Bánh Bao Chỉ

Bánh Bao Chỉ with coconut filling

Months ago, I posted a recipe I called Bánh Bao Chỉ Cupcakes which were inspired by the coconut and pandan (la dua) treats my mom makes. I could see that most of the views from that post were from people searching for a recipe for the real thing, so I’m finally posting my mom’s recipe which is her speciality when she wants to mass produce sweets for a party. All of the ingredients can be found at the Asian supermarket. The filling uses frozen shredded coconut and the coating uses a dry, finer coconut. I don’t suggest substituting either of the types of coconut with the American types since they have a lot more sugar. This recipe uses the microwave to prepare the dough. I tried mixing the dough on the stovetop over low heat but the mixture never came together properly and I was left with a sticky mess that couldn’t hold form (it needs to be steamed). The dough can be very hot to handle, so my mom uses plastic gloves (cafeteria-style not latex) to roll the bánh bao; I wait for it to cool more before handling. Choose the peanut or coconut filling for the amount of dough listed; you can lower the amounts and combine the fillings if you’d like coconut and peanut together. Working with the dough can take some practice, but they’re worth the work when you can enjoy them fresh.

Makes 3 dozen

For the dough:
1 16-oz bag of Glutinous Rice Flour (Bột Nếp Tinh Khiết) – Erawan brand
3 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp pandan extract

Peanut Filling:
2 Tbsp water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chopped peanuts
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
pinch salt

Coconut Filling:
1/2 of 16 oz bag of frozen shredded coconut, thawed and drained – Coconut Tree Brand
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Topping:
Shredded Coconut or Coconut Powder (dry) – Hans Brand

batter before microwave

dough after microwave

For the dough:
1. Mix together Glutinous Rice Flour, water, sugar and pandan extract
2. Strain the mixture through fine sieve into a large microwave safe bowl to remove lumps
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap
4. Microwave on High for 7 minutes; microwave an additional 3 minutes if dough is still wet
5. The dough should be bright green and glossy. Texture should be elastic and spring back a bit when you touch

For Peanut or Coconut Filling:
1. Combine all ingredients and heat on the stovetop over medium heat until incorporated and consistency of wet sand
2. Once the filling has cooled enough to handle, roll filling into teaspoon size balls

Coconut Filling

filling the dough

Filling the dough:
1. When the dough has cooled enough to handle, spoon out a heaping tablespoon size
2. Flatten the piece into a 1.5 inch circle and dip one side in coconut powder
3. Place the round filling in the center of non-dipped side and pinch the sides of the dough over the filling until it is completely covered
4. Mold into a ball and re-dip into coconut powder if necessary (you can dip once after molded but coconut may not stick as well after being handled)

Best enjoyed the day prepared but can keep for 2 days in airtight container at room temperature

Related Posts:
Bánh Bao Chỉ Cupcakes Recipe

Brodard Nem Nướng Cuốn

Brodard filling - 4 rolls for $6

Growing up, my mom made nem nướng, sweet pink pork meatballs, on the grill with a honey glaze for big parties. We’d eat them over bún (rice vermicelli) or wrapped in bánh tráng (rice paper). When we had nem nướng cuốn (rolls), we’d dip them in nước chấm or a hoisin peanut dipping sauce. I had never tasted them from a restaurant until 10 years ago, when friends took me to Brodard in Garden Grove, Orange County. Brodard was and is still famous for its nem nướng cuốn. It was still a small shop and I remember eating on patio chairs outdoors. Along with the tasty meatball (actually more like slices from a meat patty) and fresh herbs was something crunchy, fried eggroll skin rolled like a cigar. And the sweet orange, shrimpy dipping sauce was unlike anything I’d ever tasted. These rolls blew me away but for years was a rare treat I enjoyed when I was in the OC’s Little Saigon.

