Amazing Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Pork and Shrimp

I know it’s the middle of winter, but as a lucky Southern California native, it’s always beautiful outside. With that, there’s no such thing as ‘summer foods’ or ‘winter foods.’ Today was beautiful, and I had the hankering for something cool, filling, and refreshing. I’d spent a lot of the weekend making fatty

foods, so I needed something to help me reboot my tummy.

I came to the conclusion that some fresh spring rolls with a homemade peanut sauce were in order. These seem daunting, but once you get the hang of cooking a spring roll, you can start eating within the hour. If you’re like me, it’ll be near impossible to not eat all of your ingredients while you cook.

I took a recipe from a very popular blog, White on Rice Couple, and made a few tweaks to add some extra pow to the meal.

Vietnamese spring rolls

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

Pork and shrimp spring rolls:

1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined **I used already cooked shrimp, since they were on sale at my grocery store

1/2 pound ( 8 oz) boneless pork loin or shoulder **You can ask your butcher to slice this into thin pieces for easier cooking and prep

2 tablespoons of salt

1 ( 8-10 oz) package of dried rice noodles, cooked to package instructions.

1 ½ cups of romaine lettuce

1 medium cucumber, cut into thin strips

1 small carrot

1 cup sprouts

fresh herbs: mint and cilantro

about 10 ( 8-inch) rice paper wrappers or rice paper spring roll wrappers

  

1.     For the rolls, start by preparing the pork. Bring medium pot of water to boil and add pork. Sprinkle two tablespoons of salt onto the pork. Boil the pork on medium heat for about 15-25 minutes or until the pork is cooked. Remove from water, allow to cool, and slice into thin strips.

If you don't prefer pork, a lean strip
of beef can also be used.

2.     Meanwhile, in another pot, bring enough water to boil to cover shrimp. Add remaining salt and shrimp. Boil until just cooked. Drain. When cool enough to handle, peel and devein. Cut each shrimp in half lengthwise. (Editor’s note: if you use pre-cooked shrimp like I did, make sure that you don’t re-cook your shrimp! Instead, put the shrimp in a bowl of cold water, and allow the shrimp to sit in the water for approx. 15 minutes.)

3.     Cook the dried rice vermicelli noodles to package instructions.

4.     Wash and peel your cucumber and carrot. Remove core from the cucumber and cut into 3-inch-long matchsticks. Cut lettuce into thin shreds. Peel shreds of carrot.

I prefer my carrots a little thinner, so I simply used a peeler to get ribboned pieces.

5.     Gather all your filling ingredients on plates: noodles, shrimp, pork, veggies and rice paper wrappers. To make your life a lot easier, keep everything in separate bowls, creating an assembly line of ingredients. This will allow you to work quickly, making it easier to keep your rice paper from tearing.

6.     Add warm water to a large bowl. Quickly dip each rice paper wrapper in warm water for about 15 seconds. Move to another dry surface, such as a plate or cutting board.

7.     To keep your ingredients from splitting the rice paper, lay your lettuce first on the soft spring roll wrapper on the first third of the rice paper closest to you, and then stack on the strips of pork, carrots, herbs, sprouts and cucumber. Place the noodles last to pillow your ingredients on all sides.

Make sure all of your stuffing is stacked carefully, with any sharp edges protected by rice and lettuce.

8.      Fold over left and right sides of rice paper. Roll spring roll till you have about 1/3 of rice paper left, then lay about 2-3 pieces of shrimp, cut side up in a row and finish rolling. The shrimp will lay on the outside of the spring roll when you are finished rolling. Fold up bottom third, and roll tightly into roll. Diameter of roll should be about 1 to 1 1/2 inches.

The trick is to tuck your edges as you're rolling, which allows for a compacted and easy-to-eat spring roll.

This is what happens if you over stuff and have sharp edges. :(
I had to put it out of its misery quickly. With my mouth.

9.     Serve immediately with peanut sauce.

 

This delicious meal was worth the work. 

Hoisin peanut sauce:

1/4 cup hoisin

2 heaping tablespoons peanut butter **if you have allergies, almond butter or cashew butter will also work

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 ½ teaspoons sriracha sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

a splash of water

directions:

For the hoisin peanut sauce: In medium bowl, combine all dip ingredients together. Use a fork to help

If you prefer a spicier sauce, add sriracha to taste.

blend well. If you prefer a crunchier sauce, use a chunky peanut sauce.

If you happen to have any leftovers, be aware these rolls will dry and burst. The best way to keep these rolls from drying is to place them in an airtight container with a damp paper towel beneath the rolls. Cover with barely damp paper towel. Seal and refrigerate. Enjoy!