Recipe: Faux Bánh Cuốn

Bánh cuốn (also known as rice roll or sticky rice cake) is a light dish, generally served for breakfast everywhere in Vietnam. It's made from a thin, wide sheet of steamed fermented rice batter filled with a mixture of cooked seasoned ground pork, minced wood...

Bánh cuốn (also known as rice roll or sticky rice cake) is a light dish, generally served for breakfast everywhere in Vietnam. It's made from a thin, wide sheet of steamed fermented rice batter filled with a mixture of cooked seasoned ground pork, minced wood ear mushroom, and fried dry sliced shallots. It is made by steaming a slightly fermented rice batter on a cloth that is stretched over a pot of boiling water.

 (Bánh cuốn Yen Phu - Foody.vn)

Processing traditional rolls is "an art form" which requires a lot of different steps and culinary skills, where the most difficulty is the preparation of right mixture of flour and water to create a delicate, soft and smooth texture.

You can try our Vinh Thuan - Pre-Mixed Flour "Banh Cuon" or we can show you another option which is simple, quick and delicious using ...(drum-roll)...Rice Paper. For the best result try our Bamboo Tree Rice Paper

The Rice Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 package x Bamboo Tree Rice Paper
• 200g x lean mince pork
• 30g x wood ear mushroom (let soak in warm water for 30 mins)
• 1/4 x onions
• 2 x shallots
• Side dishes: Fried or spring onion, mint and bean sprouts
• Seasons: Pepper, Seasoning Salt (Bot canh)

Instructions:

Preparation: Dice mushroom, onions, shallots and scallions;

Step 1: Heat water to 45 degrees, fill a large bow (the largest you can find). Add in a couple drops of cooking oil. Dip rice paper sheets into the water one at a time. Let them soak for about 10 mins

Note: Throwing all the rice paper in the water at the same time will cause them to stick together. Do not do it!

Step 2: While the rice papers are being soaked, brown mince pork in a large pan and then add everything else, seasoned to taste, stir for another 2 minutes and take it off heat

Step 3: The fun part, rolling the "banh cuon". Here is the secret technique passed down from generation to generation of a traditional Vietnamese family:

Dipping Sauce

• Water (3 parts)
• Fish Sauce (1 part)
• Sugar (1 part)
• Lime/Lemon Juice (1 part)
• Garlic
• Chilli

Instructions:

• Add sugar to a bowl, add warm water and stir to dissolve.
• Add fish sauce and lemon juice to the bowl of sugar water and stir well.
• Finally, add minced garlic, minced chili and pepper to your liking.
• Pro-tip: Warm the dipping sauce up before serving a more traditional experience.

Serving:

If you have a steamer, put the rolls in for about 5 mins. If not, don't worry, sprinkle some water, cover them and microwave will work just fine.

Serve with bean sprouts, herbs and dipping sauce. I like to add some hot chilli sauce as well to heighten its flavour.

There you go! Hides the Bamboo Tree Rice Paper's wrapper and present your Bánh cuốn to friends and family ;)