Banh Nam Recipe

Bánh nậm is often called the Vietnamese tamale and it’s similarities to the Latin American treat are remarkable. Both are rectangular dumplings filled with meat and then wrapped and steamed. Tamales dumplings are typically corn flour but can also be rice flour just like bánh nậm, Tamales are often wrapped in corn husks but the more south you go towards central America, the more frequent banana leaves are used, just like bánh nậm. So its remarkable that half way around the world, two different cultures can come up with a dish that is so similar. In Hue and central Vietnam, bánh nậm is typically filled with minced pork and shrimp and these parcels can be eaten as a snack on it’s own or as a dish doused in some nuoc cham. We’ve eaten it many times but suprisingly we haven’t made it ourselves. The process is very similar to banh gio, but for this recipe, we enlisted instagrammer Kris @rasianbran who makes some of the best looking bánh nậm on the gram and she happily shared her recipe. The recipe itself is easy but does take some planning and procuring some special ingredients, namely banana leaves which are commonly found in the frozen section of well stocked Asian or Latino markets.