Bánh Cuốn (steamed rice rolls) is a very popular dish in Hanoi in particular and in Vietnam in general.

There are two main types: one has a meat filling (inside there is minced meat, mushrooms, and wood ear fungus) and the other is a vegetarian filling (with only wood ear fungus/mushrooms, less meat or nothing at all). Sprinkle with fried shallots or cilantro.

Additionally, depending on taste, if eaten at a shop specializing in bánh cuốn and at lunchtime/evening, there may be added egg, chả (Vietnamese pork patty) and some other types of fillings with different flavors. The thinness or thickness of the rice sheet also varies by region and by ethnic group in Vietnam.

Some people who cannot eat the accompanying dipping sauce usually will not choose bánh cuốn as a breakfast.

This morning I was working at home so I still asked the vendor to give me the dipping sauce. The type I ate was the filled bánh but with little meat because she had run out. Normally I quite like having bánh cuốn with a lot of meat for breakfast and not dipping it in anything.

Price: 15,000 VND when bought from a morning street vendor. I don't really like eating bánh cuốn at noon or in the evening. If eaten then, the price will be around 35,000–40,000 VND depending on how much filling you want to order. But usually at that price I prefer to eat a rice meal.

And finally, instead of being packed in a plastic bag as before, I brought my own container to hold the food. No plastic waste was created, and no food was left over, so this was a meal that produced no waste.

Waste-Reducing Breakfasts 2