School-Gate Snack · Rice Paper Salad
Bánh Tráng Trộn
Photo: Memberofc1 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
American celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern described a bag of it as 'Vietnam in a bag' — a fitting tag for a snack that originated as a treat for school students.
Strips of rice paper are tossed by hand with green mango, dried beef or squid, dried shrimp, quail eggs, roasted peanuts, fried shallots, and a tangy tamarind dressing, all mixed to order in a plastic bag right before it's handed over. Vendors set up carts outside Saigon schools and universities where it's sold as an after-class ritual.
Why it's made this way: It grew up as an affordable snack sold outside schools in southern Vietnam, and its bag-shaken, mix-to-order format made it as much a piece of student social life as a dish in its own right — popular enough that in 2021 it was chosen to represent Vietnam at the Miss Grand International pageant.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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