Vietnamese Spring Rolls - specific taste of Vietnamese cuisine

Known as one of the famous food cities in Asia, Vietnam is not only an attractive destination by beautiful landscape but also diversified cuisine. if you go to Vietnam, you will not forget specific taste by delicious food and hospitality of Vietnamese people. That was true feeling of my foreign friend after his coming to my home for the invitation of dinner. 

As a hospitable tradition, a welcome party was prepared by my mother with some Vietnamese food that I thought he will like. In menu, Spring Rolls is familiar dish with Vietnamese that we often make in celebration like wedding, new house celebration, special parties… as well as everyday meals, but with foreigners, this dish may be new taste, different from other place and only in Vietnam. When looking at my mother wrapping spring rolls, my friend was really interested and also tried to do as my mother’s guide. Standing by their side, I explained for my friend that we call "Nem Ran" in the North, "Cha Gio" in the South, it is special as its name “spring” by a combination of ingredients: natural flavors of vegetables (carrot, cabbage, green onions, sprouted beans), with dried ear mushroom, vermicelli, pork, egg … A dish is full of energy and nutrition. 

My mother said only in special celebration we would have chance to taste Spring Rolls because it also means to be comfortably off. From different kinds of food which are hard to plant or get, we combined in a delicious dish and hoped that everyone will be well-fed, get wealth in life. At that time, I understood that each dish is the art of Vietnamese cuisine and life idea of Vietnamese people.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls is easy to make and can be changeable depends on the taste of the cook. You can follow this recipe:

Ingredients: Makes 20 rolls

• 20 – 25: Rice paper wrappers (some may be broken)
• 310 g: Ground chicken (or half crabmeat, half ground pork)
• 20 g: Green bean thread vermicelli
• 1: Carrot, cut into thin strips
• ¼: Cabbage, cut into fine strips
• 2: Green onions (scallions), minced
• 5 g: Sugar
• 2.5 g: Salt
• 2.5: White pepper
• 15 ml: Oyster sauce
• 3 cloves: Garlic, minced
• 45 ml: Vegetable oil (extra oil may be required for deep frying)
• 1: Egg
• 100 g: sprouted beans
• 4-5: dried mushroom
• 3 ear fungus

Garnishing

• 1 sprig: Lettuce leaves
• 1 sprig: Mint leaves

Direction

“ Nuoc Cham” dipping sauce

• 5 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice (optional)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 fresh Thai chilies (2 to 3 inches; preferably red; including seeds), thinly sliced crosswise

Spring Rolls:

In hot water, soak vermicelli, dried mushrooms, ear fungus for 5 minutes until soft. Drain, cut into 2 in lengths and reserve.

• Add 3 tablespoons oil to wok or pan. Add garlic and chicken (or crabmeat and pork) and cook about 8 minutes, mashing with a fork so they do not clump together.
• Add cabbage, carrot, green onions (scallions), sprouted beans, vermicelli, dried mushroom, ear fungus to cook on high for about 3 minutes until vegetables soften.
• Turn off heat, add salt, sugar, pepper and oyster sauce. Stir to mix well. When mixture is cool, brush each side of the rice wrappers or dip them hot water to moisten them or they will dry and break.
• Place 1 tablespoon of the mixture into each wrapper, turn sides in first, roll and seal each with beaten egg. Refrigerate until needed.
• Heat extra oil in wok or pan. Deep fry rolls until golden.
• Serve on lettuce leaves garnished with lettuce and mint leaves.
• Serve with bottled sweet chili pepper sauce or nuoc cham sauce.

LanAnh

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