This is the pillow soft and snow white Chinese rice cake that my grandmother loves mostly. It is very similar to Vietnamese banh bo. The difference lies whether coconut milk is used as an ingredient. Coconut milk is not a common ingredient in Chinese cuisine, but personally I think the taste is really good.
In China, this is usually served as a dessert between meals or with tea, most popular in Sichuan province and Guangdong province. Although the Chinese names are different, the processing is almost the same.
Making those little lovely steamed rice cakes at home is super easy and you will definitely enjoy the process and the results.
Measure all the ingredients. You can use some coconut milk to replace water. Melt your yeast with some water (around 35°C).Take around half of the rice flour and mix with boiling water. Cool down to room temperature and mix the left rice flour in the bowl. Add yeast water. Combine everything really well.
Brush your steamers with some oil so that you can easily take the cake out without destroying the shape. Pour the batter to your steamers about 1/2 to 2/3 full.Cover with a large lid or plastic wrap and wait for fermentation. Steam for around 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1/2 cup sugar or as needed
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- Oil for brushing
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix instant yeast with warm water.
- Take around half of the rice flour and mix with boiling water. Cool down to room temperature and mix the left rice flour in the bowl.
- Add yeast water. Combine everything well.
- Brush some oil on your container. Pour the batter to container around 2/3 full. Cover with a lid or plastic wrappers. Set aside until fermented to 100% full.
- Set up the steamer and steam for 15 minutes to 20 minutes. You can use microwave to cook for 4 to 4 minutes with high fire.
- Tips for steaming: turn off the fire and wait for around 5 minutes before lifting the lid so that the rice cake will not collapse.
