People living far from home often make banh bot loc themselves, since the shop version rarely tastes right. The wrapper turns clear and the shrimp filling stays sweet and snappy. The dough is where it gets difficult, and an underworked one turns soft and splits in the pot.
The water for the dough has to be at a full boil, poured in batches and kneaded while still hot, which is what makes the dough smooth and elastic. Dip the cooked dumplings in a bowl of plain water and lift them straight out so they do not stick. One serving is filling enough to skip the rice.
This batch weighs about 1.5kg, at roughly 237 calories per 100g.
Method
Clean the shrimp, peel them, remove the heads and tails, then chop them small. Peel the carrot, shred it and chop it small. Soak the wood ear mushroom in warm water until soft, trim the base and chop it small.
Peel the garlic, wash the chilies and chop them small. Peel and thinly slice the shallots, and wash and chop the spring onion.
Make the filling: fry a third of the shallots in 2 tablespoons cooking oil until fragrant, then add the wood ear mushroom and stir fry for about 5 minutes.
Add the ground pork, carrot, shrimp and half the chili, stirring to combine. Season with 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon fish sauce, then turn the filling out into a bowl.
Make the dough: bring about 200ml water to a boil. Put 400g tapioca starch in a bowl, pour in the boiling water a little at a time and knead thoroughly until the dough is soft and smooth.
Pinch off small rounds of dough, press them flat, spoon filling into the center and seal them into rounds or any shape you like.
Have about 2 liters of plain water ready in a large bowl. Bring a pot of water to a boil, drop in the dumplings, cover and cook until they turn clear and float.
Lift the dumplings into the bowl of water, then take them straight out so they do not stick, and arrange them on a plate.
Mix the dipping sauce: 2 tablespoons fish sauce, minced garlic, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, the rest of the chili and 1/3 bowl boiling water, stirred together.
Make the spring onion oil by pouring 3 tablespoons hot cooking oil over the spring onion, and fry the shallots in the last 3 tablespoons oil. Plate the dumplings, spoon over the spring onion oil, scatter the fried shallots and serve with the dipping sauce.
Tips
The water for the dough has to be at a full boil, added in stages and kneaded while the dough is still hot.
Dip the boiled dumplings quickly in a bowl of water and lift them straight out so they do not stick together.
Let the filling cool before wrapping, since hot filling makes the dough run.
Boil in small batches, as too many at once drops the water temperature and leaves the dumplings soft.
Keep the kneaded dough covered while shaping, since a few minutes uncovered dries the surface and it cracks in the water.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.