These dumplings made of manioc powder, lean pork, and shrimps are a popular dish available in all Hue markets. The attractive, transparent dumplings reveal a red shrimp and a slice of brown pork stuffed inside.
The preparation is neither expensive nor time-consuming but does require experience. Cooks choose high-quality manioc powder and fresh shrimps; they pour the white powder into boiling water and knead the resulting dough until it becomes soft and flexible. Then they stirfry the shrimps with spices and spring onions and slice boiled pork for the stuffing. Finally, they make the small half-moon-shaped cakes and drop them in boiling water for several minutes.
Hue residents serve bánh bột lọc with yellow bread crumbs, chilli sauce, and the stock from the boiled shrimps, which they use for a specially prepared fish sauce.