Bánh Nậm (Vietnamese Steamed Rice Dumplings With Shrimp and Pork)

These tender rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves and studded with a seasoned mixture of ground pork and wood ear mushrooms make a great snack or party platter.

By
Hong Pham
A portrait photo of Serious Eats contributor Hong Pham.
Hong Pham
A practicing physician by trade, Hong describes himself as an avid home cook with years of experience learning traditional Vietnamese recipes and techniques from his elders.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Published February 07, 2023
Overhead view of finished banh man on a banana leaf one a blue titled background

Serious Eats / Vy Tran

Why It Works

  • Adding tapioca flour to the rice flour batter yields a more elastic, less mushy texture than rice flour alone.
  • Cooking the batter before steaming allows starches to set, resulting in a silky, smooth final dumpling. 

Once a dish exclusive to Vietnam’s royalty in the former capital Huế, bánh nậm is now a popular dish enjoyed by everyone, served at street stalls and fine dining restaurants alike. This thin, flat, rectangular rice dumpling studded with minced pork and shrimp is wrapped in a tidy banana leaf parcel, similar to central American tamales. 

Bánh nậm is an excellent example of how altering a rice flour batter can result in a completely different dish. While it shares the same basic rice flour batter as dishes like bánh xèo (crispy rice flour pancakes), bánh nậm is nothing like its crispy cousins. Here, the batter is first cooked on the stovetop to hydrate and gelatinize the starches—it's ready when mixture thickens to the point of looking like mashed potatoes.

The resulting starchy paste is then spread on sections of banana leaf. On top goes a seasoned filling of cooked ground pork, minced shrimp, wood ear mushroom, and minced scallions (this is one of the more common fillings, though other ingredients and combinations are possible from plain shrimp to different meats and vegetables). The little banana leaf packets are then folded closed and steamed, creating a tender, yet firm dumpling that’s a delight to eat.

Overhead view of banh nam on a banana leaf with dipping sauce on a blue tiled background

Serious Eats / Vy Tran

The two-stage cooking process is essential to achieve bánh nậm's proper texture—silky, smooth, and gently set. If you were to only cook the rice batter on the stovetop and then serve it, you'd end up with a northern Vietnamese porridge-like dish called bánh đúc, which is ladled into bowls, and topped with fish sauce and similar ingredients as the fillings in these dumplings. If you were, on the other hand, to attempt to steam these dumplings without cooking the rice and tapioca flours first on the stovetop, the batter would be too wet, making packet formation in the banana leaves nearly impossible.

As for the flours, success with bánh nậm hinges on using a combination of both rice flour and tapioca flour. Rice flour alone would produce a dumpling that's mushy and pasty even after steaming the banana leaves. Tapioca flour, known for its chewiness and elasticity, adds needed structure and bite to the dumpling.

While this is not a weeknight recipe, it’s definitely a fun and doable weekend activity to involve the family. Our daughters love wrapping and opening the bánh nậm as much as they do devouring them. We love enjoying bánh nậm as a snack any time of day or on a large platter at a celebratory gathering. A splash of nước chấm, a sprinkling of crispy shallots, and a side of đồ chua complete this perfect bite.

Recipe Details

Bánh Nậm (Vietnamese Steamed Rice Dumplings With Shrimp and Pork) Recipe

Prep 45 mins
Cook 45 mins
Total 90 mins
Serves 8 to 10 servings
Makes 36 to 40 dumplings

Ingredients

For the Filling: 

  • 1 cup dried wood ear mushrooms

  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) store-bought or homemade annatto oil (for homemade, see note)

  • 1 medium shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)

  • 3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

  • 8 ounces (227g) ground pork

  • 8 ounces (227g) finely minced shelled and deveined shrimp

  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) oyster sauce

  • 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions (from about 1 bunch)

For the Rice Batter:

  • 2 cups (240g) rice flour

  • 1/2 cup (60g) tapioca flour

  • 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume

  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola oil

To Assemble and Serve:

  • One 16-ounce (454g) package frozen banana leaves, defrosted, then washed, dried, and cut into 10- by 5-inch rectangles

  • Nước chấm, for serving

Directions

  1. For the Filling: Rinse wood ear mushrooms under cold running water. In a medium bowl, cover mushrooms with hot water and let soak until softened (they will swell significantly and become very flexible with a slight rubbery texture), 15 to 30 minutes. Alternatively, cover with cold water and soak for at least 1 and up to 8 hours. Drain, rinse again to remove any lingering sand or grit, and trim of any tough/woody parts. Mince finely and set aside.

