Trảng Bàng dew-wetted rice paper

Trảng Bàng dew-wetted rice paper (Vietnamese language: Bánh tráng phơi sương Trảng Bàng) is a speciality of Lộc Du, Trang Bang district, Tây Ninh province, Vietnam. This is a flexible two layer- rice paper. There is a saying:

"Ai về xứ ấy Trảng Bàng," Whoever comes to that land, Trảng Bàng,

"Mua giúp một tràng bánh tráng phơi sương". Please buy for us a bundle of dew- wetted rice paper.

Process of production

This process of production follows seven steps: steeping the rice, husking the rice, mixing the flour, spreading the flour, drying the rice paper in the sun, grilling the rice paper and wetting the paper by dew in the night. Firstly, the white, regular delicious rice chosen such as Bằng Cóc rice, So Miên rice or Nàng Miên rice. Rice is steeped into fully clear and clean water. The requireness is that when the rice is risen, water level is approximately equal to the level of rice quantity. If people steep the rice for too much time, rice will be sour and lost its fragrant. Then, risen rice will be mixed with salt to be floatted when it grilled later. The next step is that the risen rice is spread over a flat pan to shape a very thin and round pieces. When spreading, the temperature of water must be kept in constant. Just in time when the previous piece has just done, the following piece must be spread and cover the pan. The professional workers experience know the exact single time when the piece was done by smelling the smoke. To continue the production, people spread the rice paper pieces over the bamboo grid and dry them in the sun. If they dry them during an unnessary long period of time, the rice papers will be tightly stretched and easy to be broken. In constrast, if the rice papers was dried for a not enough time, they will be tough. When they will be dried for an appropriate period of time, people change to dry them by the natural wind. The coming step is that people grill them with peanut's covers as fuel. People must turn over the rice papers regularly for them to be floatted evenly and prevent them from burned or smoke- stained. At last, about 9:00 pm, when night dews begin to drop, rice papers will be dried again outside the home and be wetted by dews. Workers must be estimate the right period of time for dew-wetting by seeing that day's degree of wetness.

Trảng Bàng dew-wetted rice paper summer roll

People wrap this kind of rice paper over some ingredients: coconut water- boiled pork and a lot of vegetebles: cucumber, coriander, Thai basil, spearmint, houttuynia cordata, peppermint, perilla ...and then be rolled. People serve it with sweet and sour fish sauce.