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A plate of banh cuon, translucent white steamed rice rolls filled with seasoned pork, topped with crisp fried shallots and chopped green onions, with nuoc cham dipping sauce, bean sprouts, and fresh herbs on a wooden table

Banh Cuon: Vietnamese Steamed Rice Rolls

Silky steamed rice rolls with a 4-to-1 rice flour to tapioca starch batter, filled with seasoned pork and wood ear mushrooms, dressed with scallion oil and fried shallots, served with nuoc cham.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 4 servings (about 16 rolls)
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the batter
  • 120 g rice flour 1 cup; not glutinous rice flour
  • 30 g tapioca starch 1/4 cup
  • 500 ml lukewarm water 2 cups
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil plus more for the cloth and plates
For the filling
  • 225 g ground pork 1/2 lb
  • 20 g wood ear mushrooms dried; rehydrated and minced
  • 2 shallots medium, finely minced
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the scallion oil
  • 60 ml neutral oil 1/4 cup
  • 4 green onions thinly sliced
  • salt a pinch
For serving
  • nuoc cham fish sauce dipping sauce
  • 1/2 cup crisp fried shallots
  • bean sprouts blanched 30 seconds
  • cucumber thinly sliced
  • fresh herbs mint, cilantro, Thai basil
  • cha gio (fried spring rolls) optional

Method
 

  1. Mix and rest the batter. Whisk the rice flour, tapioca starch, salt, and water until completely smooth, then whisk in the oil. Let rest 30 minutes at room temperature.
  2. Make the filling. Soak the wood ear mushrooms in hot water 15 minutes, drain, and mince fine. Cook the pork in a skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into small pieces, until the liquid reduces. Add the shallots, wood ear mushrooms, fish sauce, sugar, and pepper; cook 3–4 minutes more until fragrant. Set aside.
  3. Make the scallion oil. Heat the oil until shimmering, pour over the sliced green onions and salt in a heatproof bowl, and stir until it sizzles and stays bright green.
  4. Set up the steamer. Stretch clean cotton cloth tightly over a wide pot of boiling water and secure it (or heat a large nonstick pan with a lid over medium heat). Lightly oil the cloth or pan and have an oiled plate or tray ready.
  5. Steam the sheets. Stir the batter, ladle 60 ml (1/4 cup) onto the cloth, and spread thin in a circle. Cover and steam 60–90 seconds, until fully translucent and the edges start to lift. Lift the sheet onto the oiled plate with a flat wooden spatula or chopsticks.
  6. Fill and roll. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of filling in a line across the lower third of the hot sheet, fold the sides in, and roll snugly. Keep finished rolls on the oiled tray, touching but not stacked, covered loosely with a damp cloth.
  7. Dress and serve. Arrange 4–5 rolls per plate, drizzle with scallion oil, and scatter the fried shallots over the top. Add bean sprouts, cucumber, and herbs on the side; serve with nuoc cham for dipping.

Notes

Note 1: Use plain rice flour, not glutinous (sweet) rice flour. Glutinous rice flour makes the sheets gummy and sticky instead of silky — the bags look nearly identical, so read the label.
Note 2: Rest the batter a full 30 minutes and stir before every ladle. The flour settles to the bottom fast; an unstirred ladle pulls mostly water and tears on the cloth.
Note 3: One ladle is 60 ml (1/4 cup) per sheet, no more. A heavier pour makes thick, doughy crepes that taste raw in the middle.
Note 4: Keep the water at a rolling boil the whole time. Weak steam sets the batter slowly and the sheet welds itself to the cloth; a full simmer flashes it set in about a minute.
Note 5: Oil every landing surface, not just the cloth. A sheet that steamed perfectly still tears on a dry plate — brush the tray lightly before the first sheet goes down.
Note 6: Roll while the sheet is hot. Once a sheet cools on the tray it stiffens and cracks at the fold; fill and roll each one right after it comes off the cloth.