Banh Bot Loc (tapioca dumping) is a small, clear-looking, chewy dumpling originating from Hue city, central Vietnam. It’s also popular in nearby Da Nang and Hoi An cities. It’s made with tapioca flavor, and pork belly, shrimp as a filling. In this article, HoiAn Day Trip Company will tell everything that visitors need to know about Banh bot loc (tapioca dumpling) in central Vietnam.
You may also like: Hue Tapioca Dumpling/Cake
• Content by Tam Le, founder of HOIAN DAY TRIP CO.,LTD
• Designed by Giang Cong Minh, co-founder of LS E&C LTD and his team
• Photo by Dang Cong Loi, Dao Xuan Son, Tam Le & others
Must Knows about Banh Bot Loc (Tapioca Dumplings)
– Other name(s): clear dumpling, tapioca cake
– Origin: Hue city, central Vietnam
– Ingredients: tapioca flavor, shrimp, pork belly
– Where to find: local restaurants, street vendors, market stalls
– Pronunciation:
– Served for: breakfast, late afternoon snack
– Price: 30,000-60,000 VND/plate
– Calories:
– Gluten free: yes
– Vegetarian: not available
– Travel blog: https://hoiandaytrip.com/banh-bot-loc-tapioca-dumpling-hoi-an-da-nang-hue
– Fact:
Ingredients & How to Make Banh Bot Loc (Tapioca Dumplings)
Banh bot loc (Tapioca dumpling/cake) is made of tapioca flavor, pork belly and shrimp as fillings. To make it, local people will do these steps: Vegetarian dumpling has filling made by mung bean (green bean), mushrooms, tofu, spices, etc
– Step 1: Buy tapioca flavor at local markets, and then mix with boiling water, until have a proper dough. After that, leave it alone for a while. If don’t have time or do not know how to mix the flavor, people will buy kneaded tapioca dough in the market.
– Step 2: Chop or mince fresh shrimps and pork belly, and then marinate them with spices (pepper, minced purple shallots, sugar, fish sauce, chopped spring onions). After that, mix them together and keep the marinating mixture alone for at least 30 minutes.
– Step 3: Stir fry the shrimp and pork belly mixture until it can be eaten. After that, keep them in the pan and let it cool down.
– Step 4: Pick up a small piece of tapioca dough and then flatten it by hand. Then, use the spoon to take stir-fried pork and shrimp but not too much, and put in the middle of the cake. Use the hand to fold the cake into half to make sure that the filling is in the middle, and then use fingers to press and ‘close’ the cake.
– Step 5: Tapioca dumplings will be steamed or boiled.
Types of Banh Bot Loc (Tapioca Dumpling)
There are two popular variations of Banh Bot Loc: banh bot loc tran (‘naked’ tapioca dumpling) and banh bot loc la (tapioca dumpling wrapped in banana leaf).
Wrapped tapioca dumplings are often made to bring to far places. The banana leaf helps to keep the inner cake warm and delicious. For that reason, locals buy them when they see parents or go home or return from the city at the end of the day.
Many people like to stir frying steamed/boiled tapioca dumplings with vegetable oil or pig fat, with garlic or onion, and then top with chopped spring onion or coriander leaf.
In northern central provinces, especially in the rainy season, cold tapioca dumplings are deep fried in oil. This dish is banh bot loc chien (meaning ‘fried tapioca dumpling’). Like other fries, people eat them with chilli sauce, tomato sauce, etc.
In Hue, local people fill the bread with naked steamed/boiled tapioca dumplings, to have banh mi bot loc, alongside with herbs and sauces.
How to Banh Bot Loc (Tapioca Dumplings) like a Local
Local people in Da Nang, Hoi An & Hue will eat Hue tapioca dumpling (banh bot loc) with fried shallot and fish sauce. Fish sauce can be raw (without chilli, garlic, etc) or mixed with sugar, lime, chilli, garlic or Hoi An chilli sauce. After steaming, dumplings are placed in a plate or bowl, and then people use chopsticks or a fork to pick them. Usually, they can be eaten alone because the filling is already salty. If want to have more flavors, fish sauce will be added.
To eat tapioca dumplings in banana leaf, it’s needed to ‘’open’ cakes first by removing the leaf by hand. Then, use chopsticks or a fork or spoon to pick it up.
Hue tapioca dumplings are all delicious when it’s hot or cold.
Where to Eat Banh Bot Loc (Tapioca Dumplings) in Da Nang/Hoi An?
