Banh Cam – Banh Ran Recipe
May 7, 2011|186 comments
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Bánh cam or bánh rán is one of the most famous and beloved Vietnamese desserts. A golden brown shell of sesame studded rice flour that is crispy on the outside yet chewy on the inside, yielding to a sweet and moist mung bean coconut filling. Growing up, my mom would make hundreds of bánhcam to sell and raise money for various charitable organizations and the entire family would sit around the table to help. Ever since we all moved away for college and our separate careers, it’s just been my dad helping her roll the bánh cam. It’s been years since I’ve laid my hands on this sweet ball of love, but recently, my parents came for a visit and we had the pleasure of convening around the table again as a family to make some bánhcam.
We’re not going to spend too much time belaboring the differences between bánh cam and bánh rán (as northerners would say) as they are nearly identical. Banh cam can sometimes be served with simple syrup and sometimes may not have sesame. Most of our friends and westerners affectionately call them sesame balls, which works perfectly fine with us.
Steamed mung beans, shredded coconuts, and sugar comprises the filling. The mung bean filling should be moist and not dry, and like most Asian desserts, not too sweet. You can make the mung bean filling days in advance and even store them in the freezer to keep handy.
Since this is Mothers Day weekend, we made a video tutorial and tribute to my mom and thank her for everything she’s done for us, including sharing this wonderful and easy banh cam recipe. We are completely indebted to my mom (and dad) for showing us this and many other family recipes.
The best way to enjoy bánh cam is hot out of the fryer when it’s most crispy. Flatten it back into a disk to evenly spread out the mung bean filling and enjoy with friends and family over tea.
But of course what is a dessert nowadays without it being turned into a pop? We riff off the name “cam” which means orange and added some citrus leaves. Happy Mothers Day and enjoy bánh cam from our family table to yours.
Banh Cam / Banh Ran Recipe
This classic sesame studded Vietnamese donut is made from rice flours is a uniquely crunchy and chewy texture. The mung bean and coconut filling adds just enough sweetness but not too much.
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Prep Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
Soak Time: 1 hour hour
Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Keyword: banh cam, dessert, sesame
Servings: 16 pieces depending on size
Calories: 4669kcal
Author: Hong and Kim
Equipment
oil for frying
Ingredients
Mung bean filling
- 8 oz split peeled mung beans
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Dough
- 16 oz glutinous rice flour
- 1 cup rice flour
- 2 1/2 cup water plus extra 1/4 cup
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tbs baking powder
- 2/3 cup mash potato flakes
- 1 cup sesame untoasted
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
Mung bean filling
Soak mung beans overnight or at least 1 hr in warm water. Steam until soften and easily smashed with your finger tips, roughly 20 minutes (or longer if not soaked overnight). In meantime, dissolve sugar in warm water. When mung bean has cooled, transfer to mixing bowl and coarsely mash. Add the sugar water mixture and coconut and mix well. The texture should be like mashed potatoes. Allow to cool and form small quarter size balls of mung bean. Refrigerate covered.
Dough
Add sugar in 2 1/2 cup of warm water and stir to dissolve. In large mixing bowl, add sugar mixture and the potato flakes and stir to combine. Then add the baking powder and stir to dissolve. Finally add the two types of rice flour and mix together to form a big ball of dough. There is no need to knead the dough. The dough should be a wet play-dough consistency. Add a few tablespoons at a time of the extra 1/4 cup of water to the dough and mix well if it's too dry or gets to dry when working.
Assembly
Pinch off a golf ball sized piece of dough and form into a ball. Flatten to a disk with palm of your hands and thin out the edges to form a pancake. If the dough cracks at the edges, it's too dry. Add a few tablespoons at a time of the 1/4 cup of water to the dough and mix well. Place the filling in the center and fold dough edges together and seal seams by rolling in the palm your hands.
Roll in a bowl of sesame seeds to cover completely. Roll in the palm of your hands to make sure the sesame seeds stick. Cover loosely at room temperature until ready to fry.
Fry
In a small dutch oven filled about 1/3rd way with oil, heat to 325 degrees. Add multiple banh cam to nearly cover the pot and occasionally turn the banh cam for even frying. When golden brown, remove and drain and enjoy while warm.
Notes
Filling can be made 1-2 days in advance and kept refrigerated. To reheat, toast in toaster oven until crispy.
Nutrition
Sodium: 2708mg | Calcium: 1601mg | Vitamin C: 32mg | Vitamin A: 445IU | Sugar: 309g | Fiber: 47g | Potassium: 1158mg | Calories: 4669kcal | Saturated Fat: 29g | Fat: 41g | Protein: 101g | Carbohydrates: 980g | Iron: 15mg
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Posted In desserts, tráng miệng ~ desserts, various bánh, videos, Vietnamese
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