Vietnamese Banh Cuon Breakfast with Steamed Rice Rolls, Pork and Wood Ear

Whisk the rice batter ingredients together until smooth and let it rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour — this is the secret to tender, silky rice rolls.

Ingredients

• For the rice batter (serves 4):
• 200g rice flour
• 30g tapioca starch
• 650ml cool water
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• For the pork filling:
• 300g ground pork shoulder
• 20g dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked 20 min, finely chopped
• 1 small shallot, finely minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• To serve:
• Sliced cha lua (Vietnamese ham) — optional
• Crispy fried shallots, chopped coriander, bean sprouts, cucumber
• Nuoc cham: 3 tbsp fish sauce, 3 tbsp warm water, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 chopped Thai chili, 1 minced garlic clove

Instructions

1. Whisk the rice batter ingredients together until smooth and let it rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour — this is the secret to tender, silky rice rolls.
2. Make the filling: heat oil in a skillet, soften the shallot and garlic, add pork, fish sauce and white pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes, breaking up clumps. Stir in the chopped wood ear and cook 1 more minute. Set aside.
3. Whisk the nuoc cham ingredients in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves. Taste — it should be tangy, salty, sweet and lightly spicy.
4. Lightly oil a 10-inch non-stick skillet and set over medium heat. Stir the batter (the starch settles), ladle 3 tbsp into the pan and swirl to coat in a thin crepe-like layer.
5. Cover with a lid for about 30 seconds until the surface looks set and glossy, then place 1.5 tbsp of pork filling in a line down the centre.
6. Using a thin flexible spatula, fold the sides over the filling and roll into a soft cigar. Slide onto a plate and brush lightly with oil to prevent sticking.
7. Repeat with the remaining batter, stacking the rolls but oiling between each layer. Cut each into 2 or 3 pieces.
8. To serve, arrange 4-5 pieces on each plate, scatter generously with crispy fried shallots and chopped coriander, lay slices of cha lua alongside, and add a small bowl of nuoc cham for dipping.
9. Banh cuon is the quintessential Hanoi breakfast — silky steamed rice rolls served from dawn at tiny family-run stalls in the Old Quarter, where the cook ladles batter onto a cloth stretched over a steamer of boiling water. Each translucent sheet is lifted with a long bamboo stick, filled with pork and wood ear, rolled, and slid into a waiting bowl. Eaten with crisp fried shallots, fresh herbs and a small pool of fish-sauce nuoc cham, it is one of the lightest, most elegant breakfasts in Southeast Asia — proof that even the humblest rice flour can be transformed into something extraordinary in the hands of a Hanoi cook.