Best Banh Bot Loc in Hoi An
In Hoi An, visitors can go to these places to eat Banh Bot Loc:
– Banh Beo Ba Bay, a vendor on the pavement of Hoang Van Thu St, near Trung Hoa Assembly Hall that opens from 2 to 5 PM (close when sold out). Here, owners sell tapioca cakes or banh bot loc (both non-vegetarian and vegetarian options), flat steamed rice cake or banh nam, steamed pork sausage in banana leaf, fermented pork or nem chua
– Banh Beo Ba Be, a small eatery on Nguyen Truong To St, near Tan An Market (aka Tiger Market) that opens from 3 to 6 PM (close when sold out). Here, owners sell tapioca cakes or banh bot loc (both non-vegetarian and vegetarian options), flat steamed rice cake or banh nam, steamed pork sausage in banana leaf, fermented pork or nem chua
Best Banh Bot Loc in Da Nang
In Da Nang, visitors can go to these places to eat Banh bot loc (tapioca dumpling/cake):
– Con Market (Cho Con): one of the biggest local markets in Da Nang, with a food court opening from morning to afternoon and a street food area in late afternoon outside the main market building.
– Bac My An Market: a local market in My An ward of Ngu Hanh Son district, with a food court inside its building that open from morning to afternoon
– Banh Beo Ba Be: a small locally-owned eatery on Hoang Van Thu Street in Da Nang downtown.
Better to Know about Eating Local in Da Nang/Hoi An
– Local family-run restaurants always serve better local foods than tourist restaurants. Places inside small alleyways potentially are hidden gems. The price is even more affordable at these lesser known spots.
– Restaurants where you can see a queue or crowds, food or drinks there are absolutely better or safer than others. Vietnamese people also avoid places without people eating, such as roadside eateries.
– Hot foods are often safe to eat for non-Vietnamese people. Refuse cold food (especially ones sold on the street, markets) or things you don’t see people cooking.
– Make sure that you learn some basic Vietnamese words or sentences to order foods, such as xin chao (hello, hi), cho toi mot (something) (I want one…), toi an chay (I am vegetarian), khong cay (no spicy), cam on (thank you), tam biet (goodbye) or numbers (mot/one, hai/two, ba/three, bon/four, nam/five, sau/six, bay/seven, tam/eight, chin/nine, and muoi/ten).
– Ask any local people you know (tour guide, driver, hotel receptionists, bellmen, etc) to receive their recommendation for good places to eat local.
– Raw vegetables are popularly used in local dishes, such as noodles or noodle soup or sandwich. They are often washed by tap water or unwashed. If can not drink tap water, remove or refuse them. Likewise, in most iced drinks (such as coffee or herbal tea), people add ice made by tap water also.
– On the 1st day and 14th-15th days of each lunar month, Hoi An citizens eat vegetarians. Many local restaurants and street businesses will be closed by that.
– If you don’t eat pork or beef, due to diet or religious restrictions, be careful when want to try local food here, if don’t see the ingredient description. Pork and beef are very popular meats, so they will be in numerous dishes. Street vendors may say ‘no pork’ or ‘no beef’ for better business, but please check before buying!
– Consider joining a food tour guided by locals who know much better about dishes in the city, including things never mentioned in guidebooks or on the internet.
– If have an allergy (milk, egg, peanut, wheat,…), ask anybody you know before trying or search for ingredients on the internet. By the way, fish sauce is popularly used to marinate Vietnamese foods, so make sure that you know this information if you’re fish allergic.
– Food portion (or size) here is often not really big (locals prefer eating with their family at home). You may try double or some different dishes for main meals.
– If don’t see the price on the menu, please ask in advance to avoid overcharging, especially when you are not a local. In Vietnamese, how much is bao nhieu.
– Most popular cutleries are chopsticks and spoons. To know how to use it, browse here
Local Food & Street Food in Da Nang/Hoi An
– Hoi An specialty food & street food: Cao Lau Noodles, Mi Quang Noodles, Banh Mi (Hoi An Style), Pho (Hoi An Style), White Rose Dumplings, Fried Wonton, Banh Dap (Smashing Rice Paper), Cam Nam Stir-fried Baby Clams, Cam Nam Sweet Corn Soup
– Other food & street food: Banh Beo (Steamed Rice Cake), Banh Xeo (Crispy Rice Pancake), Banh Bot Loc (Tapioca Dumpling), Banh Nam,
