Vietnamese Pizza | Grilled Vietnamese Rice Paper With Egg, Meat, and Condiments (Bánh Tráng Nướng)

Banh Trang Nuong, or Vietnamese Pizza, is a popular street food among young people in Vietnam. It resembles pizza with an assortment of fun toppings. However, instead of a thick dough as the base, you have a thin sheet of rice paper. Instead of tomato sauce, you have a quail or chicken egg beaten directly on top of the rice paper and spread evenly. The egg prevents the rice paper from burning, and it serves as a glue for the toppings. 

There's no right or wrong topping. Some people like to add a western spin with cheese and cut-up hot dogs. Others like to keep it traditional with exotic Southeast Asian flavors, such as fermented shrimp paste (Mam Ruoc), dried pork floss, and chili oil (sa te)

Banh Trang Nuong didn't exist during my mom's and mother-in-law's times. So when I asked them how to make it, they thought I was referring to a particular type of rice paper and not the appetizer. Banh Trang Nuong, the rice paper, is thick. It usually has black sesame seeds baked into it. It is grilled or microwaved to get puffy and hard. It's brittle so it's broken apart by hand into small pieces and used to scoop up minced meat.

Funny enough, Banh Trang Nuong, the appetizer, doesn't use this type of thick rice paper. Instead Banh Trang Nuong the appetizer uses regular spring roll rice paper. It's much thinner so it gets crispy when grilled.

The process of making Banh Trang Nuong is a lot of fun. In Vietnam, Banh Trang Nuong is made right there on the street with a small charcoal grill. The vendor would add on the toppings, and turn the rice paper on the grill to get it nice and crispy. Then she folds it over, wraps it in old newspaper, and it's ready to go.

The tricky part of this dish is rotating the rice paper on the grill while spreading the toppings evenly. I couldn't do both without getting too close to the fire and burning myself, or without burning the rice paper. The street food vendors did it so effortlessly.

The result after a couple of third-degree burns was a tasty little snack. It was crispy, savory, and delicious.  I'm ready to take this craft of making Banh Trang Nuong on the suburban streets of California. But this time I’m using tongs.

Recipe below. Happy snacking!

Vietnamese Pizza | Grilled Vietnamese Rice Paper With Egg, Meat, and Condiments (Banh Trang Nuong)

Ingredients

• Rice paper
• Quail or chicken eggs
• Green onions/scallions
• Kewpie mayo
• Sriracha Sauce or homemade chili oil (sa tế)

Optional Protein Toppings

• Hot dogs (cook and thinly slice)
• Spam (cook and thinly slice)
• Sausage (cook and thinly slice)
• Shredded dried pork (chà bông)
• Canned tuna
• Cheese

Instructions

1. Add a rice paper to a hot grill, traditional charcoal grill, or dry frying pan (no oil).
2. Crack two quail eggs or one chicken egg directly onto the rice paper. Use the back of a spoon or a pair of chopsticks to evenly spread the eggs. Eggs will want to run off the rice paper at first so make sure to keep them centered.
3. Add green onions/scallions and your desired toppings.
4. Rotate the rice paper as needed with a pair of tongs. Fold in half when all parts are crispy. Serve immediately for best results.