Bánh cuốn (Vietnamese Steamed Rice Crepes)

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Difficulty level: Hard

Serves: 10 rice crepes 

Ingredients:

• 200g rice flour

• 200g tapioca flour

• 1.5L water

• 1 TSP salt

• 1 TBSP canola oil or vegetable oil

• ½ cup wood ear mushrooms

• 1 onion, peeled

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled

• 1 pound minced pork

• 1 cucumber

• Bean sprouts (handful)

• Vietnamese mint (handful)

• 1 loaf of chả lụa (Vietnamese ham)

• Nước chấm (Vietnamese fish sauce dipping sauce). See my recipe here.

Instructions:

• To make the rice flour mixture, add:

  • 200g tapioca flour

  • 200g rice flour

  • 1.5L water

  • 1 TSP salt

  • 1 TBSP canola oil

• Mix the mixture together using a whisk or mixer and rest aside for at least 30 minutes.

• Soak ½ cup of wood ear mushrooms with warm water for at least 15 minutes. Drain and then chop it up into small pieces.

• Finely chop up one peeled onion and 2 peeled garlic cloves

• Add 1 TSBP of canola oil into a hot pan and saute onion and garlic followed by the wood ear mushrooms. Rest aside.

• Add 1 TBSP of canola oil into the pan and stir fry 1 pound of minced pork until brown. Combine the pork with the onion, garlic and wood ear mushrooms and place it aside.

• Return to the rice flour mixture which has been resting for at least 30 minutes. Pour out 2 cups of impurities floating on top of the mixture and replace it with 2 cups of cold water. Mix it together.

• Set up a bánh cuốn station: Create a space next to the stove and set up a chopping board, cooking utensils such as a ladle, spatula and brush, paper towels, a bowl to hold oil and the rice flour mixture.

• Place 5 TBSP of canola oil into a bowl

• Grease the chopping board with some oil

• To steam a rice crepe, turn on the stove to medium heat, brush the pan, stir the rice flour mixture thoroughly before using a ladle to pour the mixture into the pan. Slightly tilt the pan in a circular motion to make sure the mixture covers the bottom of the pan completely. Cover the pan for 90 seconds.

• After 90 seconds, remove the lid and flip the rice crepe onto the board. Do this quickly in one motion to ensure it falls out in one piece.

• While the rice crepe is cooling, wipe the pan clean with a paper towel and place it aside.

• To fill the rice crepe, place the meat mixture in the middle of the rice crepe in a straight line and fold each side of the rice crepe in on top of the meat mixture.

• Repeat the process until you’ve finished all the meat mixture. This should make approx. 10 rice crepes.

• Prepare your toppings by slicing up chả lụa and cucumber. Wash and prepare the bean sprouts and Vietnamese mint.

• Top the rice crepe with bean sprouts, cucumber, Vietnamese mint and chả lụa.

• Drizzle with nước chấm.

Tip: Always remember to stir the rice flour mixture before steaming each rice crepe. If you can, ask a friend to help you at the bánh cuốn station. One person can steam the rice crepe while the other person fills it with the meat mixture and rolls the rice crepe. This avoids the need to turn off the stove after each rice crepe and keeps the pan at a consistent temperature.