Go Back
+ servings
Print

Vietnamese Turnip Cake - Banh Bot Chien

This turnip cake (banh bot chien) is an absolute hit in my household. It has a crispy pan fried skin with a gooey centre that is flavoured with Chinese sausage, spring onions and dried shrimp.  This recipe is my mum's cheat version, which is much simpler and quicker then traditional methods.
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine Chinese, Vietnamese
Keyword Turnip Cake
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Cooling 2 hours
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 559kcal
Author Scruff

Ingredients

  • 20 gm dried shrimp, washed and finely chopped
  • 200 gm white turnip, finely grated
  • 2 Chinese sausage, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp sweet preserved radish / cu cai muoi minced (Optional but highly recommended and available from your Asian groceries)
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 cup boiling water

Dough Ingredients

  • 250 gm rice flour, sifted
  • 60 gm tapioca flour, sifted
  • 3 cups cold water
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp sugar

Dipping Sauces (Optional)

  • soy sauce
  • sriracha chilli sauce

Instructions

  • In a large pot, add 3 cups of cold water and sift in the flour. Add the rest of the dough ingredients and gently whisk until all is combined. Leave aside until needed.
  • In a small saucer, add the dried shrimp and enough boiling water to completely submerse the shrimp. Boil for 10 minutes on medium heat and then strain. Then roughly chop the shrimp.
  • Finely grate the turnip and cut the Chinese sausage and spring onions.
  • In a small fry pan on medium heat, add 1 tbsp of oil and the chopped Chinese sausage. Continually stir and cook until the oils and fragrance from the Chinese sausage is released. Take the pot off the heat and scrape all the Chinese sausage and oil into the large pot with the dough mixture.
  • Heat the large pot with the dough mixture to medium high. Add the chopped shrimp, preserved radish, spring onion, grated turnip and 1 cup of boiling water.
  • With a big wooden spoon, continuously stir until the mixture becomes very thick (usually about 4 minutes). Take it off the heat and continue to stir for another minute. Set aside to cool. 
  • Grease 3 plates (approx 26 cm / 10.25 In) with oil. With a wooden spoon, divide the mixture into three portions and place them on the plates.
  • Touch the dough mixture to see if it is cool enough to handle. Once you are comfortable, put on some food handling gloves and cover your hands with some oil. Flatten out the dough on each plate like a pancake to roughly 1 cm - 1.5 cm. 
  • Cover the plates with cling wrap and cook in the microwave for 8.5 minutes on high. Make sure to seal it properly so the dough does not dry out. 
  • Leave the cling wrap on and let the turnip cake cool for at least 2 hours (must be cold to touch) in the fridge before frying. Do not cut or fry the turnip cake while hot!

To Fry (only after chilled)

  • Cut the turnip cake into smaller pieces.
  • In a fry pan on medium high, add 2 - 3 tbsp of oil and fry them until golden on the outside. About 2 – 3 minutes on each side.
  • Serve immediately with soy sauce and Sriracha.

Nutrition

Calories: 559kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 1039mg | Potassium: 168mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1mg