Easy Shortcut for Rice Rolls Recipe
The Life-Changing Recipe for Rice Rolls
This easy shortcut for making rice rolls, or bánh cuốn in Vietnamese, is life changing! It only takes a few minutes to make and is so much faster than making rice roll sheets from scratch or even buying the pre-made rice roll sheets at the store. Saves so much time without sacrificing any of the taste!
What is Rice Rolls (Bánh Cuốn)?
Bánh Cuốn or Vietnamese Rice Rolls is made from steamed rice flour sheets filled with pork and woodear mushrooms. It is typically served with nước chấm which is a sweet and sour fish sauce mixture. The plate can be topped with fresh herbs, cucumbers, bean sprouts, chilis, fried shallots, and chả lụa or Vietnamese ham.
There are lots of contrasting textures and flavors in this dish from the silky rice rolls to the crunchy shallots and the fish sauce to the fresh herbs. It’s seriously so delicious! The only downside is it can take a long time to make.
Rice rolls made with some scratch requires pouring a super thin layer of rice flour batter onto a pan and steaming it. This has to be done individually and can be difficult to get right in a home kitchen. However Vietnamese grocery stores make it a little easier for home cooks because they often sell precooked rice roll sheets.
Even using those pre-made sheets can be time-consuming because you have to individually separate each layer. They also often come in a big package that is not suitable for making small servings and it is fresh so it doesn’t have a long shelf life.
The Shortcut
I love rice rolls but I don’t make it often because it can be a lot of work. My mom told me about a new shortcut for rice rolls she learned and it is a total game changer! Instead of traditional steamed rice rolls, use spring roll rice paper wrapper. I had heard about this hack on social media but figured it was all hype. However, since my mom gave me her stamp of approval, I had to try it out myself.
To make these shortcut rice rolls, all you have to do is simply soak spring roll rice paper wrappers in warm water and oil. If you are using the super thin variety, soak for 5 minutes. If you are using the regular kind, soak for 20 minutes. Make sure the container you are soaking it in is large enough so that the sheets can lay as flat as possible.
The spring roll wrappers can soak all at once and will not stick together. After soaking, the spring roll wrappers transform into something very close to rice roll sheets! It’s not as opaque or thick as the traditional but the texture and taste is very similar!
The most important thing about this shortcut for me is that it is a huge time saver! Rice rolls don’t keep well as leftovers and I typically only make it for myself. Making a big portion just isn’t practical for me. Spring roll rice wrapper paper is dried and shelf stable.
This is great because I can just quickly make a single portion and don’t have to worry about it going bad. It is also more convenient because you can find it easily at most grocery stores in the Asian aisle. Overall this will definitely be my go-to method for making rice rolls at home!
Making Bánh Cuốn
Many Asian cultures have their own version of a rice roll dish. Vietnamese Rice Rolls are filled with ground pork and woodear mushrooms. Woodear mushrooms can be hard to find so substituting it for another mushroom will work just fine fine.
To make the filling, start by cooking shallots and garlic until soft and fragrant. Next add in the mushrooms, pork, and seasonings. Break up the chunks of ground pork. Once done, carefully remove a rice roll sheet and place on flat surface.
The rice roll sheet is super delicate so be careful not to tear it. Spread the cooked meat filling onto the rice sheet and roll it up. Repeat until rice roll sheets and meat are gone. Alternatively, you can roll the rice roll sheets by itself and then just top it with the meat to make it an even faster meal.
Serve with toppings like Vietnamese ham (chả lụa), cucumbers, bean sprouts, fresh herbs, and chilis, as desired. Find Vietnamese ham in the refrigerator aisle of the Asian grocery store, usually wrapped in foil. Lastly pour the fish sauce mixture (nước chấm) over everything and eat!
Did you make this recipe? I would love to see! Tag me on Instagram @feedmi_
Easy Shortcut for Rice Rolls (Bánh Cuốn)
Ingredients
RICE ROLLS:
- 5 sheets dried spring roll rice paper wrapper
- 1 tbs oil
- water
FILLING:
- ⅓ lb ground pork
- 2 mushrooms
- 1 shallot
- 1 garlic
- 1 tsp mushroom or chicken bouillon
- ½ tsp black pepper
SAUCE:
- 2 tbs water
- 1 tbs sugar
- 1 tbs lime juice
- ⅔ tbs fish sauce
- 1 garlic minced
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
- cucumbers
- Vietnamese ham (chả lụa)
- fried shallots
- bean sprouts
- fresh herbs
- chilis
Instructions
RICE ROLLS:
- fill large container with warm water and 1 tbs oil
- place 5 sheets of dried spring roll rice paper wrapper into the container one at a time
- soak sheets for 5 minutes (I used extra thin paper but if you use thick, soak for 20 minutes)
FILLING:
- chop shallot, garlic, and mushrooms
- add a drizzle of oil to pan on medium-high heat
- cook shallot and garlic until soft and fragrant
- add ground pork and mushrooms
- season with bouillon and black pepper
- cook ground pork, breaking up the chunks
ASSEMBLE:
- carefully remove 1 rice roll sheet and lay it flat
- fill rice roll with the ground pork and mushroom filling
- roll it up and repeat
- mix together fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, garlic, and water to make the sauce
- serve with fish sauce and optional toppings