Nem Nướng Nha Trang - $1 per serving

Orange sauce, Quán Nem Ngọc Tiên

Before my trip to Vietnam, I was told I’d have to visit the famous Nem Nướng restaurant in Nha Trang, the inspiration for shops like Brodard. My roommate didn’t know the name of the restaurant but said to ask anyone in town and they’d know. Well not everyone in town knew of it but on our 2nd night searching, we found the 2-story, cafeteria-like restaurant, Quán Nem Ngọc Tiên. The tour buses out front were a giveaway that we must be in the right place! We ordered a plate of nem nướng which was not pink like we’re used to in the US. It came with the crispy rolls, herbs, pickled veggies, and bánh tráng. We weren’t provided any water to moisten the bánh tráng so it was difficult to roll (the waitress saw us struggling and rolled us a few). The orange dipping sauce was warm and a little sweet. We also ordered nem nướng over bún, nem chua (cold fermented pork), and chả lụa. We ate so fast… I wish I had savored the meal a little more.

Bánh Khọt Vung Tàu, SJ - 3 rolls for $4.50

Cơm Tấm Thien Huong, SJ

Whenever I’m in the OC, I try to make a Brodard stop. I just assumed it was a SoCal specialty but luckily I’ve found a handful of restaurants in the Bay Area that make Nem Nướng Cuốn Nha Trang. I must admit they all fall a little short somehow. Both shops in the Grand Century Food Court use peanut dipping sauce. All locations use thinner bánh tráng which can lead to a stickier and messier eating experience. Sizes of rolls varied and proportion of pork to herbs varied. I only found one restaurant in SF, Pot de Phở, with the dish as an expensive appetizer ($8 for 2 rolls). They added slivers of green apple which was a creative fusion touch since Americans enjoy the apples and pork combo. I asked the waiter if he knew anything about the orange sauce recipe and said it was the chef’s secret but he suspects there may be pork in it. I need to figure out whether this is true because my sister, who doesn’t eat red meat, loves the orange sauce with Brodard’s Chạo Tôm Cuổn (shrimp paste) version. These Bay Area options should suffice until my next OC or Nha Trang trip.

My Recommendations:

Cơm Tấm Thien Huong (2859 Senter Rd, SJ)- broken rice restaurant with Nem Nướng Cuốn and orange sauce; very similar to offerings at Chao Vit Thien Huong in Lion Plaza Food Court (maybe they’re related)

Bánh Khọt Vung Tàu (1111 Story Rd, Grand Century Food Court, SJ) – most resembles Brodard’s with addition of bún and offers shrimp roll, but only peanut sauce for dipping

Bánh Mì made from SF Ferry Building ingredients

Boccalone charcuterie

In San Francisco, more and more restaurants are offering house-made charcuterie plates filled with salty cured meats, pâtés, and a little pickled accompaniment. Recently, I’ve enjoyed Perbacco’s Italian Salumi Misti plate (heavy on the salamis) and Spruce’s French-influenced selection (different pig parts and pâtés). A small bite of salty meat with livery pâté and pickled veg atop a crostini is culinary perfection to me. But as I savor my little morsel of goodness, I can’t help but think what a pimped out, gourmet bánh mì I could make with a spread like this.

I’ve been enjoying bánh mì since I was a kid when they were $1 in San Jose, when there were only a handful of shops to get bánh mì (and phở for that matter) in the 1980s. I consider myself a purist, using the classic #1 thịt người as my gauge for a good bánh mì spot. More popular selections seem to be grilled pork and chicken nowadays, but even as a kid I knew this French influenced charcuterie combo was something special. My mom would order me pâté sandwiches straight up– pâté, mayo, and sprinkling of soy sauce. What 8 year-old-kid loves livery sandwiches?

On my quest to build a gourmet bánh mì, I originally wanted to pick up some meat from either Spruce or Perbacco since they both offer take-home meats. But then I’d have to go somewhere else for some baguettes. Instead, I decided to shop at San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Farmers Market on a Saturday morning so that I could pick up all ingredients in one place. This famous farmers market is the mecca of high quality, fresh, local products. Living in SF, I’m constantly reminded of the importance of “farm to table” cooking, but this ideology definitely comes at a premium. One of the original high end (ahem, expensive) Vietnamese restaurants Slanted Door is located at the Ferry Building. Their Out the Door takeout counter offers bánh mì for $8.50+tax!

