Vietnamese Shrimp Spring Rolls Recipe

Versatile, refreshing and satisfying, Vietnamese Spring rolls are one of my favorite summer recipes.  The combination of fresh crisp vegetables, comforting rice noodles, and fresh brightly flavored herbs all bundled into a cold roll makes this an ideal healthy recipe to keep in the refrigerator for an appetizer.  This recipe is meant to be a guide as to the amount of a certain ingredient you add in the roll, your taste should dictate the ratio.  Also, the ingredients substitute well in this recipe, the key is simply to bundle together a good combination.

Vietnamese Shrimp Spring Rolls Recipe

Traditionally Vietnamese Spring rolls are served with either a fish sauce dressing, hoisin or peanut sauce.  Although these rolls are quite good plain, I added sauce recipes below to serve along side, if you wish.  

• a small handful of dry rice vermicelli
• 10 large cooked shrimp - peeled, deveined and sliced in half cross-wise
• 1 cup cooked chicken meat, shredded in bite-size pieces (optional)
• 3/4 cup carrots, finely julienned or shredded
• 1/2 cup cucumber, preferably Persian or kirby, finely julienned
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, sliced thinly
• 6 tender leaves of butter lettuce or 1 cup of baby lettuce leaves
• 8-10 rice wrappers (8.5 inch diameter)

Method

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 4 to 5 minutes, or until al dente to tender.  Drain, rinse starch off with cold water, and drain again.
2. Have a large cutting board out. Fill a large bowl with cold water. Take one rice wrapper and dip it into cold water just long enough to get it submerged completely, but don't keep the rice paper in the water too otherwise it will disintegrate into a pasty mess. 
3. Lay wrapper flat on the cutting board, wait roughly 20-30 seconds for the wrapper to soften. In the lower third half of the rice wrapper, stack ingredients in a horizontal row across. First, place 2 shrimp halves, then roughly 1/4 cup of vermicelli, 1-2 tablespoons chicken (if using), roughly 1-2 tablespoons carrots, 1 tablespoon cucumbers, 1/2 teaspoon mint, 1/2 teaspoon cilantro and 1/4  of a butter lettuce leaf torn (with hard stem removed) or 2-3 baby lettuce leaves. Leave roughly 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. 
4. Repeat with remaining ingredients.  The rolls dry out fairly quickly, so you'll want to place each roll into a covered storage container as you work.

Serve with one or more of the following sauces.

Fish Sauce Dressing 
This is the traditional sauce that is served with Vietnamese spring rolls

(from Viet World Kitchen, Andrea Nguyen)

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 generous teaspoon Vietnamese chile garlic sauce

Method

Combine fish sauce, lime juice, water, sugar and chile garlic sauce in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Serve in a small bowl.

Peanut Sauce

(from All Recipes)

• 1 teaspoon peanut oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice

Method

Heat the peanut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in shallots, garlic, ginger, and chile peppers. Cook and stir until the shallot begins to turn golden brown, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and stir in peanut butter, coconut milk, soy sauce, brown sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice until blended. Simmer very gently for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and transfer into a medium bowl.

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Hue Pancake or Banh Khoai

Hue Pancake - Local specialty

The Vietnamese version of an open-faced omelette or crepe, this specialty of many street side restaurants is also called the "Happy Pancake." The Vietnamese name, khoai, comes from the type of pan it is cooked in. Banh xeo is the large southern version.

HUE HOISIN DIPPING SAUCE:

• 4 ounces/ 100 g pork liver
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely diced (1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon finely diced red shallots
• 2 ounces/50 g minced pork
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce (salty variety)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon shrimp paste, mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup pork stock
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter

• 1 tablespoon corn flour, diluted with water
• 3 tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• Vegetable oil, for stir-frying
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 7 ounces/200 g school prawns, legs and heads trimmed
• 7 ounces/200 g boneless pork belly, fat trimmed, thinly sliced
• 17 1/2 ounces/500 g bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup spring onions, sliced

BATTER:

• 3 1/2 ounces/100 g rice flour
• 5 1/4 teaspoons/25 g plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 5 fluid ounces /150 ml coconut milk
• 5 fluid ounces/150 ml soda water
• 2 eggs beaten

FOR SERVING:

• Lettuce
• 1 bunch fresh perilla leaves
• 1 bunch fresh mint leaves

• 1 bunch Vietnamese mint leaves
• 1 bunch Vietnamese fish mint
• 1 star fruit, sliced

DIRECTIONS

For the dipping sauce:
Place the liver on a chopping board. With a heavy knife in each hand chop the liver in a fast motion mincing it finely.
In a medium heated small saucepan, add oil, garlic, shallots, and cook the liver and minced pork for 4 minutes. Add hoisin sauce, sugar, shrimp paste, and pork stock, then stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Bring to the boil, then add peanut butter, corn flour and stir until sauce thickens. Once thickened, add peanuts and sesame seeds. Turn off heat and set aside.
Place a frying pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, and the prawns and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
Remove the prawns and set aside. Wipe the pan clean, then repeat this process with the pork belly. Set aside.
To make the batter:
Combine the rice flour, plain flour, turmeric, salt, bicarbonate of soda, coconut milk, and soda water. Whisk well and set aside for 10 minutes.
Wash the lettuce leaves and herbs and arrange them on a large platter.
Place a small, about 8 inches/20 cm heavy-based nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Once the oil is hot, add a thin layer of batter to the pan, swirling to coat the base of the pan. Add 1 tablespoon beaten egg, then add some prawns, pork, spring onions, and bean sprouts.
Fry for 2 minutes or until the base is crisp and browned. Repeat this process with the remaining batter and filling ingredients.
Fold the pancake in half to make it 'smile', and eat with lettuce, perilla, mint leaves

Recipe courtesy Luke Nguyen

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