Banh cuon trung can be made at home without a special steamer, just a nonstick pan. The wrapper is soft and springy, the pork and wood ear filling fragrant. The tricky part is the batter, since sour batter gives crumbly wrappers that tear.
The batter is left to settle for a few hours, the clear water poured off and cold water added back to the same level, repeated 3 to 4 times. Once the sourness is gone, the wrappers come out soft without falling apart. A nonstick pan does the job of a dedicated steamer.
This batch weighs about 1.2kg, at roughly 169 calories per 100g.
Method
Soak 5 wood ear mushrooms in warm water until they swell, rinse and chop them small. Peel 5 shallots and 1 onion and chop them small. Rinse 1 jicama and dice it. Marinate 200g ground pork with 1 tablespoon seasoning powder for about 20 minutes. Set a pan on the stove and stir fry the shallot, onion, jicama, pork and wood ear until fully cooked to make the filling.
Mix 100g tapioca starch with 200g rice flour in a bowl and leave it a few hours for the flour to settle. Mark the water level, pour off the clear water, then add cold water back to the same mark and stir. Repeat 3 to 4 times and the batter is ready.
Beat 5 chicken eggs in a separate bowl, pour the batter in slowly and whisk until completely smooth.
Heat a nonstick pan, spread a very thin layer of batter across the surface and cover for 1 to 2 minutes until set. Lift the wrapper onto a board, add the filling and roll it up.
Mix the dipping sauce with 1 tablespoon lime juice, 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 3 tablespoons fish sauce and 4 tablespoons water, stir well, then add 1 teaspoon sliced chili.
Dip each roll in the sweet and sour fish sauce and serve hot.
Tips
Pouring off and replacing the water 3 to 4 times takes the sourness out, which gives soft wrappers that hold together.
For a stronger dipping sauce, increase the fish sauce.
Spreading the batter very thin and covering the pan lets the steam set the surface evenly.
Cook the filling until quite dry, since a wet filling tears the wrapper during rolling.
Pour the batter into the egg slowly while stirring, since tipping it in all at once leaves the egg in beads.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.