Saturday, April 17, 2010

Vietnamese Spring Rolls


Whenever I go to Vietnamese restaurants, I always have an internal struggle between ordering the fried eggrolls and the fresh spring rolls. Usually, the fried ones win, but since the weather is warming up, this seems more fitting.

Side Dish Showdown Blogger Event And since this month's Side Dish Showdown has a theme of Spring, this seems fitting. Check out Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice and the end of the month to see some other Spring inspired side dishes.

Ingredients:
(Rolls)
- Rice paper
- Rice noodles
- Shrimp
- Thinly sliced meat (I used eye of round that was pre-sliced for hot pot purposes)
- Lettuce

(Sauce)
- Peanut butter
- Hoisin
- Water
- Fish sauce
- Crushed peanuts
- Chili sauce (optional)

Directions:
(Rolls)
- Boil the rice noodles until fully cooked, then rinse it with cold water and set aside.
- Slice the lettuce into quarter inch strips and set aside.
- Cook the shrimp, then cool it, slice them in half if desired and set aside.
- Cook the meat, cool it, and set aside.
- Fill a pan large enough to fit the rice paper with water.
- For each roll, quickly dip two sheets of rice paper in the water (on both sides) and stack them on top of each other, flat on a cutting board. On my first roll, I let the paper soak in the water until it was fully soft. That was too soft and the rice paper fell apart. On my second, I just dipped it quickly, but found that it was still not enough because it'd rip when I tried rolling the spring rolls. Then I tried to dip two quickly and found that was perfect. You can experience yourself too, to see what works best for you.

- Lay a line of shrimp (pretty side down if you sliced them in half) on the softened rice paper.
- Lay a line of the meat on top of the shrimp.

- Lay a line of noodles on top of the meat.

- Lay a line of lettuce on top of the noodles.
- Fold in the edges and wrap up the filling into the spring roll.
- Repeat for each roll.
(Sauce)
- Scoop some peanut butter into a bowl and add a bit of water.
- Pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to help melt the peanut butter.
- Stir the peanut butter/water mixture until smooth.
- Add hoisin sauce and just a dash of fish sauce to taste (a little goes a looong way, so don't add too much).

- Add some chili sauce if desired.

- Stir everything together until it achieves the taste and consistency you desire.
- Top with crushed peanuts and dip spring rolls in the sauce.

18 comments:

ann low said...

I love this Vietnamese spring rolls especially with the dipping sauce.

Joanne said...

I love spring rolls! Especially with this delicious peanut sauce.

Unknown said...

I love spring rolls and yours look wonderful!!

MaryMoh said...

Mmm....look delicious. I love Vietnamese spring rolls.

Claudia said...

Oh I love spring rolls - especially in the warm weather with all fresh ingredients. Yours are stunning!

Katy ~ said...

You are good to make your own spring rolls. I never even thought to attempt them. But boy do these look GOOD!

You have a terrific blog, lots of goodies here. I can see myself spending a lot of time perusing and ogling your delicious recipes. YUM!

Dewi said...

Hmmm, this is the best and is my favorite fresh spring rolls. They look super delish!

Pete said...

I like to add a little crispy fried shallots into the spring rolls....nice

Reeni said...

It's hard to resist the fried ones! But I like fresh too - especially with your yummy peanut sauce. Thanks for sending it to the Showdown!

Tangled Noodle said...

I love this spring rolls but I can never get the wrappers to achieve just the right consistency as you have here! I will keep trying - these are just too good to give up. Thanks for sharing your technique!

tasteofbeirut said...

Talk about mouthwatering! I would have no trouble wolfing a dish of Vietnamese spring rolls such as these!

tigerfish said...

I never made these at home. Look like it might be time ;D

TasteHongKong said...

Sure, fresh spring rolls win in term of lightness. I also love them with the silky rice papers.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

I have a lot Vietnamese spring roll skin which brought back my last trip to Ho Chi Minh, this remind me I have to make some, yummy!

Noob Cook said...

I love the fresh version coz can see the ingredients inside, very pretty. I can eat this on its own too :)

Juliana said...

Oh! I love this rolls, specially now that the weather is getting warmer...the peanut sauce sounds so tasty...

Lorraine said...

Those look very good. I have always wanted to try to make them. Thanks for the recipe!

Ana Powell said...

Awesome side dish.
Great combination of flavours x