Banh Cuon

This is a Vietnamese dish that consist of a homemade rice flour wrap with minced pork and woodear mushrooms (black fungus) and topped with a sweet, spicy, sour sauce! I've changed up the sauce a bit since I prefer the Laotian sauce for this dish. This was the first time I attempted these and they came out great! You can also get banh cuon mix at the Asian store, all you have to do is add water and oil.

Ingredients:

1 bag of Rice Flour

1 bag of Tapioca Flour

1 tsp Salt

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

12 cups Cold Water

Filling:

1 lb Ground Pork

1 cup Wood Ear Mushrooms, minced

1 medium Onion, minced

3 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Shallot, thinly diced

1 tbsp Fish Sauce

Black Pepper, to taste

Salt, to taste

Garnish:

Vietnamese ham, Cha Lua

Fried Shallots

Bean Sprouts, steamed

Sauce:

1/2 cup Sugar

2 cups Water

1 tbsp Fish Sauce

1/2 tsp Salt

3/4 Juice of Lime

3 Garlic Cloves

10 Thai Chili

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice and tapioca flour with water, oil and salt. Mix well and set aside for 30 minutes.

2. To make the dipping sauce, add the sugar and 1 cup of water into a small sauce pan. Cook on medium heat until the water starts to brown and the sugar melts. Add in the additional cup of water, fish sauce, salt and juice of lime and remove from heat.

3. Using a mortar and pestle, grind up the Thai chili's and garlic and place into a separate bowl. If you don't have a mortar and pestle using a small blender works. Add to the liquid mixture and set aside.

4. Make the filling, use a small amount of oil and stir fry the onions for about 2 minutes, add in the garlic and shallots and continue to stir until fragrant.

5. Add in the ground pork and continue to cook for about 4-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, fish sauce, black pepper and salt and continue to stir fry for an additional minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

6. You'll need some patience to make the rice flour wrap, you'll need to do them one at a time, I recommend having a helper so they can wrap while you make the next wrap. You'll need a skillet that has a cover and a large oiled surface, like a large dish or cookie sheet so you can assemble the rolls.

   1. Lightly brush oil on the skillet, take a ladle and spoon in the batter on the skillet over medium heat, roughly 1/4 - 1/2 cup and swirl it around until it covers the the entire bottom and then cover, cook for 1 minute and 30 seconds and then uncover, allow to cook for a little longer until you see the edges curl up and the wrap is translucent, then take it to your large oiled area and flip the skillet over, the wrap will fall easily. Spoon some of the mixture in the middle of the wrap and start to roll. Once done, moved it to your platter. Continue until you are finished

7. Serve with your sauce of choice and enjoy with cha lua, fried shallots and bean sprouts.