American
Bánh Tráng Nướng (Rice Paper Pizza)
- Prep time 5 minutes
- Cook time 5 minutes
- makes 2 pizzas
Author Notes
This isn’t a pizza in the traditional sense. Because instead of a pizza dough, at the base of this “pizza” is rice paper, the kind popularly used in Vietnamese spring rolls. In fact, the dish is actually a Vietnamese street snack called Bánh Tráng Nướng. It’s made by heating up the rice paper on a searing hot pan or griddle to crisp it up, then spreading a thin layer of beaten eggs on top to form the base, before the toppings go on.
This rice-paper-and-egg base is a far cry from a classic Neapolitan pizza dough, but you shouldn’t think of it as a dough, rather see it simply as a vehicle to hold the toppings. With the rice paper crust being so thin, you’ll barely taste it, giving you the pure, adulterated flavor of the toppings that go above.
And rice paper pizza is all about the toppings. While the conventional Bánh Tráng Nướng in Vietnam is dressed with a mayo, spring onions, and sliced Spam or sausages, you can treat it like any regular pizza, and top it with your go-to pizza ingredients. (Yes, even pineapples.) Put on some mushrooms and olives, load it up with your favourite cheese , or fancify it with ripples of prosciutto and arugula as I did with the recipe below. Go ham—literally, if you wish!
Pro tip: Devour it just as quickly as it’s made, before the rice paper base turns soggy! —Jun
Ingredients
-
2 pieces
round rice paper (at least 6 inches/15 centimeters in diameter)
-
1
large egg, beaten
-
1
scallion (just green parts), trimmed and thinly sliced, divided
-
1/2 cup
shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese, divided
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3 pieces
prosciutto or ham, roughly torn
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1/2 cup
(loosely packed) arugula, divided
Directions
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place 1 piece of rice paper into the pan. Pour half of the beaten egg (about 2 tablespoons/25 grams) onto the rice paper, and use the back of a spoon or a heatproof pastry brush to spread the egg all over the rice paper, leaving a rough 1/4-inch border along the edge. (The edges might curl slightly, that’s perfectly normal.) Immediately sprinkle half of the scallions and half of the cheese over the still unset eggs.
- Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and starting to bubble. Finally, top the pizza with half of prosciutto and arugula, then slide the pizza onto a cutting board.
- While the pizza is still warm and crispy around the edge, cut into wedges with a knife or kitchen shears. Alternatively, you can fold it in half or into quarters like a TikTok tortilla, and eat it with your hands.
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