Traditional Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Ingredients
10 oz pork (pork tenderloin or pork belly is delish)
1 tsp fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lb raw shrimp (Christian uses shrimp still in the shell)
2 cups soft lettuce, cut into smaller strips
Thai basil, remove the tough stems
8 oz cooked rice vermicelli noodles
chives, cut into 3''-4'' long pieces
16 rice paper wrappers (the 8.5''-9''work best)
Instructions
Parboil the pork for a minute, pour out the liquid.
In a separate pot, bring water to boil and add ginger, salt and porkAfter that, bring water to a boil in a clean pot, add ginger, salt and the pork. Once it comes to a boil - Skim off any foam. Reduce heat and simmer with lid partially on. Simmer about 25 minutes- no longer than 30. Pour all of that into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
Do the same things with the shrimp. Boil a pot of water and add the shrimp. Cook shrimp for about 2 minutes or until they are cooked through and put them into ice water to stop the cooking process.
Slice the pork as thinly as you can. Peel the shrimp shells and slice it in half lengthwise. Remove the veins for sure!
Set up a workstation with all ingredients to assemble the spring rolls. You will need and a plate/bowl with clean water. Briefly dip one rice paper wrapper into the plate with water to wet it just enough to make it pliable and then lay flat.
Add a layer of lettuce, fresh Thai basil and vermicelli noodles. Fold left and right corners of the rice paper over the filling.
Place a couple of pork slices right above the veggies and noodles (about the middle of the rice paper) and place two of the shrimp halves above the pork slices (about the top part of the rice paper). Then roll it up away from you.
The shrimp side should be directed up on a plate.
Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.
Try not to eat them as you roll them.
Thai Chili Sauce
Ingredients
1 ½ cups Sugar
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper or Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
3 tablespoon Garlic finely minced
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 ½ teaspoons Salt
½ cup Vinegar (Rice or Apple Cider)
1 cup Water
3 tablespoon Chilli Paste (See Note 1 & 2 - or Sambal Oelek or Red Chili flakes)
1 tablespoon Corn Flour or Cornstarch (See Note 3)
2 tablespoon Water
Instructions
Instructions
- Add sugar, cayenne, minced garlic, soy sauce, salt, vinegar, and water to a saucepan and let it simmer (about 3-4 minutes), stirring occasionally till the sugar dissolves completely and the mixture reduces slightly.
- Add the chili paste and mix. Simmer again for 2-3 minutes. 3.
- Mix cornstarch and water together in a bowl till no lumps exist and stir in this cornstarch mixture into the sauce. Mix continuously till the sauce comes to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer until for 3-4 minutes till the sauce is thick, translucent and shiny. Turn off the heat.
Serve immediately or cool completely and then transfer to a clean jar. Will keep up to 4 weeks.
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