You can just about find a street food vendor near every busy intersections in Ho Chi Minh City, the set up varies, but more often than not they have these tiny tables and chairs seemingly set up for kids of kindergarten age. If you’re Vietnamese size, these will fit just, and fortunately for myself and Haze, our body size is within range.

street side food vendor outside Ben Thanh market
street side food vendor outside Ben Thanh market

Ben Thanh market is one of those “must-visit” places in Ho Chi Minh City, especially if you feel like getting slaughtered buying touristy or otherwise imitation goods. We went there only because it was almost a decade since I got my fake Nike jerseys there, plus we had rented a scooter so it was rather convenient to do so.

you want spicy? we've got spicy!
you want spicy? we’ve got spicy!

Anyway, there is this little bot chien & ha cao stall situated right outside the market manned by a middle aged lady with a frying pan and a metal small pot on clay stove. Street food is best sampled with the locals, so we made this our spot for afternoon in-between meal snacks.

Bột chiên - fried rice cake
bá»™t chiên – fried rice cake

Bot Chien is the Vietnamese version of fried rice cake (25000 VND). While the base ingredient is similar to our “char kuih kak“, the execution is vastly different. The rice cake is fried together with egg in generous amount of oil, with the surface area all crispy while retaining the inner bits soft.

Soya sauce is then poured over and then topped with shredded green papaya and chopped green onions. If you like it spicy, there’s also chili sauce & sambal that can be added to the whole mix.

This dish was actually pretty good, the various ingredients complement each other well, and best consumed while the rice cakes are still crispy even though soaked in soya sauce. The green papaya also serve to cut through the greasiness of the dish as well, I’d recommend anyone to give this a try.

há cảo - shrimp dumpling
há cảo – shrimp dumpling

Ha Cao, as you may suspect, is the dish of the same name in Cantonese –  shrimp dumplings (25000 VND). You get the shredded greens as well as the sambal, soya sauce and fried shallots ala Vietnamese style, but otherwise they aren’t overly different from the Chinese version. It was still enjoyable, but if I had to choose between the two, bot chien would be my choice.

map to ben thanh market, Saigon

Happy food hunting!

Address:
Phan Bội Châu
Ben Thanh
District 1, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
GPS: 10.772582, 106.698676

KY eats – Vietnamese Street Food 101 – #3 Bot Chien and Ha Cao
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28 thoughts on “KY eats – Vietnamese Street Food 101 – #3 Bot Chien and Ha Cao

  • January 9, 2017 at 1:54 pm
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    street food vietnam selalu menggoda, rasa enak dan harga murah

    Reply
      • January 16, 2017 at 7:06 am
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        uncle…. this guy’s blog…. WTF

        Reply
          • January 17, 2017 at 5:48 am
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            no, if like, then get same treatment as anwar… ROFL

            Reply
  • January 9, 2017 at 3:12 pm
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    bột chiên looks like their version of our fried white carrot/radish cake or koay kak.

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    • January 9, 2017 at 3:14 pm
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      suituapui: close, but tastes rather different.

      Reply
  • January 9, 2017 at 9:47 pm
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    i’m liking the overall look of their ha cao more than the ‘plain’ dim sum version that we’re used to 🙂

    Reply
    • January 10, 2017 at 2:07 pm
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      Sean: more condiments is always better!

      Reply
  • January 10, 2017 at 8:41 pm
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    Reply
      • January 12, 2017 at 8:24 am
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        HaHaHaha.. this guy must be Prezident elect Trumpet, that is why he only marry foreign women like Ivana and Melania… because American women don’t like small hands ROFL

        Reply
        • January 13, 2017 at 10:56 am
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          keke: u’re onto something!

          Reply
          • January 16, 2017 at 7:04 am
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            of course i know, Putin tell me wan… LOL

            Reply
              • January 23, 2017 at 6:11 am
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                that CB trumpet later say that, despite small hands, his other equipment is big, and I say yes that is true, because all small equipment in Small Hands will always look big (as confirmed in Deadpool)
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              • January 23, 2017 at 3:28 pm
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                kekeke: as performed by Jewel?

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                No! Deadpool! Deadpool!

              • February 3, 2017 at 12:32 pm
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                kekek: nooooooo

      • February 2, 2023 at 2:09 pm
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        I’m the guy who started the Boycott American Women blog, and i admit i was quite a woman hater but i went thru a spiritual awakening and now I’m trying to heal women instead of hurt them. Anyway if you wanna ask me questions or do an interview, just DM me on instagram at tantrahealermaster

        Reply
        • February 2, 2023 at 4:31 pm
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          corey: what a concept.

          Reply
  • January 11, 2017 at 11:44 am
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    I’ve had that dumplings before but not the rice cake, it sure looks like our cai tao kuih

    Reply
    • January 13, 2017 at 10:55 am
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      Ken: yea, memang same base ingredients.

      Reply

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