How To: Bánh Bột Lọc (Vietnamese Clear Pork and Shrimp Dumplings)

Hi Nibblers!

            I am so excited to be sharing this recipe with you! It's one of my all time favourite Vietnamese dishes and one I crave with the strongest intensity. I had one of my urges for Bánh Bột Lọc recently when my parents were away on holidays which meant I was in charge of all things to do with food. My tummy was grumbling. I started researching. I started looking at pictures. I couldn't take it anymore. The lust was just too much. I woke up the next day, gathered the ingredients from the shop and away I went. It was the best decision I ever made. They tasted exactly like I wanted them to and it was super easy to do. I made Mum a dish as soon as she came from the airport and now she can't stop asking for it. And with Mother's Day today, this is the perfect recipe to celebrate.

How To: Bánh Bột Lọc (Vietnamese Clear Pork and Shrimp Dumplings)

Yields approx. 50 dumplings
What you'll need:

Shrimp and Pork ready to go!

For the filling

- 500g diced pork shoulder
- 500g shrimp, shell left on (head and tail cut off)
- 1 1/2 Tbs. cooking caramel (creates a nicer golden brown colour)
- 4 Tbs. brown sugar
- 4 Tbs. fish sauce
- 2 Tbs. oil
For dumpling dough (adapted from 'The Spices of Life' blog - Her blog really helped me with this recipe)
- 400g tapioca starch
- 2 Tbs. oil
- 315 mL boiling water or 1 and 1/4 cup
- 1 tsp. salt

P.S I didn't dice my pork finely
enough! Cut it small so it's
easier to fill

For spring onion/scallion oil
- 10 sprigs of scallion/spring onion finely sliced
- 1/2 canola oil
For fish sauce dipping sauce
- 1 cup of fish sauce
- 1L of water
- 260g sugar

How To:
Start with the fish sauce:
1. Mix sugar, fish sauce and water in a saucepan on low to medium heat until boil and well combined
2. Remove from heat and set aside until needed
Make the filing:
1. Heat oil and sugar on medium to high heat, constantly stirring to create a caramel sauce

Before the sugar caramelises

2. Add diced pork and shrimp and stir to evenly distribute heat
3. Add fish sauce and stir until well combined
4. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally then set aside until needed
For scallion oil:

Scallion Oil

1. Heat oil in a frypan on medium to high heat for about 2 minutes until evenly heated
2. Add scallion to oil and stir until coated through then set aside
For the dumpling dough:
1. Mix tapioca starch, water, oil and salt and knead in bowl until dough comes away from the bowl and no longer sticks to sides of the bowl
2. Divide the batter into 8 equal parts and place 7 in a bag or lidded container to stop the dough from drying out
3. Roll dough into a log shape with a diameter of 2 cm

Caramelised sugar

4. Cut log into even 2cm x 2cm logs and place into bag or lidded container to stop dough from drying
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all dough is cut
6. Taking a small log, roll out until you have a circle with a diameter of approximately 5cm and thickness of 3mm
7. Add about a tsp. of pork and shrimp filling to centre of the circle
8.  Fold edges together and firmly press to create a semi circle shape then set aside in bag or lidded container until needed
9. Repeat steps 6 - 8 until all dough is used up
         Note:  If you have any left over filling, it'll go perfectly with a bed of rice
                    Dumplings can be frozen until needed so if you know you will be short on time but have a party coming up, this is the perfect recipe. No need to thaw them before you cook them. All other components (fish sauce and scallion oil can also be frozen until needed)

Dumpling log

Fill them up 

Dumpling thickness

Assemble time:
1. When you're ready to cook dumplings, fill a bowl with cold water ready for cooked dumplings to bathe in before garnishing (This will stop the dough from hardening)
2. Fill a pot with water and leave on high heat until water boils
3. Reduce heat to low and add desired raw dumplings
4. Cook dumplings for about 5 minutes in which dumplings will start to float to the top of pot or until dumplings become transparent and soft
5. Scoop cooked dumplings using a strainer and place into cold water for 30 seconds
6. Place dumplings into a bowl and add a few Tbs. of scallion oil and toss until well coated

Ready to be bathed!