Bánh Mì đặc biệt

Fatted Calf pâté

I really had no idea how expensive a sandwich I would make using the fancy ingredients but after perusing the farmers market stalls as well as shops inside the Ferry Building, I realized I could build a gourmet banh mi for less than OTD’s offerings (they do not offer a thịt người type bánh mì). First, I decided on meat fillings from Boccalone, SF cheflebrity Chris Cosentino’s salumeria. You can buy their cured meats individually, but I bought a small tray of 3 meats for $8.75: Prosciutto Cotto (ham), Pancetta (rolled pork belly), and Coppa di Testa (headcheese, a must!). I can’t believe how much these meats remind me of what was offered when I was a kid. At the bánh mì shop, I’d see big blocks of peppered fatty ham and grayish gelatinous head cheese being sliced on industrial meat slicers. Now I feel like a lot of the thịt người filling look and taste like boring deli meats I’d find at an American grocery store. With the Boccalone tray I was able to substitute pickled carrots for olives, so those were covered (btw, I do not like cilantro). Next, I picked up some pâté from Fatted Calf Charcuterie which sells at the Farmers Market on Saturdays only. The Pâté de Campagne is pork pate with duck liver. It was about $6 for 6 oz. Last, I picked up a handmade 18″ baguette from the Della Fattoria stall for $5.

With my Ferry Building ingredients, I was able to build 3 sandwiches for about $5 each. I only needed about 1 oz of pâté for each sandwich. The bread was a little more dense than I’d prefer and the pâté was not the most spreadable (foie gras next time would be pure indulgence), but this gourmet bánh mì made me so happy… I’m not sure I’ll be craving a regular old Vietnamese sandwich for a while.

*Mimi

Related Posts:
Bánh Mì – Sandwich

Phở tái đạp, Nha Trang, Vietnam

Phở tái đạp, Phở Hà Nội (SJ)

Mention Vietnamese food, and chances are the first thing to pop into people’s minds, is phở. Perhaps the most well-known of all Vietnamese cuisine, phở is beginning to appear more and more in mainstream American culture. I even bought a “What the Phở?” t-shirt a few years ago, which I still wear around the house.

When I was little, growing up in upstate New York in the 1980s, if my family wanted phở, my mom would have to make it—there were no phở restaurants that we knew of to go to. She would spend the whole day cooking, and the house would fill the with delicious aromas that came from the humongous pot which would feed our entire extended family for the day. After we moved to California, my mom retired her phở recipe, saying it was too easy to buy a bowl of phở from people who knew how to cook it better than she did.

Considering the abundance of phở joints around town, finding a decent bowl of phở is relatively easy to do in San Jose. It’s finding a stellar bowl that is the annoyingly difficult part (annoying because of the plethora of phở restaurants that I have to muddle through and the inevitable duds along the way). As I work along my mission, eating through countless phở bowls, the question I keep in my mind is “Where would I take Anthony Bourdain to eat phở?” I have a feeling that locating my best phở recommendation will become my own personal Moby Dick—albeit a delicious, steamy, and comfy Moby Dick. Being such, my recommendation will be a work in progress, changing as I discover better bowls along the way.

The criteria I considered in rating a good bowl of phở are:

Noodles—must not be too hard, or too mushy (yes, that’s the technical term).

Broth—flavor, flavor, flavor. A bad broth (bland or too salty) can kill a bowl of phở. Also, according to my mom, the mark of a good broth is how clear it is.

Meat—tenderness is a must. Tái should be raw when brought out, and should cook in front of you, in the broth.

Fixings (variety, freshness, quantity)—bean sprouts, lime, sliced jalapenos, rau quế (Thai basil), cilantro (ngò gai).

Phở garnish, Nha Trang, Vietnam

Phở tái, Pho Y #1 (SJ)

Disclaimer: Considering that there are a number of different types of phở (phở gà/chicken phở, phở bò viên/phở with meatballs, phở tái chín/phở with well-done meat, etc.), I stuck to good old phở tái/phở with rare meat. It’s my favorite, and it made it easier to compare apples to apples sticking to just one type of phở to review.

