Little Rice Cakes (Banh Beo)

Little rice cakes or banh beo is a Vietnamese dish that comes from Hue in the central part of Vietnam. Each little cake is so delicate that it will melt in your mouth, and its delicious taste will leave you immediately craving another one.  This recipe can be served as vegetarian depending on the fillings of the cake. Sometime, fresh or dried shrimp can be used with the mung bean paste as part of the filling.

Ingredients:
1 cup rice flour minus 2 tbs rice flour
2 tbs tapioca
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold water
1 ½ cups hot water
Filling:
1/2 cup dried skinned mung beans, soaked overnight
3 tbs chopped leek
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbs soy sauce
1/4 cup water
Scallion oil:
2 green onions, sliced fine
1/4 cup oil
Serve with dipping sauce

Directions:
To make batter:
In a medium bowl, mix rice flour, tapioca flour and salt together. Pour the cold water into the bowl and start stirring until well combined. Slowly add hot water into the flour mixture and continue to stir until well mixed. Cover with plastic wrap for 10 hours or overnight. After 10 hours, the flour will sink into the bottom of the bowl. Pour off the water on top and replace that water with the same amount of warm water and mix well. The batter is ready to make the little rice cakes.
Place a large pot with water over high heat. Place the rice cake mold on top of the pot with the lid on and heat the mold until hot. Spray the mold with some oil and fill each mold with the batter. Cover with the lid and steam the cake for 10 minutes. Remove the steamed rice cakes and unmold them. Place them onto a serving plate. Continue the process until all the batter is finished.

To make the filling:
Steam the mung beans in the steamer over medium heat until soft. Place the cooked mung beans in a blender and blend until the beans become a fine paste.
Heat 1 tbs of oil in a sauté pan and add chopped leek and cook for 3 minutes. Add the bean paste, sugar, soy sauce, black pepper and water. Cook on low heat until all are well combined.

To make scallion oil:
Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a sauce pan. Add green onions and when the oil starts to boil, turn the heat off.

To serve:

Brush each rice cake with scallion oil and top each rice cake with the mung bean filling. Serve with the dipping sauce.

To make the dipping sauce:
1 cup boiling water
1/4 fish sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbs vinegar or lime juice
Add fresh chili, garlic