In the bath

7. Add desired fish sauce and add some chilli slices and/or fried onions to garnish and consume!

           This recipe may seem a tad overwhelming with the number of components and steps but I can assure you, it's all worth the effort. They're delicious and can definitely please a crowd. It'll also make you think twice about wanting to buy these in the shop because you can make a whole bunch of dumplings for a fraction of the price!
   
                I hope you all enjoyed this recipe and had a lovely Mother's day with your Mum / family! Leave a comment below if you give this one a go or if you have any other questions.

Nibble Away,
              Jo

How To: Chocolate, Peanut Pretzel Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

Hi Nibblers!

           This cupcake is the ultimate cupcake when you're craving the decadence of chocolate but also want to chill with a bag of potato chips. The salt from the pretzel really breaks down the Nutella frosting and chocolate cake batter and enhances the flavours. You're not left feeling like you're on a sugar high after consuming these cupcakes. I also love how the base not only adds texture but it just gives the classic cupcake a great twist. I made these for my friends a few weeks ago and it garnered some awesome feedback. The only thing is, I couldn't pin down a shorter name for this recipe because there's so many different components I wanted to list! And with Mother's Day just around the corner, these could be your best bet with satisfying all of Mum's cravings. So, headaches over what to name these cupcakes aside, here's the recipe:

What you'll need:
Yields 12-14 medium sized cupcakes
For base:
- 150g roughly crushed pretzels
- 6 Tbs. peanut butter
- 2 Tbs. milk
- 1 tsp. sugar
For middle cake zone:
- 1 cup or 180g self-raising flour (plain flour will work just
remember to add a pinch of salt)
- 2 tsp. of baking powder
- 1/2 cup or 80g of cocoa powder
- 50g butter (softened to room temperature)
- 3/4 cup or 120g of sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup or 250ml of milk
- 3/4 tsp. Vanilla Essence
For Nutella Frosting:
- 250g unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
- 100g icing sugar (sifted)
- 1 tsp. vanilla essence
- 350g or approx. 1 and 1/2 cup of Nutella

How To:
For base:

Pretzel base ready to go!

1. Line cupcake tin with patty pan liners the set aside
2. Add milk, sugar and peanut butter in microwave safe bowl and mix
3. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds or in a pot under low heat, stirring constantly until it turns into a smooth paste
4. Combine with crushed pretzels until well coated
5. Add 2 Tbs of pretzel crumb to each patty pan 
6. Firmly press pretzel crumb into the patty pan creating a straight base for your cupcake then set aside
For cake component:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celcius

2. Sift together flour, baking powder and cocoa in a medium mixing bowl then set aside

3. Beat together the softened butter, vanilla essence and white sugar in a large mixing bowl until well combined and fluffy (approx. 3 minutes)
4. Add eggs in one at a time and mix 

5. Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients and 1/2 of the milk into the butter/sugar mixture and mix

6. Repeat step 5 until all ingredients are all combined

7. Add batter into pretzel base patty pan filling it up 3/4 of the pan

8. Pop into the oven for 15 - 18 minutes checking with a skewer at the end to see if it's cooked

        While waiting for cupcakes to cook, start making the Nutella frosting

9. Rest the cupcakes for approx. 30 minutes or until cool before decorating

For Nutella Frosting:

1. Beat butter until butter changes from its original yellow colour to an off white colour (beat on a high speed for at least 5 minutes)

2. Add vanilla essence and milk and beat until well combined

3. Add sifted icing sugar and mix

4. Add Nutella and beat for 5 minutes until well incorporated

           If you want a thicker consistency, add more icing sugar

           For a more softer, smoother frosting, add  Tbs of milk

           If you ever have leftover frosting, pop it into an airtight container and freeze until needed. Can hold up to at least 2 months in the freezer or up to two weeks in the fridge

Then it's assemble time! Frost cupcakes as desired and enjoy :)

       Hope you liked this recipe and give it a go! Be sure to leave a comment below if you do give it a try or have any other requests. Hope you all have a lovely week and give your Mumma some extra loving this week to celebrate!

OM NOM NOM

Nibble Away,

           Jo