I mentioned in my last Vietnam post that all of my favorite Vietnamese dishes are ones that are either dipped or doused in nuoc mam, the most common sauce in Vietnamese cooking. Banh Cuon is one of those dishes and while we were in Hanoi, we were lucky enough to have a family run Banh Cuon shop right across the street from our hotel. I was totally mesmerized by these ladies' skills and even more mesmerized by the fresh steamed rolls they were dishing out. The filling is made of ground pork and mushrooms and topped with crunchy fried shallots and shrimp powder. They also made an egg filled roll which I have never seen before. We tried one, but I think the original filling is the best.
In the states, banh cuon is served with a side of nuoc mam but here, they had their own sauce made of a mix of pork broth, lime juice and fish sauce. I was a little skeptical given my love for nuoc mam, but their sauce was bangin'. As you can see above, we polished off quite a few plates during our 3 day stay in Hanoi and made quite an impression on the owners. You know it was a really good meal when I don't have a "before" picture of the dish because I was too excited to start eating.
Not that many people read my blog, but I was lucky enough to get my first comment from a stranger. The Ravenous Couple has a great blog about Vietnamese cooking and they recently posted a recipe for Banh Cuon.
Didn't realize I caught so much of my mom's commentary...haha
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