Bánh Cuốn and Bánh Ướt! These close siblings are breakfast staples across Vietnam, from the North to the South.
Preparing Bánh Cuốn traditionally can be quite finicky since it requires a specialized steamer. But today, I’ll give you some tips to simplify the recipe wih a non-stick skillet.
What is Bánh Cuốn?
“Cuốn” in Vietnamese means “to roll,” while “Bánh” is a versatile term that refers to various sweet and savory dishes made with different types of flour like Bánh Kẹp Lá Dứa (Pandan Waffle), and occasionally Western-influenced desserts like Bánh Flan (Vietnamese Flan). Sometimes, “Bánh” can also refer to non-edible items like a wheel or a soap bar.
Bánh Cuốn originates from Northern Vietnam, and followed Catholics migrating to the Southern region in 1954 (similar to Phở and Bún Riêu). It’s a crêpe-like roll filled with a mixture of stir-fried pork mince and black ear mushrooms.
In addition to Bánh Cuốn in Vietnam, you can find variations like Bánh Ướt, Bánh Ướt Thịt Nướng, or Cheong Fun in China. All of these are variations or foreign counterparts of Bánh Cuốn.
Related Articles | Read more about Bánh Cuốn vs. Bánh Ướt.
How I develop my recipe
Living in a small shared apartment, I opted for a nonstick skillet over a traditional steamer to make Bánh Cuốn. While the rice sheets aren’t as perfect as the traditional method, they’re still thin and delicate.
For convenience, I used rice flour and adjusted the water ratio, adding a mix of tapioca and potato starch for a silky texture. Potato starch is essential for its neutral flavor and delicate results.
I soak the batter for an hour, replacing the water once to avoid any unpleasant smells. The result? Soft, thin rice rolls that stay perfect even after refrigeration and reheating in microwave. 😊
Ingredients
Filling
- Ground pork: If you can’t eat pork, you can use ground chicken or beef, but it won’t quite be the same as traditional Vietnamese Bánh Cuốn anymore 😂.
- Wood ear mushroom: A popular Asian mushroom known for its crunchy texture. It’s a must-have ingredient in Bún Mọc (rice noodles with pork balls) and Chả Giò (Vietnemse egg rolls).
- Shallots & Onions: You can also substitute shallots with the white part of scallions. In Saigon, sometimes, people use jicama instead of onions.
- Seasoning: Fish sauce, sugar, and ground black pepper.
Bánh Cuốn Batter
- Rice Flour (or better yet, rice starch): Go for Vietnamese or Thai brands.
- Tapioca Starch
- Potato Starch (preferred): Can be substituted with cornstarch, additional tapioca starch, or wheat starch.
- Cooking Oil
- Salt
Acommpaniments
- Nước Chấm: fish sauce, sugar, water and distilled vinegar or lime/lemon, and chili. Traditionally, garlic is not added to Nước Chấm for Bánh Cuốn.
- Garnish: blanched bean sprouts, cucumber (cut into matchsticks), Thai basil, cilantro, or Vietnamese coriander (rau răm).
- Hành Phi (fried shallots)
- Chả Lụa: Vietnamese pork sausage. You can make Chả Lụa at home or find it at Asian markets.
- Other Regional Toppings: Explore more details in my section “How to Serve Bánh Cuốn” below.
Variations
- Bánh Cuốn Trứng (Egg-filled Bánh Cuốn): After pouring the batter onto the skillet, add some beaten egg, tilt, and rotate to spread it evenly, then close the lid. This process is similar to cooking regular Bánh Cuốn.
- Bánh Cuốn Tôm (Shrimp-filled Bánh Cuốn): Add some minced shrimp to the pork and mushroom mixture or use toasted shrimp flakes (Tôm Chấy).
- Bánh Cuốn Chay (Vegan Bánh Cuốn): Bánh Cuốn Chay is filled with tofu crumbles and mushrooms, served alongside vegan Nước Chấm. Or you could skip the filling and serve the steamed rolls with vegan toppings like vegan Chả Lụa or fried tofu.
- Bánh Cuốn Ngọt (Sweet Bánh Cuốn): A sweet version of Bánh Cuốn filled with coconut and mung bean.
Instructions
For detailed instructions with photos, please refer to the recipe card at the end of the post.
Troubleshooting Tips
- Batter doesn’t stick to the skillet: This means your skillet isn’t hot enough.
- Rice sheets are not smooth and silky: If the texture is uneven (as shown in the photo below), your skillet is too hot. You’ll hear a sizzling sound, similar to making Bánh Xèo (sizzling crêpes), when the batter hits the pan.
- Crêpes dry out: This happens if you cook them for too long. The edges should just begin to crisp, and the crêpe should turn translucent.
- Batter tears easily: Since this batter makes very thin crêpes, handle with care to prevent tearing.
- To make it easier to work with, you can reduce the amount of water in the batter by 0.4 cups (100ml). Another method I use is pouring the batter twice: first with one ladle of batter, pouring out the extra, and then again with another ladle.
- I like my Bánh Cuốn to be as thin as possible, so for my 8-inch (20cm) skillet, I use about 3/4 of a ladle of batter.
- When making rice crêpes for Bánh Ướt, I prefer them to be slightly thicker than Bánh Cuốn.
- Rice sheets are sticky: To avoid this, grease your cooking equipment, such as plates and spatulas, when making Bánh Cuốn.
How to serve Bánh Cuốn
Bánh Cuốn is savored in various delightful ways across Vietnam, from North to South. Personally, my favorite is the Hanoi-style Bánh Cuốn, with its delicate rice sheets and accompaniments that are simple yet elegantly refined.
