Vietnamese · snack

Banh Cuon (Steamed Rice Rolls)

Name: Banh Cuon (Steamed Rice Rolls)
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 1.5 cups rice flour; 3 tbsp tapioca starch; 2.5 cups water; 8 oz ground pork; 2 oz wood ear mushrooms, soaked and diced; 2 shallots, minced; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 3 tbsp fried shallots; 1 cucumber, sliced; 1 cup bean sprouts; 4 oz Vietnamese pork roll, sliced; nuoc cham for dipping

Banh Cuon (Steamed Rice Rolls) reads umami 7.9, richness 6.4 and funk & ferment 6.3 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Vietnamese snack, about 50 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 9.7 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 1.8 / 10
Sour & Bright — 1.9 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 3.7 / 10
Rich & Fat — 6.6 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 3.8 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.9 · Richness 6.4 · Funk & Ferment 6.3 · Salinity 5.8 · Marine & Briny 5.1 · Allium 3.6 · Earthy 3.6 · Sourness 1.9 · Sweetness 1.7 · Warm Spice 1.2 · Heat 0.7 · Nutty 0.6 · Bitterness 0.6

What's in it (13)

1.5 cups rice flour
3 tbsp tapioca starch
2.5 cups water
8 oz ground pork
2 oz wood ear mushrooms, soaked and diced
2 shallots, minced
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp fried shallots
1 cucumber, sliced
1 cup bean sprouts
4 oz Vietnamese pork roll, sliced
nuoc cham for dipping

Time & effort: about 50 min (30 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 118.3 kcal, 4.4 g protein, 6.6 g fat, 10.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (3 steps)

Make a thin batter from rice flour, tapioca starch, and water, then steam thin sheets on a cloth over boiling water.
Place a spoonful of seasoned pork and mushroom filling on the sheet and roll gently.
Serve topped with crispy fried shallots and sliced pork roll alongside nuoc cham.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Cha Gio (Fried Spring Rolls) — Vietnamese
Jansson's Temptation (Janssons Frestelse) — Scandinavian
Doenjang Jjigae (된장찌개) — Korean
Thai Spring Rolls (Por Pia Tod) — Thai
La Paz Batchoy (Ilonggo Noodle Soup) — Filipino

Keep reading: what umami, richness, funk & ferment mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.