Bot Chien (Saigon Fried Rice Cake with Egg), Made with Monk Fruit Sweetener
Vietnamese dishesFried DishesSouthern Vietnam15 minutes steaming, 6 to 8 hours chilling, about 10 minutes frying
Saigon style bot chien gives cubes that are crisp at the edges and soft inside, eaten with grated green papaya and a sweet and sour dipping sauce. The tricky part is the batter, since a moment of slack stirring leaves lumps.
Once steamed, the batter must cool, be wrapped tightly and chilled for 6 to 8 hours to firm up. Skip that step and the cubes fall apart when cut and never crisp up. This tray divides into 2 portions, counting the egg, pickles and dipping sauce.
This batch weighs about 1.3kg, at roughly 102 calories per 100g.
Method
Put 230g rice flour, 50g tapioca starch and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and pour in 400ml cold water slowly, stirring until the flour dissolves.
Pour in 400ml boiling water and stir thoroughly, add 1 tablespoon cooking oil, stir again and rest the batter for 15 minutes.
Pour the batter into a pot and cook over low heat. After about 3 minutes it starts to thicken, so stir constantly to stop it catching. Turn off the heat once the batter feels heavy against the spoon. If it goes lumpy, smooth it with a hand mixer.
Brush a mold with a thin layer of oil, pour in the batter, level the surface and press it lightly with baking paper. Steam for 15 minutes over boiling water, with a cloth under the lid so condensation does not drip onto the cake. A skewer that comes out clean means it is set.
Cool the cake completely at room temperature, wrap it tightly and chill it for 6 to 8 hours so it firms up and is easy to cut and fry.
While waiting, mix the dipping sauce with 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 2 tablespoons boiling water, 3 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 tablespoons Chinkiang black vinegar, adding minced chili for heat.
Turn the cake out of the mold, cut it into strips about 1cm wide, then into rectangles of about 3cm. For a deeper brown color, toss the pieces with 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce.
Heat oil in a nonstick pan and fry the pieces until crisp and golden on both sides, then crack in 1 to 2 chicken eggs, spread them out and fry until set and fragrant.
Slide onto a plate, scatter with spring onion oil or chopped spring onion, and serve with grated green papaya, pickled carrot and daikon, with the dipping sauce poured over.
Tips
Brush the mold with oil before steaming and lay a cloth under the lid so condensation does not drip down and soften the cake.
The 6 to 8 hour chill is essential, since only a firm cake cuts cleanly and fries crisp.
Chinkiang black vinegar is what keeps the dipping bowl light, and without it the dish sits heavy.
Lumpy batter is best smoothed with a hand mixer rather than more stirring by hand.
Fry the cubes crisp and golden on both sides before the eggs go in, so the eggs do not scorch.
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.