With that said, I have two recommendations for a good bowl of phở—one southern style, and one northern style. Coincidentally, they are less than a few minutes away from one another:

Phở Ý #1 (1660 E. Capitol Expressway, San Jose, CA, 95121 (408) 274-1769)
Hands down, the meat at Phở Y was the best I have ever had in a bowl of phở. Thinly sliced, generous portions, extremely tender. The meat alone nudged the place into the lead of the southern style phở restaurants. The noodles were also cooked to perfection, and was in just the right proportion to the broth. The fixings were average, and was the one thing the restaurant skimped on—but this can be easily remedied by asking for more. The broth was a little salty and nothing to write home about, but it was decent.

Phở Ý doesn’t mess around when it comes to phở. The restaurant doesn’t have much ambiance (think cafeteria), and they don’t serve gỏi cuốn (spring rolls), chả giò (eggrolls), or any other standard fare that is typically found at other phở places. So if you go there, you’ll be going for the phở.

Phở Ha Noi (1759 E Capitol Expy, San Jose, CA, 95121 (408) 239-0888—closed Wednesdays)
I hadn’t heard of northern style phở until this past year (although technically, all phở is northern style, since phở originated in North Viet Nam). After doing some research, Phở Ha Noi caught my eye because of the fact that it makes its own noodles daily! I had to try it. The noodles are available in regular thin size, or a thicker size. It’s really just a matter of preference, but in any case, the fresh noodles make a big difference. The noodles have more flavor and a tender, silkier, less starchy texture.

What is the difference between northern and southern style phở, you might ask? Northern phở has what I can best describe as beaten beef or tái đạp and is much simpler. Traditional northern phở is just meat, noodles, green onions, and broth—a straight up meat-and-potatoes-in-soup type dish. None of the herbs, lime, chili, bean sprouts, or other garnishes that you find in southern style. However, they will bring out a plate of greens—extremely fresh greens, which is a big plus for me—if you ask them to (and most people do, since many of us are so used to the garnishes of southern style phở).

The meat at Phở Ha Noi is very tender (probably from being beaten) and in good proportion to the broth. It comes out raw, and cooks in the broth, as a good bowl phở tái should. The broth itself is less flavorful than I’m used to, but still very tasty.

-Myvan

Phở Bò, Golden Star (SF)

Pho Garden's Pho Challenge

Mimi’s SF Recommendations:
Yummy Yummy (1015 Irving Street , San Francisco, CA 94122 (415) 566-4722)
The #1 XL bowl of phở is a steep $8 but has a rich, clear broth with a good amount of tender meats and fresh onions. The bowl stays piping hot throughout the meal and is so satisfying on those foggy SF days.

Golden Star Vietnamese Restaurant (11 Walter U Lum Place, SF, CA 94108 (415) 398-1215)
Rumor has it that at Golden Star, they’ve been boiling down the same pot of broth for years. That may not be appealing to some, but to the true phở lovers that just translates into an extra deep broth you must try when you’re in Chinatown.

Phở Garden (2109 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121 (415) 379-8677)
Though not my favorite phở I can’t talk about SF pho without mentioning the Phở Challenge at Phở Garden. To fulfill your Man vs. Food dreams and have your picture posted on the wall, you will need to finish eating 2 lbs of meat (tripe, tendon, tái, bò viên) and 2 lbs of noodles in one hour (you don’t need to finish the soup); if you lose, you pay the $22. The specially made ceramic bowl is massive and you may not want to eat phở for a very long time. Good luck!

