It feels like I haven"t done a blog post in a while, probably because I haven"t! I was back in Sydney recently for a few weeks and had a packed schedule visiting friends and family. Obviously there was loads of food involved which I would like to share.
My sis (the other half of noredmeat.com) had a long list of foodie adventures lined up and the first was an unassuming Vietnamese place in Cabramatta. While at first I was hesitant to make the journey out to Sydney"s west, Thanh Binh was quite a surprise.
We didn"t even read the menu, instead followed Anita"s lead and ordered the prawn rice paper rolls which you roll yourself.
We are soon presented with various plates and bowls containing the ingredients for this feast. The table is adorned with the prawns which are minced and wrapped around sugarcane, vermicelli , rice paper sheets, a bowl of steaming water, and the various veggies and herbs, and of course fresh chilli.
It takes us a few attempts, but we soon get the hang of how to roll your own. My preferred method is to submerge a sheet of rice paper in the water until it has softened, then place it on a clean plate and if possible to stretch it across the plate without any folds. I then layer a slice of the prawn mince, some vermicelli, then strips of lettuce, cucumber and bean shoots, and fresh mint, followed by some chopped up chilli. Then the folding. I found the best way was to fold them like a fajita, but each to their own. It"s always a challenge to fold them after you have stuffed so much of the prawn and veggies inside. The chilli sauce is great to dunk your finished roll.
This would be a pretty easy meal to prepare at home too – it"s definitely one for me to try soon!
If you are in Sydney and want to make the trip to Cabramatta, here are the details:
Thanh Binh Restaurant 52a John St, Cabramatta NSW 2166
Somehow after stuffing ourselves, we still wanted to try a Pandan waffle!
