Fresh spring rolls can be served with either homemade fish sauce or with peanut butter sauce
Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls
This is a very healthy and convenient Vietnamese course because it has lots of veggies and easy to prepare. Eating this thing in restaurant can be charged at a ridiculous price. Let’s check it out and you will see that you can actually make it at home if you want to eat it.
Ingredients
2 ounces rice vermicelli (or you can use fresh vermicelli)
8 rice paper (8.5 inch diameter) (bánh tráng)
Large or medium sized
shrimp
1 1/3 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 leaves lettuce, chopped
Fresh spring rolls can be served with either homemade fish sauce or with peanut butter sauce
Ingredients for homemade fish sauce (refer to here)
4 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
Ingredients for peanut butter sauce
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce (dầu hào)
1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts (or you can use peanut butter)
Directions
1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli until it is soft and edible and drain it.
(Discard this step if you use fresh vermicelli).
2. Boil the water, and then pour your shrimp in for about 5 mins until it changes into red color and its body shrinks into curve shape.
3. De-vein and cut shrimp into halves (optional).
4. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
OR: In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
5. Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.
6. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. In a row across the center, place 2 shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce.
Tip
The fish sauce, rice vermicelli, chili garlic sauce, hoisin sauce and rice wrappers can be found at any food markets or supermarket near your place.
Hoisin sauce (dầu hào) can be found at Asian food markets and supermarkets
chili sauce can be found at supermarkets.
Rice paper (bánh tráng) can be found in Asian food markets or supermarket
(Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/vietnamese-fresh-spring-rolls/ and edited by What The Food team)
What The Food 