Whenever I visit Hanoi, I always make it a point to enjoy three iconic dishes: Bánh Cuốn, the rich and creamy Cà Phê Trứng (egg coffee), and the flavorful Chả Cá Lã Vọng (turmeric fish with dill).
Northern-Style
Northern Vietnamese prefer to keep the accompaniments for Bánh Cuốn simple to allow the delicate rice sheets to shine.
It’s often paired with Thịt Nướng (grilled pork), Chả Quế (cinnamon pork sausage), or Chả Mực (fried squid sausage).
The dipping sauce is a warm and flavorful mix of fish sauce, sugar, calamansi juice, ground pepper, chili, and garlic—subtle yet perfect for enhancing the dish. Some locals add a touch of Cà Cuống essence, a rare delicacy in Vietnam.
In places like Hải Phòng province in the North, the dipping sauce is sometimes mixed with pork broth instead of water, giving it a richer umami flavor.
Unlike in the South where fish sauce is poured over Bánh Cuốn, in Northern Vietnam like Hanoi, people prefer to dip the Bánh Cuốn into a bowl of fish sauce, similar to eating Bún Chả.
Southern-Style
Southern people enjoy Bánh Cuốn and Bánh Ướt like a rice noodle salad.
People serve them with a salad-like mix of blanched bean sprouts, salad, cucumber, herbs (mint/Thai basil/Vietnamese coriander) and sometimes even with pickled carrots & daikon.
The accompaniments are wonderfully diverse, ranging from Chả Lụa (Vietnamese pork sausage), Chả Chiên (fried pork sausage), and Nem Chua (fermented pork) to crispy fritters like Bánh Tôm (shrimp fritters) and Bánh Cống (mung bean and shrimp fritters).
Central-Style
In addition to the classic Bánh Cuốn and the renowned Bánh Ướt Thịt Nướng in Huế, people in the central regions enjoy eating Bánh Ướt with toasted shrimp flakes (Tôm Chấy).
In the Southern Central region (I’m from Nha Trang), we enjoy Bánh Ướt similarly to Bánh Hỏi. It’s served with roasted pork belly, drizzled with scallion oil, and enjoyed with dipping fish sauce.
We also have a special dish called Bánh Đập, which features rice sheet Bánh Ướt layered with toasted Bánh Tráng Mè (Vietnamese sesame cracker) and dipped in fermented anchovy sauce (Mắm Nêm).
Bánh Cuốn & Bánh Ướt – Vietnamese Steamed Rice Rolls
Ingredients
Rice batter (I highly recommend using a scale to measure)
- 250 g rice flour (or rice starch) (around 2¼ cup)
- 120 g tapioca starch (around 1 cup)
- 30 g potato starch (around 2.5 tbsp) (You could use cornstarch or tapioca starch but I highly recommend potato starch)
- 1.1 liter water (around 4⅖ cup) (You could reduce it to 1 liter / 4 cup)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp cooking oil
Filling
Dipping Sauce
- 1 cup fish sauce (to your taste)
- 1 cup sugar (to your taste)
- 3 cup water
- ¾ tbsp lime / lemon juice or vinegar (5%) (to your taste)
- Chili (minced) (to your taste)
Accompaniments
- Chả Lụa (sliced) (optional)
- Bean Sprouts (blanched)
- Cucumber (cut into matchsticks)
- Fried Shallots
- Herbs (Thai basil, Vietnamese coriander…)
Instructions
Prepare the batter (at least 1 hour before cooking)
- Mix rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch with water until smooth. Strain the batter to ensure there are no lumps.
- Let the mixture rest for at least one hour, ideally overnight in the refrigerator.
- After resting, you'll find that the flour has settled at the bottom with a layer of water on top. Carefully remove this water with a ladle, being careful not to disturb the flour layer.
- Measure the amount of water removed and add back an equal quantity of fresh water to the bowl.
- Add salt and cooking oil to the mixture, then mix thoroughly.
Prepare the filling
- Soaking the mushrooms in room temperature water for 30 minutes. Afterward, wash and rinse them thoroughly. Chop them coarsely to preserve their crunchy texture.
- Coarsely chop the onions and shallots.
- Heat some cooking oil in a pan. Sauté the shallots until they become fragrant.
- Add the ground pork, mushrooms, and onions. Season with fish sauce, sugar, and ground black pepper to your taste. Cook the mixture for just 2-3 minutes, then set it aside
Prepare the dipping sauce
- Whisk all ingredients together to make the dipping sauce. Set it aside.
Steam the rice sheets
- Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat the skillet with a thin layer of cooking oil, using a paper towel to spread it evenly.
- Lift the skillet and pour a ladleful of batter onto it. Tilt and rotate the pan to spread the batter evenly, then pour any excess batter back into the bowl. Aim to make the rice sheet as thin as possible. You could spray some water onto the rice sheet to provide additional moisture for steaming.
- Cover the skillet with a lid and allow it to cook for 30-40 seconds.
- Once the rice sheet appears translucent, place some filling along one edge of the crêpe.
- Using a spatula, carefully roll up the rice sheet. Alternatively, you can flip it onto a large oiled plate and roll the sheet there. I just find the first way less messy.
- Ensure to wipe the skillet clean and stir the batter between making each rice roll.
Assemble & Serve
- Arrange the rice rolls on a plate alongside blanched bean sprouts, cucumber slices, Thai basil leaves, and chả lụa. Sprinkle fried shallots over the rolls.
- To enjoy, drizzle the dipping fish sauce generously over the rolls and enjoy.
Notes
- the batter not sticking to the skillet.
- the rice sheet not being smooth and silky.
- the rice sheet tearing or drying out easily.
