Banh Cuon Hanoi

BANH CUON, THE FINEST OF HANOAN GASTRONOMY

Originating in China and brought to the North for hundreds of years, the 'Banh cuon' (Vietnamese ravioli with pork and black mushrooms) is now often presented in the baskets of street vendors. The name of the dish is created based on its shape of the winding after cooking: the 'Banh' means the cake, the pancake or the cake while the 'cuon' means 'to wind'. The classic 'Banh cuon' is made in the form of Vietnamese dumplings made of rolled rice flour garnished with ground pork and black mushrooms, sprinkled with fried onions and served with 'nuoc cham''qui base of 'nuoc mam', garlic, lemon and chilli according to taste. Before tasting the crepe, you can dip rice pasta in the 'nuoc cham' or drizzle this sweet and sour sauce on the dish. To diversify the stuffing of 'Banh cuon' as to provide us with the necessary nutrients, cooks often add slices of 'Cha gio' (the Vietnamese mortadella), mung bean sprouts and aromatic herbs, especially fresh coriander.

According to the professional chefs, the cooking of the dough decides the flavor of the 'Banh cuon Hanoi'. To attract gourmets, each cook creates his own pastry recipe whose finesse, flexibility and translucency are the three important criteria for evaluating pancakes. A good 'banh cuon' must be cooked with fragrant rice passing the filtration in a certain time. After preparation, the cooks grind the rice by hand in a stone mill until it becomes the rice flour dough. Then, pour it onto a very fine oiled cloth in a large steam kettle and add the stuffing. At the end of cooking, the pancake was pulled out by wrapping it with a large flat bamboo tongue and then put it on a plate.

Through the immigration of the inhabitants in the different regions of all the country, the 'Banh cuon' has become a daily pancake not only of the North but also of the Center and the South. Currently, there have appeared several famous 'Banh cuon' villages that have created their own brand, such as the village of Thanh Tri famous for the 'Banh cuon' without pranks, the village of Kenh known for pancakes in paste alone wrapped with the strips of Vietnamese mortadella (or shrimp) and fried shallots, drizzled with sauce. In addition, Lang Son's 'Banh cuon' with egg-based stuffing is also a variation of this specialty, which is appreciated by many gourmets. In some areas, cooks replace pork with other ingredients, such as shrimp, chicken and beef to suit the taste of locals. The vegetarian version of 'Banh cuon' whose stuffing consists mostly of tofu and vegetables is still the ideal choice for those who want to observe a vegetarian diet.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

400g of rice flour and tapioca

300 g of pork

150g of Vietnamese mortadella

5 heads of dried black mushrooms

2 cloves garlic

2 shallots

100g fried shallot

300 g of mung bean sprouts

Condiment: sugar, salt, pepper, chilli, 'nuoc mam' sauce

Aromatic herbs: chives, salad leaves, coriander, banana flower

Preparation and cooking

Dip the shallots and onions in boiling water for 10 minutes. Peel and chop finely.

Wash the black mushrooms with salted boiling water for 15 minutes. Chop mushrooms into thin pieces.

Finely chop the pork. Marinate with salt, pepper and a little 'nuoc mam'. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Pour oil into a pan. After the oil gets hot, pour the shallots and onions, then the ground pork and the chopped black mushrooms. Brown for 7-8 minutes. After cooking, reserve.

Pour the rice flour, tapioca flour, 1 teaspoon of oil and salt into a large container. Add 1 liter of water and mix well. Let stand about 30 minutes.

Put a pan on the fire and pour 2 tablespoons of oil. Using a ladle, pour a little dough and turn the pan to spread the dough over its entire surface. Cook for 1 minute over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons minced meat and mushrooms and roll up the dough. Take out the pancake and save.

Cut the Vietnamese mortadella into thin slices. Book.

 Wash the bean sprouts and aromatic herbs with boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Soak the sprouts in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and reserve.

Tasting

Arrange the rice cakes on one plate and the bean sprouts, slices of Vietnamese mortadella, aromatic herbs on another plate. Garnish a little fried shallot over the cakes. Use the 'Banh cuon' with the filling and dip in the 'nuoc cham' sauce prepared.

Good tasting during your excursion in Vietnam!