Bánh Bèo (Hue Steamed Rice Cakes)

Tiny steamed rice cakes served in small dishes and topped with dried shrimp, scallion oil and crispy pork skin, then eaten with sweet fish sauce. A defining Hue snack.

Bánh bèo are small, thin discs of steamed rice batter, each cooked and served in its own little saucer. The name refers to the water fern the cakes are said to resemble. Each one is topped with finely ground dried shrimp, scallion oil and crunchy bits of fried pork skin, and you spoon over a light, slightly sweet fish sauce with chilli before scooping the cake out with a small spoon or bamboo knife. The texture is soft and delicate, the flavour mild and savoury with a sweet-salty finish. In Hue they are usually ordered by the tray, a dozen or more dishes at a time, and eaten as an afternoon snack or light meal rather than a main course. They are often served together with bánh nậm and bánh bột lọc as a set of Hue cakes, which is an easy way for a first-time visitor to sample several at once. Portions look small, but they are meant to be eaten in quantity.