$1.70 Bánh Xèo at Quán Ăn Ngon, HCM

$7 Bánh Xèo at Minhs Restaurant, Milpitas

One of my favorite foods is the French Crêpe. But even before I had my first taste of one, I had grown up eating bánh xèo, a Vietnamese savory crêpe influenced by the French version. What make bánh xèo distinctively Vietnamese are ingredients such as rice flour, coconut milk, bean sprouts, and sometimes mung bean. Turmeric spice is mixed into the batter for that bright yellow color. In a large circular pan with oil, whole shrimp (shell on is ok), thin slices of pork belly, and onion are sauted. The batter is ladled thinly over the meat and onion until the crêpe becomes crispy. Bean sprouts are added to half of the crêpe and the pan is covered until the the sprouts are cooked. Once uncovered, the bánh xèo has its last chance to crisp before being folded over into a half moon shape. The bánh xèo can be wrapped in mustard greens or red-leaf lettuce with fresh herbs like mint, Thai basil, and that fishy-smelling herb called diếp cá. The bánh xèo is dipped in nước chấm (fish sauce). I’ve also seen it wrapped in bánh tráng (rice paper) or eaten in a bowl with greens like a salad for less mess. Most of my friends’ families are happy using the packaged bánh xèo mix which separates the rice flour mix from the turmeric. But I know some whose families grind their own uncooked rice to make the batter. I’m still working on my own recipe from scratch and some have suggested adding beer or even baking soda to get that perfect texture. I’ll keep working on it but in the meantime there are plenty of restaurants in the Bay Area that have me dreaming about that perfect bite of crunchy crêpe, flavorful tender meat, cool fresh greens, and sweet fish sauce.

Bánh Xèo street vendor, Nha Trang

Bánh Xèo 46A, HCM

On my trip to Vietnam, eating bánh xèo was one of my most important food priorities. We rarely saw it on the streets but when I saw mini bánh xèo after dinner in Nha Trang, I still had to try it. The pan had individual wells for frying each bánh xèo. It was the perfect size for an after dinner snack. We also made a special visit to Bánh Xèo 46a in HCM’s District 3 (featured on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations Vietnam episode). The burners are all on the ground and one woman mans all of the hot pans with a huge spatula. We saw groups of men drinking bia (beer) and ordering one bánh xèo to share amongst 3 or 4 of them, but each of us ordered our own so I’m sure we looked like fat Americans. Surprisingly, the bánh xèo was pretty bland. The herbs which were so fresh helped liven the dish, but we were pretty disappointed. But Quán Ăn Ngon’s (literally “Delicious Restaurant”) version did not disappoint. This restaurant in District 1 employs a collection of the best street food vendors in Saigon. There are different food stations set up around the restaraunt and it seems like every Vietnamese specialty is covered. And most dishes are under $2. The bánh xèo shares its station with bánh khọt, kind of a cross between bánh xèo and bánh bèo. I could’ve eaten at that restaurant every day of my trip.

Bánh Xèo at Tin Vietnamese Cuisine, SF

Full Moon Wraps at Xanh, Mtn View

In the Bay Area, all types of Vietnamese restaurants offer bánh xèo, but not all of them do it well. Don’t be fooled by an extra large banh xeo being served at your table because size does not matter in this case. Most of the bad ones I’ve had were overstuffed with bean sprouts, had very little meat, were too oily, or didn’t have a crispy texture. The crêpe itself should have some flavor and you shouldn’t have to drown your bánh xèo in fish sauce to get it down. No two recipes of bánh xèo will produce the same exact taste and texture, so I love trying it wherever I go. Surprisingly, I’ve found some really good versions in San Francisco and the well-known shops that specialize in bánh xèo in San Jose have been a little disappointing. I’ve come across some fusion ones that experiment with non-traditional fillings or dipping sauces. Most places will offer vegetarian (chay) versions bánh xèo with a tofu or veggie filling.

Recommendations:

Minh’s Restaurant (1422 Dempsey Rd, Milpitas) – perfect crunchy texture, good amount of filling
Xanh Restaurant (110 Castro St, Mtn View) – small fusion version with mango topping, like bánh khọt
Tin Vietnamese Cuisine (937 Howard St, SF) – fresh ingredients with refreshing basil dipping sauce
Yummy Yummy (1015 Irving St, SF) – stayed crispy even after eating phở first