Bánh Cuốn — Steamed Rice Rolls with Ground Pork

Ingredients

• 1½ cups rice flour
• ⅓ cup tapioca starch
• 3½ cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp neutral oil, plus more for brushing
• 12 oz Ground Pork
• 6 dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked and minced
• 4 shallots, minced
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 3 tbsp crispy fried shallots
• ½ cup nước chấm dipping sauce
• 1 cup Vietnamese herbs
• 6 oz Vietnamese pork roll (chả lụa), sliced

Method

1. Whisk the rice flour, tapioca starch, water, salt, and oil into a batter as thin as skim milk and rest it 2 hours. Stir it every single time before ladling — the starch sinks immediately.
2. Cook the filling: fry the shallots, add the Ground Pork and wood ear, and cook until it is browned and dry, seasoning with fish sauce and pepper. Set aside.
3. Stretch a piece of cloth taut over a wide pot of simmering water and secure it, or use a well-oiled nonstick skillet with a lid.
4. Ladle a thin layer of batter onto the cloth, cover, and steam 45–60 seconds until the sheet turns translucent and pulls away from the surface at the edges. Slide it onto an oiled tray with a flat bamboo stick or spatula.
5. Spoon a line of filling across the sheet and roll it up loosely — tight rolls tear and tough rolls mean your batter was too thick. Repeat, oiling between sheets so they don't fuse.
6. Serve warm with nước chấm, fried shallots, sliced pork roll, and a pile of herbs.