Steamed Rice Flour Cakes with Dried Shrimp: Banh Beo

For the dipping sauce: Add sugar, prawn broth, fish sauce, and vinegar to a bowl. Mix until the sugar is dissolved. Now add the chopped chile. Set aside. In a large bowl combine rice flour, tapioca flour, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and pour in 1/2 the warm water. Using your hands stir the ingredients together kneading the dough until it is well combined. Now add the rest of the water, use a wooden spoon to stir it all together until you achieve a fine liquid batter. Add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil and allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes. Bring a pot of water to the boil, add prawns and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the prawns, peel and reserve the prawn broth. Bring a steamer pot to rapid boil, place as many ramekins to the steamer tray as you can. Now fill each ramekin with the batter 2/3 full. Cover and steam for 5 minutes. Repeat this process until batter is finished. Pound the cooked prawns in a mortar and pestle until crushed. Put a fry pan on low heat, add the crushed prawns, garlic, and shallots, stir fry for 5 minutes or until prawns are completely dry and floss-like texture. Turn off heat, add pepper and continue to stir fry for a further 3 minutes. Add some oil to each rice cake and top with prawns, crushed pork crackling, and fish sauce.