In a delicate plate of bánh cuốn opposite a bus stop on the edges of Hanoi’s old quarter, I find the answer to the age-old question of whether hot breakfasts are better than cold breakfasts.
The answer, for me at least, is an emphatic yes.
Bánh cuốn are long, translucent rolls of steamed rice flour wrapped delicately around a filling of minced pork and woodear mushrooms.
At , sitting on a plastic stool on a muggy morning, I plunge my chopsticks into the folds of the translucent rice flour rolls topped by a handful of golden fried shallots vibrant against the mountain of fresh coriander and mint. I dip a bite-sized piece of bánh cuốn into a small bowl of nước chấm (a Vietnamese dip made with fish sauce), its slightly sweet-sour acidity bringing a smile to my face.
Ange Yang tucks into a plate of freshly made Banh Cuon Nong
I blink and all of a sudden, she has put a handful of the mix onto the sheet of rice flour before her, rolling it quickly without it sticking to her hands and then chopping it in half. She tops it with a flourish of golden shallots and serves it up with a side of fish cake to the next customer
This is the savoury hot dish I want for breakfast, and it has etched its place in my food memories.
Tran is also loyal to dipping it into nước chấm because “it's a balance of all the good stuff and pairs perfectly with the slippery wide rice sheets”. Her mum always served it with slices of nem chua, and different chả lụa (pork sausages) and cucumber slices and a mountain of shredded iceberg lettuce (peak Australian childhood nostalgia - IYKYK!).
Izy Nguyen, a fellow community arts lover in Boorloo (Perth) also shares my love for bánh cuốn and like Tran, has memories of eating the “not too heavy” dish with her mum during their family vacations to her uncle’s house in Huế. Izy recommends asking “a local older Vietnamese grocery keeper” and cautions that I shouldn’t be over ambitious with fillings. “It’ll tear the integrity of the rice flour!,” she says.
If you have the time to go all out and make bánh cuốn from scratch, owner of in Perth, says grinding one’s own rice flour is a must. “You need to grind your own rice flour to get the softness - that’s not too chewy for a good bánh cuốn. The older the rice, the better results you’ll get”.
But, according to Tran, there’s nothing wrong with getting pre-made rolls from the store. She suggests giving them “a quick zap in the microwave”.
owner of DJ Lee, says the trick is to coat the pan with a thin layer of oil - “but not too much - too much oil will cause the batter to bubble and that results in a not so smooth texture”. He reassures me that no fancy equipment is needed. “We didn’t have a brush back then, so mum would use a paper towel, to dip into the oil and lightly wipe over the pan so that it’s got a very thin coat of oil.”
For those not looking to make their own, in Marrickville, Sydney, and in Victoria’s St Albans will satisfy your cravings.
Whether you’re making your own, or seeking out a neighbourhood eatery dishing out fresh bánh cuốn, or indeed, have a trip to Vietnam planned – you’ll never see breakfast the same way again once you’ve tried these warm, savoury rolls.
