Bánh Cuốn (Steamed Rice Rolls)

It has been a while since my last post. Our summer was super busy but fun. We did a little bit of everything. We went to camps, picked strawberries, visited a dairy farm, enjoyed fresh cow milk, and roamed the woods for wild berries.

Now that things are getting into a routine, I find myself craving traditional Vietnamese food. More specifically bánh cuốn (Vietnamese steamed rice rolls).

I’ve been wanting to make these for a while but have always been intimidated by the whole process. So for a long time, I would purchase premade steamed rice rolls at the Asian grocery store, separate the layers and reheat them in the microwave. They tasted okay. Just not as good as freshly made steamed rice rolls I remembered from Vietnam.

One day I decided to give it a try…making it from scratch. This way, I know exactly what’s in the batter. After many failed attempts, I’ve finally perfected how to make steamed rice rolls without needing any special equipment. So let’s get started.

What is bánh cuốn?

Bánh in Vietnamese translates to any type of cake or biscuits. Cuốn means to roll. So essentially bánh cuốn means rolled cake. These rolled cakes are steamed, similar to a crepe and are stuffed with a mixture of ground pork, wood ear mushrooms, chopped onions and chopped garlic.

They are served with a side of thinly sliced Vietnamese ham, fresh herbs and nuốc chấm (Vietnamese dipping sauce).

These steamed rice rolls are eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner in Vietnam.

How to make bánh cuốn (steamed rice rolls)?

There are two ways you can make steamed rice rolls. The first is to use a premade mix and just add water per the instructions on the package.

However, if you’re like me and want to make things from scratch, then you’ll need rice flour, tapioca starch, salt, and water. After mixing the ingredients together, let the batter sit for 30 minutes. You will notice that the flour settles to the bottom. Gently pour out the water on top, making note of how much water is poured out. This way you can replace the water with “fresh” water. This step helps to clean the flour. It’s not a big deal if you don’t want to replace the water. I’ve done it both ways and find it tastes the same.

You will notice the batter is runny…not like the normal crepe, pancake or waffle batter. This is to make it easier to spread thinly to steam over a fabric covered pot, which is the traditional way of making steamed rice rolls.

Filling for the steamed rice rolls

The filling for the steamed rice rolls is simple. If you want to make the traditional filling, you’ll need:

• Ground pork
• Rehydrated wood ear mushrooms
• Chopped onions
• Chopped garlic
• Salt & pepper

If you’re an experimenter like I am, feel free to stuff the steamed rice rolls using other kinds of protein. I’ve tried it with taco meat before and it tastes great.

Special pots & pans?

As I mentioned above, traditionally it is steamed using a fabric covered pot. However, I have not been able to find the pot here in the US. So there are two ways to steam the rice rolls. One is to get a piece of cloth, spread it across a pot tightly. Use the string to secure the cloth in place. The other option (which is what I use) is to use a non-stick pan fitted with a lid. The purpose of the lid here is to create steam. You want the pan to be non-stick, so the cooked batter easily slides off the pan.

Tips for making steamed rice rolls

Problems I ran into

• My pan was not hot enough.
• My batter had the wrong rice flour to tapioca flour ratio.
• I poured too much or too little batter onto the pan.

What I’ve learned

• Get the correct rice flour to tapioca flour ratio.
• Allow the pan time to heat up completely. This will allow the batter to adhere to the bottom of the pan as you spread it around thus covering the entire bottom of the pan.
• Pour the right amount of batter into the pan. If it’s too thin, it’s hard to roll. If it’s too thick, it will not steam correctly. For example, I used a 10 inch non-stick frying pan equipped with a lid. With this pan size, I use a 1/4 measuring cup to measure the batter. After the batter is poured into the pan, quickly move the pan around to help spread the batter. This makes sure the batter completely covers the bottom of the pan. Then immediately place the lid on to create steam. Let the batter steam for 2 or 3 minutes.

How do you tell when the batter is done? By looking at the edges. When the edges are starting to pull away from the pan, and the batter looks translucent, you know it’s done and it’s time to place the filling and start rolling.

If you are a vegetarian, you can omit the filling and make plain steamed rice rolls.

However, if you are using the filling, there are two different ways to add the filling. You can either add the filling into the pan and start rolling the rice rolls while it’s still on the pan. Or you can gently slide the steamed rice rolls on a plate. Place the filling on the steamed rice rolls and roll it up on the plate. I prefer rolling it while it’s still on the pan. Less dishes this way 🤣.

Garnishes for steamed rice rolls

Whether you eat the steamed rice rolls plain or with the ground pork filling, be sure to add bean sprouts, fried scallions, dipping sauce such as nuốc chấm, julienned cucumbers, thinly sliced Vietnamese ham (chả lụa), green onion oil (see my buffalo chicken potsticker for the recipe), and mint.

If you are like my husband and is not a fan of the dipping sauce made from fish sauce, just put a few dashes of soy sauce on them and it will taste delicious too.

Storing and reheating

These steamed rice rolls store well in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheating is easy. Just pop them in the microwave then enjoy.

So the next time you’re craving crepes, give these Vietnamese steamed rice rolls a try. You can be adventurous and substitute different fillings for it. My husband has suggested using marinated tofu as a filling 😋.

If you’ve tried the recipe, leave me a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts.