Banh Cuon (Hanoi Steamed Rice Rolls with Pork and Mushroom)

Quick answer

Total time: 55 min
Level: Hard
Servings: 3 servings
Ingredients: 8

About this dish

Banh cuon uses a thin rice flour and tapioca starch batter to make steamed sheets wrapped around pork and wood ear mushrooms.

Whisk 220 g rice flour, 30 g tapioca starch, and 500 ml water until smooth, then rest the batter for 20 minutes. Stir before steaming each sheet because the starch settles between batches. Chop 40 g soaked wood ear mushrooms into 0.3 cm pieces and cook them with half an onion and 220 g ground pork in part of the measured cooking oil. When the pork reaches 71C at the center, add 1.5 tablespoons fish sauce and continue over medium heat until no liquid remains in the pan. A wet filling will weaken the thin sheet, so check the pan before rolling. Spread one ladle of batter in a paper-thin layer on steaming cloth stretched over boiling water. Cover and steam over high heat for 40 seconds. Lift the translucent sheet carefully from one edge, place the filling in the center, and roll without pulling the wrapper. Brush the finished rolls lightly with the remaining oil so they do not stick, and plate them before the sheets dry and crack.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmountUnit

rice flour220 gg

tapioca starch30 gg

water500 mlml

ground pork220 gg

wood ear mushroom40 gg

onion½ eaea

fish sauce1½ tbsptbsp

cooking oil2 tbsptbsp

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Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Prep

Combine 220g rice flour, 30g tapioca starch, and 500ml water in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

Let the thin batter rest for 20 minutes to ensure a silky and delicate texture.
2

Heat

Soak 40 g wood ear mushrooms until soft and chop them into 0.3 cm pieces.

Heat part of the cooking oil, add the diced onion and 220 g ground pork, and cook until the pork reaches at least 71C at the center.
3

Control

Season with 1.5 tbsp fish sauce and cook over medium heat until all moisture evaporates from the filling.

A dry filling is essential to prevent the tissue-thin rice sheets from tearing.
4

Control

Pour a ladle of batter onto a steaming cloth stretched over boiling water and spread it tissue-thin.

Cover and steam on high for 40 seconds until the sheet becomes translucent and slippery.
5

Prep

Use a thin rod or chopstick to carefully lift the delicate sheet without tearing it.

Place the pork and mushroom filling in the center and roll it up smoothly into a long cylinder.
6

Finish

Cook and roll the remaining batter in the same way, then brush the surfaces lightly with the remaining cooking oil to prevent sticking. Plate the rolls promptly before the sheets dry out.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Rice flour and tapioca starch batter steamed in a thin sheet
Finish cue: Cover and steam on high for 40 seconds until the sheet becomes translucent and slippery.
Avoid this: Keep filling dry so the rolls do not tear.