Bánh Tráng Trộn (Vegan Vietnamese Rice Paper Salad)

Bánh tráng trộn, is a popular rice paper salad that is often served in bags on the streets of Vietnam. It’s popular with school kids. The traditional way it is served is with quail eggs, pork, chopped-up beef jerky, and sometimes a bunch of processed components like potato chips. But this version is completely vegan, nourishing, and so freaking full-of-flavor that you will not miss a colon-clogging thing!

My vegan version of this classic dish maintains the traditional charm while embracing the principles of sustainability and compassion. It’s a great introduction to vegan Vietnamese cooking, and like my Che Ba Mau, Mie Xau Xi Dau, vegan Nuoc Mam, and Banh Flan, show how extraordinary flavors can come from simple, natural Ingredients.

Bánh tráng trộn brings a touch of Vietnam's magic to your dining table. It’s mad flavorful, but if you want more, you can always kick it up a notch with a drizzle of homemade vegan Nuoc Mam. Let’s make some rockin’ Vietnamese rice paper goodness already!

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Jump to:

• ?Why you'll adore this Vietnamese rice paper salad
• ? Bánh tráng trộn ingredients
• ?How to make perfect vegan bánh tráng trộn
• ?️Serving Ideas
• ?Top tips
• ?‍♀️FAQ
• ✌️My faves serve with this banh trang tron recipe:
• BÁNH TRÁNG TRỘN (Vegan Vietnamese Rice Paper Salad)

?Why you'll adore this Vietnamese rice paper salad

✊Vegan AF: This great-tasting rice paper salad forgoes the typically involved processed animal ingredients, making it better for you, the animals, and the planet. Like all of my vegan Vietnamese recipes, there's no dried squid, chicken, dried shrimp or quail eggs to be found here!

? Finally something easy and fast to make with rice papers! Less finicky than summer rolls, and less complicated than using it as a skin for roasted seitan, this salad is fast, and the rice papers soften directly in the salad dressing.

✅Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of the vegan recipes on my blog, this Vietnamese salad has undergone meticulous testing and tweaking to achieve perfection. In addition to my own work on it, a dedicated team of recipe testers who work with me from kitchens all over the planet have given it their stamp of approval.

? Bánh tráng trộn ingredients

Tamarind

Nước Me Chua, or tamarind concentrate, is a sweet, slightly sour ingredient with an almost sour cherry-like flavor. If tamarind concentrate is unavailable, you can mix lime juice with a touch of agave syrup or brown sugar to achieve a similar sweet and sour balance, though it will not be as thick. Otherwise, make your own tamarind paste by pouring a little boiling water over compressed tamarind fruit, removing all the seeds and pith, and processing it in a blender or food processor to make a thick paste.

Vegan Fish Sauce

Nước Mắm Chay is normally made with fish, but now there are a couple of good brands of vegan fish sauce on the market. This stuff is less sweet and thinner than the mushroom-based vegetarian oyster sauce, but if that’s all you can find, you can still make a solid banh trang tron with it. If you can’t get either, use my homemade vegan Vietnamese fish sauce.

Vietnamese Coriander

I am fortunate that one of my neighbors grows a lot of this herb, also known as Rau Răm, or laksa leaf (thanks for always letting me steal it Sarah ?). If you are one of those weird people who thinks “cilantro tastes like soap,” well then you are probably gonna hate Vietnamese Coriander. With its vibrant flavor that is a little bit like a more astringent, minty version of cilantro, Vietnamese Coriander contributes some fresh aromatic vibes that bring the salad to life. If Vietnamese coriander is not accessible, you can use regular cilantro.

Rice Paper (Bánh Tráng)

Cut up rice paper serves as a chewy component in the salad, soaking up the dressing and juices from the green mango. Of course the most famous Vietnamese rice paper creation is the spring roll. Outside of Vietnam, a lot of the rice paper contains tapioca. In fact, some of it is 100% tapioca, and it has a softer, gooier mouthfeel. If you can find it, opt for rice paper with little to no tapioca content, as it ensures a smoother, better texture.

Seitan

Seitan is a vegetarian mock meat made from the pure protein of wheat. I have a killer recipe for homemade seitan on my blog, which is better than anything you can find in stores. If you are gluten-free, you can use soy curls or tender bits of oyster mushroom in place of the seitan.

?How to make perfect vegan bánh tráng trộn

Grab onto my green mango fingers, and I will walk you through the rice paper forest to the tamarind oceans beyond. Otherwise, just follow along with the easy-to-print recipe card towards the bottom of this page.

Step seven

Assemble individual servings by dividing the salad into bowls or plates. Top the servings with the stir-fried seitan and yuba, and garnish with scallions, fried shallots, and crushed peanuts. If you’d like, you can kick up the heat by adding some of my Nuoc Mam dressing or shatta sauce.

?️Serving Ideas

Rice Paper Salad is not only a craveable treat on its own but also an exceptional companion to an array of Southeast Asian dishes.

Serve it with some bánh bao chay, ca ri chay, or alongside a tofu banh mi for a fast-to-make Vietnamese soy sauce noodle dish.

Pair banh tran tron with Pad Woon Sen, a slammin' Thai glass noodle stir-fry. The salad's refreshing flavors perfectly balance the richness of Pad Woon Sen, creating perfect spicy harmony. It’s also great as an appetizer or side to curry laksa, a coconut-laden Malaysian noodle classic.

The salad's lively dressing complements the sweet umami notes of bami goreng, mee rebus, or mie goreng from Malaysia. If you are on a Southeast Asian salad kick, another couple options for ya are Ketroprak from Indonesia, and ensaladang talaong from the Philippines. Another famous Filipino dish that complements rice paper salad really nicely is Tofu Sisig which brings some extra plant-based protein to the meal.

What about dessert? My wife likes to START her meals here, so you know it's an essential food group. Vietnamese-style Banh Flan, Kem Chuoi (coconut banana ice cream bars), taro pudding, or Che Ba Mau are the obvious choices. Other things that could go great as a dessert after (or before) this meal are kuih dadar and martabak manis, two street food desserts from Malaysia.

?‍♀️FAQ

✌️My faves serve with this banh trang tron recipe:

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