Handmade rice noodles filled with pork and wood-ear mushrooms (banh cuon nong)

Ingredients

• 4dried wood ear mushrooms
• 125 ml(4 fl oz/½ cup) vegetable oil
• 4garlic cloves, minced
• 4red Asian shallots, diced
• 300 g(10½ oz) pork mince
• 1 tspfish sauce
• ½ tspsugar
• 500 g(1 lb 2 oz) pork terrine, finely sliced
• 1bunch perilla, leaves plucked
• 1bunch Vietnamese mint, leaves plucked
• 1bunch mint, leaves plucked
• 300 g(10½ oz) mung bean sprouts
• 2 tbspfried red Asian shallots
• 2Lebanese (short) cucumbers, sliced into batons
• 250 ml(9 fl oz/1 cup) nuoc mam cham (dipping fish sauce)
• 2bird's-eye chillies, sliced

Instructions

Soaking time 20 minutes

Put the mushrooms in a bowl, cover with water and soak for 20 minutes, then drain and thinly slice.

To make the batter, combine rice flour, tapioca flour and salt with 600 ml of cold water. Whisk until the flour dissolves and forms a smooth batter.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, then add 2 tablespoons of the oil. Fry the garlic and shallots until fragrant, then add the pork, mushrooms, fish sauce, sugar and pinch of salt and pepper.

Stir-fry for 4 minutes, then transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Brush a round tray with oil and place beside the stove. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat, and add enough oil to coat the base of the pan. Pour a small ladleful (2–3 tablespoons) of the batter into the pan, turning the pan in a circular motion to cover the base with a thin layer of batter.

Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 30 seconds.

Remove the lid and slide the thin noodle sheet onto your oiled tray. Scoop 1 tablespoon of pork mixture onto the noodle sheet, fold two sides in, then fold over to form a roll.

Transfer to a plate. Repeat this process using the remaining batter and pork mixture, adding oil to the pan as necessary.

Top the rolls with pork terrine, fresh herbs, bean sprouts, fried shallots and cucumber. Dress with nuoc cham and garnish with sliced chilli.