Bánh Cuốn - Steamed Rice Noodles filled with Pork Mince and Wood Ear Mushrooms

Luke Nguyen - "These noodles are made with a batter of rice and tapioca flours. Tapioca flour may also be labelled as tapioca starch - both flours are gluten-and grain-free. When I was a child, my Aunty Five would make this dish every six months, family would travel from all over Sydney to eat her Bahn Cuon. I can remember standing on a milk crate watching her prepare her delicate rice noodle sheets. In Hanoi the noodles are made over a pot of rapidly boiling water, with a piece of cloth tied across these top. A thin layer of batter is poured onto the cloth and steamed, creating the rice noodle sheets. For the home cook, Aunty Five's technique is less complex. This recipe and cooking technique belong to her."

Bánh Cuốn (literally "rolled cake") is a northern Vietnamese dish. It is similar to a Chinese Yum Cha dish (肠粉), usually translated into English as "steamed rice roll" or "rice noodle roll," and it is generally eaten for breakfast.

I had bookmarked this recipe soon after I bought Luke Nguyen's The Songs of Sapa cookbook last year, but as with a lot of other recipes that I have bookmarked, I never got around to make it. These rice rolls are usually steamed and extremely fiddly to make at home because they are very thin and delicate. What intrigues me in this recipe is Luke's Aunt's technique to make them with a non-stick frying pan. This technique did immediately register in my mind.

When Masterchef contestant Alvin made steamed rice rolls with yam cake for guest judges Jacque Raymond, Mark Best, Kylie Kwong, and Alla Wolf-Tasker during last week's signature dish challenge, I immediately recognised the unique technique from the cookbook. It was the last button to finally push me to try out this technique.

Although the technique makes it sounds as easy as making crepes, the noodle is very thin and extremely delicate. This makes it very fiddly to handle but it does get easier as you get the hang of it. Finding the right temperature of the stove is also crucial. You will need to play around to get it right. Oil is an essential ingredient to avoid the rice noodle sheets from sticking.

This technique produces extremely thin and silky smooth rice noodles and they don't taste any different than the steamed version. The step-by-step photos don't do justice as it's extremely difficult to handle the noodle and a heavy DSLR camera at the same time all by myself!

If you are a big fan of Masterchef as I am, here is the list of the contestants blogs and twitter accounts so you can continue to stalk them or get yourself updated with their journeys post Masterchef:

Aaron http://foodthatrocks.tumblr.com/ @Aaronharvie

Adam http://adamliaw.com/ @Adamliaw

Alvin http://cinnamonpig.com.au/ @cinnamonalvin

Callum http://callumskitchen.com @callumskitchen

Claire http://cookingfromthehearth.co/

Jimmy http://www.jimmysspicekitchen.com.au/ @Jimmy_Mastchef

Jonathan http://www.jonathandaddia.com/ @Jonathandaddia

Marion http://www.hedonistichostess.com.au/ @Hostesshedonist

Matthew http://www.makesyouscreamforicecream.com/ @MattCaldi

Peter @PeteKrita

Sharnee http://sharneerawson.blogspot.com/ @Sharnee_R

Skye http://wildsugar.com.au/ @WildSugar_Skye

Bánh Cuốn - Steamed Rice noodles Filled With Pork and Wood Ear Mushrooms Recipe
(Adapted from The Songs of Sapa by Luke Nguyen of Red Lantern)
Serve 4-6 as part of a shared meal

Ingredients

4 dried wood ear mushrooms (you can replace them with dried shiitake mushrooms if you can't get wood ear mushroom)
1 tsp fish sauce
125 g (4 1/2 oz / 1 cup) rice flour
125 g (4 1/2 oz / 1 cup) tapioca flour
about 125 ml (4 fl oz / 1/2 cup) vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
300 g (10 1/2 oz) minced pork
1/2 tsp sugar

To serve:
2 Lebanese (short) cucumbers, sliced into batons
1 bunch perilla, leaves picked
1 bunch mint, leaves picked,1 bunch Vietnamese mint, leaves picked
300 g (10 1/2 oz) bean sprout
50 g (1 3/4 oz / 1/2 cup) fried red Asian shallots
250 ml (9 fl oz / 1 cup) dipping fish sauce (Recipe follows)
2 bird's eye chillies, sliced
(Note: I served my banh cuon with fried red Asian shallots, sliced red chilli, coriander leaves and dipping fish sauce)

Method

1. Put the mushrooms in a bowl, cover with water and soak for 20 minutes, then drain and thinly slice. Return the mushrooms to the bowl and combine with the fish sauce.
2. To make the batter, combine the rice flour , tapioca flour and 1/2 tsp salt with 750 ml (26 fl oz / 3 cups) of cold water. Whisk well, until a smooth batter forms.



3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add 2 tbsp of the oil and fry the garlic and shallots until fragrant. Add the mushrooms, pork, sugar and a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper, and stir-fry for 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

   

4. Brush a round tray with oil and place beside the stove. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, and add enough oil to coat the base of the pan. Pour a small ladleful (2-3 tbps) of the batter into the pan, turning the pan in a circular motion to cover the base with a thin layer of batter.

   

5. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the lid and slide the think noodle sheet onto your oiled tray. Spoon 1 tbsp of pork mixture onto the noodle sheet, fold two sides in, then fold over to form a roll.
   
   
   
   

6. Transfer to a plate. Repeat this process using the remaining batter and pork mixture, adding oil to the pan as necessary.
7. Top the rolls with cucumber, perilla, mint, Vietnamese mint, bean sprouts and fried shallots. Dress with the dipping fish sauce and garnish wth sliced chilli.

Dipping Fish Sauce Recipe
Makes about 250 ml (9 fl oz / 1 cup)

Ingredients

3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bird's eye chilli,thinly sliced (I use 1/2 red chilli)
2 tbsp lime juice

Method

1. Combine the fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and 125 ml (4 fl oz / 1/2 cup) of water in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir well and cook until just before boiling point is reached, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.
2. To serve, add the garlic and chilli, then stir in the lime juice. Store, tightly seated in a jar in the fridge, for up to 5 days.