Banh Hoi, Rice Vermicelli Sheets

Banh Hoi (Rice Vermicelli Sheets)

Bánh hỏi is a Vietnamese dish consisting of rice vermicelli woven into intricate bundles and often topped with chopped scallions or garlic chives sauteed in oil, served with a complementary meat dish. The strings of noodles are usually only as thin as a toothpick; the texture is firm enough so the noodles do not fall apart, but is not at all sticky to keep the dish light and suitable for a breakfast treat.

Production:

Making bánh hỏi is a multistep process. First, good rice is soaked in water overnight, then washed with water again three or four times until the water comes out clear. Then the rice is either ground with water into a mixture, or ground without water, but mixed into water three or four times afterward to leaven it without using any additional agent. The flour mixture is then either steamed and kneaded, or cooked in a pan, stirred continuously until it starts to coagulate, but no flour gets stuck on the stirring tool. This step is crucial in making bánh hỏi soft, light, and not sticky, but the strings of noodles will still have a firm texture. When the experienced bánh hỏi maker feels the dough is done, it is ready for pressing.

Special copper or aluminum cylinders, with several small holes (the size of a needle eye), shape the cooked dough into noodle form. Pressing the dough requires great strength, as the dough is hard and the holes are small, so it is usually done with leverage. When one person presses the dough, another "catches" the noodles coming out on the other side, presses them together and cuts them off every 10 cm or so, creating a kind of mesh of noodle, which is then laid onto a flat surface, but not in layers. Finally, the sheets are steamed one last time for about five minutes

Banh Hoi Chay Recipe (Vietnamese Thin Rice Vermicelli Noodles):

Bánh hỏi is a Vietnamese specialty dish. It's composed of very thin rice vermicelli noodles, often steamed and seasoned with fried green onions. They’re usually served with barbecued beef or pork but for my husband who's a vegetarian, I accompanied them with a combination of sautéed tofu, bamboo, jicama, carrots and straw mushrooms. That's why I call this dish bánh hỏi chay (hint: chay means "vegetarian" in Vietnamese).

As a child, I remember having this dish at celebrations, though I don't really know why. I make it pretty regularly in our home because in my opinion, it's very simple to prepare and always enjoyable.

Ingredients

Yields: 6 servings
1 (12-ounce) package firm tofu
¾ cup green onions, chopped
1 (12-ounce) package bánh hỏi tươi (very fine rice vermicelli noodles), see tips
1 small jicama
1 (10-ounce) can straw mushrooms, drained
¾ cup canola oil (or any neutral oil), as needed
2 teaspoons mushroom seasoning salt (or regular salt)
1 carrot, peeled and shredded into about 5"-long thick strips
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 cup fresh young bamboo shoots, rinsed and cut into thin strips
1 large bottle gourd, peeled and cut into thin strips
1½ cups white cabbage, shredded
½ cup yellow onions (see tips), sliced and fried
1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked
1 tablespoon palm sugar, freshly grated
¼ cup Vietnamese mint, chopped
4 cups lettuce, shredded
¼ cup Thai basil, chopped
vegetarian dipping sauce