← Nouns Cooking · Vietnamese

Ingredients

• 200 g Rice flour
• 80 g Tapioca starch
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 l cold water
• 1 tbsp oil, plus more for the pan and plate
• 15 g dried wood ear mushrooms
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 300 g Minced pork
• 1 tsp Fish sauce
• ½ tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Sugar
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 200 g Vietnamese pork roll (chả lụa), sliced (optional)
• 200 g Bean sprouts, blanched
• 1 Cucumber, cut into sticks
• 1 bunch mint and Thai basil
• 4 tbsp Crispy fried shallots
• nước chấm dipping sauce, to serve

Method

1. Whisk the rice flour, tapioca, salt, water and oil into a thin, milky batter and leave to rest for 1 hour. Meanwhile, soak the wood ear in hot water for 20 min, then drain and chop finely.
2. For the filling, heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the onion and garlic for 2 min. Add the pork and cook for 4–5 min, breaking it up, until no longer pink. Stir in the wood ear, fish sauce, salt, sugar and pepper and cook for 2 min until fairly dry.
3. Heat a 20 cm non-stick frying pan with a lid over medium heat and brush it with oil. Lightly oil a large plate or tray.
4. Stir the batter well (the flour sinks), pour in about 3 tbsp and swirl it into a very thin, even layer. Cover and cook for 30–45 seconds until the sheet turns translucent and starts to lift at the edges.
5. Turn the sheet out onto the oiled plate. Spoon a line of filling across the middle, fold in the sides and roll it up. Repeat with the rest of the batter, stirring it each time.
6. Arrange the rolls on plates with chả lụa, sprouts, cucumber and herbs. Scatter with fried shallots and pour over nước chấm.

Tips

• The first sheet or two is usually a practice run; adjust the heat and batter amount until the sheets are thin and slip off cleanly.
• Shop-bought bánh cuốn flour mix makes the batter even easier.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Hungry Huy Vicky Pham Wok and Kin