foods.

Banh uot is the Vietnamese term for the plain rice noodle sheets rolled up, and served the same way as banh cuon with all the toppings.  Sometimes it's nice to just have these too without the extra pork :)  In this picture to the right - banh uot is along the top, banh cuon along the bottom.

We had a few friends over on Saturday night to enjoy all the Vietnamese food and wine and we ended the night with some banh bo (pictured earlier in the post), slices of ripe mango, and a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies.  I had been meaning to make banh chuoi, a Vietnamese banana cake, but my bananas didn't ripen in time - another time maybe.

I hope you get a chance to try out some of these banh, or Vietnamese dumplings and dishes!

And a big thanks to my husband Rick, who had to put up with me doing nothing but cooking over the last few days, and swearing and getting crabby every time I made a hole in a dumpling wrapper. It was a lot of fun, but I think it may be a while before I make any kind of dumpling again.  I'd recommend just tackling these one at a time instead of all four in one meal :)  Enjoy!