Located at 11 Nguyen Phan Vinh Street, Son Tra District, Da Nang, over the past 6 decades, Tho Truong ‘banh cuon’ (steamed rolled rice pancakes) eatery has maintained its reputation and attraction thanks to its family heirloom recipes.

A mouth-watering dish of Tho Truong ‘banh cuon’

Ms Tuyen, the eldest daughter of Mr Tran Gia Chinh, the owner of the Tho Truong eatery, said, the making of ‘banh cuon’ is her family’s treasured heirloom that has been passed down for 4 generations from her great-grandfather. Not only did she continue the family's time-honoured traditional craft, her younger brothers have also engaged in keeping this delicacy going.

In addition to the main eatery at 11 Nguyen Phan Vinh, Truong Tho ‘banh cuon’ is sold at 140 Ky Dong and 169 Le Thanh Nghi.

Every day, Mrs Nguyen Thi Thanh, Ms Tuyen's mother, wakes up at around 4:30am to embark upon making ‘banh cuon’.  She prepares rice flour, spreads a spoonful of wet batter over the closely woven steaming basket and then takes out the almost-transparent rice sheet with a bamboo stick.

The pancake, which is thin like white paper and looks almost transparen, is rolled with a few wood ear mushrooms, some spring onions fried in oil, and minced lean shoulder meat of pork.

Truong Tho ‘banh cuon’ is served with raw vegetables, dipping sauce, grilled pork and crunchy ‘dua chua’ (fermented mixed pickles) made from raw papaya and carrots.

Of special note, the taste of the dish heavily relies on dipping sauce which features a wonderful combination of condensed fish sauce, minimal spicy chili peppers, garlics,  sugar, a little of boiling water.

The amazing mixture of the various flavours really gives a pleasant texture and a smooth aftertaste! It is a delight for the senses!

Also noticeably, meat balls on a small bamboo stick are grilled over wood charcoal with a fragrant smell and smokey flavour. They are perfectly juicy, tender and delicious.

By KHANH QUYEN- Translated by ANH THU