Bánh Tráng Nướng (Rice Paper Pizza)

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