Published:  15:26 Monday - July 18, 2011

Steamed rolled rice pancake (banh cuon) is a popular dish in Vietnam, but it can be enjoyed in different ways in various locations.

If ten people travel to Vietnam, there will be at least nine of them like Vietnamese food. One of the most favourite food that  many tourists love to eat is rolled rice pancakes, especially steamed rolled rice pancakes in Hanoi. Those who tasted  and enjoy through this kind of food will want to eat it again and again. Beside steamed rolled rice pancakes in Hanoi, tourists travel to Vietnam can enjoy in different ways in various locations. Pancakes in Phu Ly is an example of special and delicious food for Vietnam travel.

Unlike steamed rolled rice pancakes in Hanoi, which are stuffed with meat and served with sheets of orange hued, roasted cinnamon sausage (cha que) or classic silky Vietnamese sausages (cha lua), Phu Ly steamed rolled rice enjoyed in different ways in various locations pancakes are white, soft yet flexible sheets of rice flour with fried shallots on top and are eaten with grilled pork, fish sauce and a variety of raw vegetables.

Not only satisfying diners in the Ha Nam countryside and commuters along National Highway 1A, Phu Ly steamed rolled rice pancake also pleases picky customers and is becoming a favorite dish in the capital.

In order to make delicious steamed rolled rice pancakes, one must go through several stages from selecting ingredients to making the rice pancakes and preparing the sauce.

To make steamed rolled rice pancakes, the rice must be soaked until soft and ground the night before, then filtered through a thin cloth. Some of this batter is spread with the back of a ladle into the steamer base to have the thin sheet of the pancake. After that, the pancakes are carefully plucked off the steamer base.

Sliced pork sides (thit ba chi) are spiced with fish sauce, dried onions, peppers, sugar and other spices and then roasted over hot charcoal. The fish sauce served with this dish, which is warmed before eaten, contains all flavors: salty, sweet, hot and sour.

Raw vegetables include coriander, purple perilla (tia to), Vietnamese balm (kinh gioi), and thinly sliced banana blossom (hoa chuoi thai roi).

With the softness of the rice pancakes, sweet fragance of cinnamon, the fat of grilled pork and the strong taste of warm fish sauce, steamed rolled rice pancakes in Phu Ly should be prepared and enjoyed no matter where you are based in the country.

Vietnam Travel - Tours to Vietnam