    Mushrooms finely diced on a wooden cutting board

    Serious Eats / Vy Tran

  2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat annatto oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add shallot and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high, add ground pork and wood ear mushrooms and cook, stirring to break up pork, until pork is browned, about 10 minutes.

    Mushrooms and pork in a skillet

    Serious Eats / Vy Tran

  3. Stir in shrimp, oyster sauce, and fish sauce, and season well with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, breaking up any remaining lumps of meat or shrimp, until shrimp is cooked through, about 3 minutes longer. Stir in green onions until well combined, then remove filling from heat and set aside.

    Adding green onions to skillet with shrimp, pork, and mushrooms

    Serious Eats / Vy Tran

  4. For the Rice Batter: In a 2-quart saucepan, stir together rice and tapioca flours, salt, oil, and 6 cups (1.4L) water until well combined. Set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently and scraping bottom of pan to prevent sticking, until batter begins to thicken, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue stirring until you get a loose mashed potato–like consistency, about 4 minutes longer. Remove batter from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

    Overhead view of rice batter in a pot on a stove

    Serious Eats / Vy Tran

  5. To Assemble: Place a banana leaf rectangle in front of you with the long side perpendicular to you. Portion 2 tablespoons of batter onto the center. Using a silicone spatula, spread batter into a roughly 2- by 4-inch rectangle about 1/8 inch thick.

    Two image collage of a dollop of rice mixture placed on banana leaf and then spread into a rectangle with a spatula

    Serious Eats / Vy Tran

  6. Scatter roughly 1 heaping teaspoon filling over batter.

    Scattering filling over rice mix on banana leaf

    Serious Eats / Vy Tran

  7. Fold one long side of banana leaf over batter and filling followed by the other to close. Next, fold top and bottom flaps over the filling. Set closed packet aside, folded-sides down to prevent them from popping open and repeat with remaining banana leaf rectangles, batter, and filling.

    Four image collage showing an overhead view of how to fold rice packet: one side of the banana left folded to the middle of rice mixture, followed by the other side, then folding top and bottom to center, and flipping whole package over

    Serious Eats / Vy Tran

  8. In a steamer basket or bamboo steamer, arrange dumpling packets flat or sideways, making sure to arrange them such that they remain closed. Bring a pot or wok filled with 1 or 2 inches of water to a boil over high heat. Add steamer basket or bamboo steamer, cover, and steam for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, then enjoy hot or at room temperature with some nước chấm.

    Two image collage of rice packets in steamer then finished on a platter

    Serious Eats / Vy Tran

Special Equipment

Steamer, silicone spatula

Notes

To make annatto oil, warm 2 tablespoons (15ml) neutral cooking oil with 1/4 teaspoon annatto seeds on medium heat, stirring occasionally as oil darkens to a red-orange color, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, then strain and discard seeds. 

Make-Ahead and Storage

  • Wood ear mushrooms can be soaked up to 6 hours ahead.
  • Banana leaf packets can be prepared 2 to 3 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container wrapped in a damp paper towel. When ready to cook, pack into steamer and steam for 10 minutes following recipe instructions.
  • The filling can be made and stored in the refrigerator 1 to 2 days ahead. Reheat by microwaving for 1 minute or steaming for 5 minutes. 
  • Un-steamed dumpling packets can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To cook from frozen, steam for 15 minutes. 
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
243Calories
8gFat
30gCarbs
12gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories243
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g11%
Saturated Fat 2g9%
Cholesterol 64mg21%
Sodium 622mg27%
Total Carbohydrate 30g11%
Dietary Fiber 2g5%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 12g
Vitamin C 2mg9%
Calcium 39mg3%
Iron 1mg4%
Potassium 211mg4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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