Bánh cuốn - a delight to one’s sense of smell and taste

Hearty broth: In the northern provinces of Cao Bằng and Lạng Sơn, rolled cake is eaten with pork bone broth, instead of fish sauce like in Hà Nội. —Photo baocaobang.vn

Among the well-known offerings of Hà Nội street food, bánh cuốn is consistently ranked a top choice.

Vũ Bằng, a writer known for his beautiful prose on ancient Hà Nội, once wrote that “a visitor from Hải Phòng, Nam Định or Thanh Nghệ, for example, that comes to Hà Nội and has the chance to eat bánh cuốn  served with hot fried tofu will never forget this special dish.”

Bánh cuốn was born in Thanh Trì, an ancient suburb of Hà Nội, and bánh cuốn of Thanh Trì is still said to be the best.

Bằng wrote that he had been to several rural markets, and tried all types of rolled cake, but often the thick rice paper or strong smell of rice flour he found fell short of the bánh cuốn of Thanh Trì, and enhanced his longing for Hà Nội

When thinking of rolled cake, the Vietnamese may conjure images of Thanh Trì rolled cake, which is thin like paper and looks almost transparent. Taking a piece of rolled cake – the thin Thanh Trì rice paper rolled with a few wood ear mushrooms and some spring onions fried in oil and dipped in fish sauce – is a delight for the senses. Bánh cuốn is often served with fried tofu or chả (Vietnamese sausage).

When he was away from Hà Nội during wartime, the young Vũ Bằng missed his hometown and its food, especially the bánh cuốn.

He wrote “Once one has tasted the rolled cake, he would remember it for the rest of his life. He would miss everything about it – from the dipping sauce, and the texture to the graceful posture of the rolled cake vendor.”

In times gone by, the rolled cakes would be seen piled high in vendors’ baskets. The rolled cake vendors, with their baskets full of delicacies were described as “having graceful and agile postures” by writer Thạch Lam. The women travelled around the city selling the rolled cake.

Nowadays, diners in Hà Nội can find old eateries serving Thanh Trì rolled cake, like Thanh Vân Rolled Cake or Mrs Hoành Rolled Cake, just to name a few.

Today’s rolled cake sellers are still ‘graceful’ and ‘agile’ in the way Thạch Lam described – when customers order, they prepare rice flour, spread a spoonful of wet batter over the closely woven steaming basket and then take out the almost-transparent rice sheet with a bamboo stick.

Minced pork and wood ear mushrooms are then rolled in the rice sheet, ready to be served with dipping sauce. The sauce served with the rolled cake is similar to that in bún chả (noodles served with grilled pork) – fish sauce with sugar, water (to lessen the saltiness), chili and vinegar.

Traditionally, cà cuống was added to the dipping sauce (cà cuống is a fragrant oil made from an insect). However, today it is hard to find such an addition.

Other localities including Cao Bằng and Lào Cai developed their own version of the rolled cake, with their own unique take on the dish.

In the northern provinces of Cao Bằng and Lạng Sơn, rolled cake is eaten with pork bone broth, instead of fish sauce like in Hà Nội. While spreading wet batter over the steaming basket, cooks would add an egg, and then cover the cooked egg with a rice sheet. Diners could add some fermented bamboo shoots and chili to fortify their broth.

Ancient techniques: Taking a piece of rolled cake – the thin Thanh Trì rice paper rolled with a few wood ear mushrooms and some spring onions fried in oil and dipped in fish sauce – is a delight for the senses. — Photo giadinh.net.vn

Delicious dish: A seller prepares rolled cakes for customers. Nowadays, diners in Hà Nội can find the dish at old eateries like Thanh Vân Rolled Cake (14 Hàng Gà)and Mrs Hoành Rolled Cake in 66 Tô Hiến Thành. — VNS Photo Trương Vị

Bánh cuốn can be found at:

Hà Nội:

66 Tô Hiến Thành Street.

14 Hàng Gà Street.

101 Bà Triệu Street.

61 Huỳnh Thúc Kháng Street.

HCM City:

11A Cao Thắng Street.

17A Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Street.

353 Lê Văn Sỹ Street.

By Hồng Vân/ Viet Nam News