School-Gate Snack · Rice Paper Salad
Bánh Tráng Trộn
Photo: Memberofc1 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Nguyễn Thúc Thùy Tiên showcased it in a street-food video for the 2021 Miss Grand International pageant, which she went on to win.
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.
More from Vietnam
Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
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