Every bustling city loves to redesign traditional dishes, and Pho Cuon is a modern Vietnamese dish originating from Saigon. This type of roll uses a thicker rice noodle sheet and wraps sautéed beef and veggies. Pho restaurants in Vietnam and abroad occasionally carry this dish and elevate the dish by pouring a cup’s worth of pho broth over the rolls.
The Pho cuon flavor comes from the combination of aromatic veggies and beef stir fry juice that reminds people of pho’s fragrant aroma. Here goes our recipe to make some at home.
INGREDIENTS
Equipment required: Large steamer
Rice Wrap
- 1 cup of rice flour
- 1 cup of tapioca starch
- 2 cups of water
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp of cooking oil
Beef stir fry
- ½ lb beef brisket
- 1 tbsp garlic
- 1 tsp ginger
- ½ tsp of pepper
- 1 tsp of fish sauce
- 1 ½ tbsp of cooking oil
- 1 yellow onion
Veggie
- 1 iceberg of lettuce
- 3 sprigs of mint
- 1 bunch of perilla
- 1 bunch of cilantro
STEPS
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of rice flour, 1 cup of tapica starch, 2 cups of water, ½ tsp of salt, and 2 tsp of cooking oil. Stir well and then let the batter sit for about 1.5 hour.
- Mince 1 tbsp of garlic and 1 tsp of ginger. Slice 1 yellow onion thinly.
- Slice the ½ lb of beef as thinly as possible. Season the beef with ½ tbsp of garlic, ½ tsp of ginger, 1 tsp of sauce, ½ tsp pepper, and ½ tbsp of cooking oil. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- Add 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a heated wok. Fry some minced garlic until slightly brown. Add the beef and stir-fry on high heat until cooked. Add ½ cup of slice onion. Once all cooked, remove beef and let cool.
- Place an evenly flat plate on the steaming rack. Steam the plate for about 2 minutes until hot.
- Stir the batter well and pour batter to thinly cover the plate. Steam for 5 minutes until quite translucent. Run a spatula around the edges of the rice noodle sheet and peel it off. Continue until batter is finished. Layer the rice sheets on each other when done.
- Detach a rice sheet and place on a flat surface.
- Place a small bundle of beef stir-fry near the bottom and leave about 1 - 1,5 inch of space on each side. Layer as much as veggies desired on top.
- Fold the sides in so it’s snug. Then fold the bottom up to cover the veggies. Keep the roll tights, so lightly squeeze it together as you roll.
- Lift up one end and roll it up, gently but lightly. Serve immediately and enjoy!
There you go. We hope you enjoy cooking Vietnamese Pho rolls at home, and please contact us if there is anything we can help. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for our updates on Vietnamese food and foodie experiences in Hanoi.
