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One of Vietnam’s best meals, or tasty snacks, is the simple dish Banh Trang Cuon. This traditional Vietnamese dish is a rice paper roll filled with a variety of meats, veggies, and herbs.
The perfect balance of flavors and textures makes Banh Trang Cuon an addictively delicious dish that Vietnamese people of all ages enjoy.
So if you’re traveling through Vietnam and looking for a fresh and healthy dish, and want to try something different from Pho or Banh Mi, put Banh Trang Cuon on your to-eat list!
Banh Trang Cuon is a Traditional Vietnamese Dish
This popular traditional Vietnamese dish consists of thin rice paper rolls filled with vegetables and protein and is usually served cold.
The term Bánh tráng, like many words in Vietnamese, can have multiple meanings.
The translation of Bánh tráng for our purposes is rice paper, and cuốn means coiled or rolled.
Traditionally, pork belly is used as the primary protein; however, there are many versions that use other proteins such as beef, shrimp, or soy products such as tofu.
Other items include fresh vegetables, salad greens, herbs, cucumbers, carrots, and bean sprouts.
The roll can be seasoned with either fish sauce or onion salt for a burst of flavor – though it’s perfectly delicious just as it is!
Banh Trang Cuon Thit Heo
Probably the most well-known version of this tasty dish is Banh Trang Cuon Thit Heo, a specialty of Central Vietnam, around Danang in particular, but available all over the country.
Thịt heo translates to pork, and the platter is usually a combination of slices of pork such as the belly or shoulder, julienned fresh vegetables such as carrot and cucumber, and salad greens and fresh herbs such as lettuce, basil, green onions, and bean sprouts, to name a few.
When I lived in Hoi An, I often enjoyed Banh Trang Cuon Thit Heo as well as other regional specialty dishes such as Cao Lau and Mi Quang.
Healthy and Light Meal
One of the great things about Vietnamese cuisine is it is healthy, and the various rice paper “rolls” are a great way to incorporate fresh, wholesome ingredients into delicious meals.
They offer an ideal combination of lightness and nutrition, making them a fantastic choice when looking for something healthy to eat.
Supporting a huge range of textures, flavors, and colors, these culinary creations can please everyone at the dinner table.
In Vietnamese restaurants, the individual ingredients will often be delivered to the table, and everyone gets to decide what they add.
And best of all, because they can be filled with abundant amounts of fresh, tasty ingredients, it’s a great way to experiment with new flavor combinations too!
Banh Trang Cuon Dipping sauce
Banh Trang Cuon is served with a variety of dipping sauces, depending on the region and the proteins included.
Examples include a bowl of Nuoc Cham, a delicate and fragrant fish sauce-based dip, and hoisin sauce, an intensely sweet and spicy condiment that goes well with almost any dish.
Making Banh Trang Cuon rolls at Home
Making your own Banh Trang Cuon rolls can be an easy and rewarding experience. To start, you need to gather the ingredient items such as boiled pork, shrimp, cucumber, carrot, and fresh herbs.
Next, you want to prepare one or two large banh trang (rice paper) by soaking them in warm water for 5-10 seconds until they become completely soft.
Then, spread out the softened rice paper wrap on a cutting board. Working quickly and carefully, lay the fresh vegetables onto the wrap in one layer, followed by the thinly sliced pork or shrimp, and then herbs such as mint, basil, rau, or perilla.
Lastly, roll up the wrap from one end and make sure it’s solid without any air bubbles trapped inside. Serve alongside your favorite dipping sauce,
To spice up the taste of the dish, you can add other flavorings, such as garlic or salt.
Buying Banh Trang
Asian supermarkets will stock packets of Banh Trang, or Rice Paper, and they can also be purchased online. Amazon has a small range which you can check the prices and availability here:
Summary
A popular dish in Vietnam, these rice paper rolls are the perfect addition to summer meals, and best of all, they can reduce cooking, as leftover meats or seafood can be used.
These rolls are slightly different from the famous breakfast meal of Banh Cuon, the warm steamed dish served with pork and mushrooms.