Vietnamese Spring Rolls
I made fresh, unbaked, unfried rice paper spring rolls. You can’t go wrong with these, as there are probably as many variations on how to make them as there are people who make them. I tried to use ingredients that are common in Vietnamese cuisine, both in the rolls and in the sauces. I made three types of spring rolls, teriyaki chicken, teriyaki salmon, and tiger prawns.
Preparation time: About 1 hour
Level: Not too difficult
Quantity: 16 spring rolls
Ingredients:
Spring rolls:
16 sheets of rice paper
About 100 g chicken fillet, cut into thin strips
About 100 g salmon fillet
12 jumbo tiger prawns
A pound of lettuce leaves, cut or torn into smaller pieces
A pound of fresh coriander, I used only the leaves
A pound of fresh mint, I used only the leaves
Half a fresh cucumber, cut into long thin strips
20 small mushrooms, cut into slices
Half a pack of thin rice noodles
Cooking oil for frying
Black pepper and sea salt for seasoning
A few tablespoons of teriyaki sauce for seasoning
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce for seasoning
One lime for serving
Peanut butter-hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 stalks green onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
Freshly squeezed juice of half a lime
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp tomato paste
A small handful of finely chopped cilantro leaves
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
Chili-Coriander Sauce:
1 tsp peanut butter
1 red chili, finely chopped
3 shallots, finely chopped
Freshly squeezed juice of half a lime
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp cooking oil
A small handful of finely chopped cilantro leaves
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
Preparation:
- Prepare the sauces. To make the peanut butter hoisin sauce, finely chop the garlic and coriander leaves, add all the remaining ingredients, and mix until smooth.
- To make the chili-coriander sauce, finely chop the shallots, chili, and coriander. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.
- For the filling for the rolls, cut the chicken fillet into strips and fry quickly over high heat until the chicken is lightly browned, season with sea salt and black pepper. Add 1 tbsp of teriyaki sauce and let it evaporate quickly. Set the chicken aside.
- Cut a piece of salmon fillet, and fry the fish over medium heat on each side for about 5 minutes. Season with black pepper and sea salt. At the end of frying, add 1 tbsp of teriyaki sauce and turn the fish in this sauce so that all sides are covered with the sauce.
- Cut the mushrooms into slices and fry in cooking oil over high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the soy sauce and fry until it evaporates.
- Boil the king prawns for 3 minutes. I used frozen and pre-boiled king prawns like those available in supermarkets.
- Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil, add the rice noodles, and leave to stand in the hot water for about 10 minutes. Pour the noodles into a sieve, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
- Cut the cucumber into 10 cm pieces and slice into thin strips.
- Cut or tear the lettuce leaves into smaller pieces, and tear the coriander and mint leaves.
- Cut the prawns in half lengthwise to make them thinner.
- To make the rolls, pour cold water on a flat plate. Place one sheet of rice paper in the water and when it is wet, turn it over. Let the rice paper stand in the water for about 45 minutes, during which time it will become softer, but not too soft.
- Lightly wet the cutting board, place a sheet of soaked rice paper on the cutting board and place the vegetables, mushrooms and a pinch of rice noodles on the rice paper about 1/3 of the way from the edge.
- Next to the vegetables and mushrooms, place a row of the main filling, such as fish pieces, chicken strips, and prawns.
- Lift the edge of the rice paper closest to the filling tightly over the vegetables, roll it up another time so that the main filling is also inside the roll, and lift the two sides onto the filling to be rolled so that they are inside the roll and roll everything tightly together.
- Place the finished roll on the cutting board. Make sure that the rolls being made do not touch each other. The rice paper becomes sticky when standing and the rolls will no longer come apart from each other.
- I made the roll by soaking one sheet of rice paper in water and filling the other, this way the work is done faster.
- While eating, dip the roll in the sauce and bite or cut the roll into pieces and eat. It is very good to squeeze fresh lime juice on the food just before and while eating.
Ready!!
