Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Dipping Sauces

Wrapped food like the Vietnamese Spring Rolls is very popular among all cuisines. The perfect combination of the tangy, limey sauce with the fresh, crunchy rice paper rolls really cool down the summer heat!

Ok, lets get started. This's how I made it for a light snack at work the other day:

Ingredients:

6" diameter round spring roll wrappers (8-10)
medium uncooked shrimps (with shells - about 20)
thinly uncooked sliced pork (1/2 lb)
dried rice vermicelli (1/2 pack - makes about 1/4 lb)
chili flakes (1 tablespoon)
Iceberg lettuce (1/2 head, washed and drained)
fresh mint leaves (optional - a few bunches, washed, dried and remove stems)
fresh basil leaves (optional - a few bunches, washed, dried and remove stems)
cold water with ice (fill one big bowl, enough to emerge the shrimp)
warm water (fill one big round bowl)
Salt and pepper

Sauce:

fresh mint (a few leaves)
Vietnamese fish sauce (6 tablespoons) nam pla or nuoc nam
garlic (2-3 cloves)
water (10 teaspoons)
sugar (4 tablespoons)
Serrano chili paste (1 teaspoon)
1 medium lime (juiced)

Step 1: Prepare the shrimp. Boil shrimp in a medium pot with salt, pepper and some chili flakes.  Chill in a bowl of ice water. Drain, peel and halve shrimp with the sharp knife (careful not to cut yourself. Ok to leave the shrimp without halving. It keeps it from moving when it's flatter). Set in a small bowl.

Step 2: Prepare the meat. Saute pork slices on a frying pan with some vegetable oil. May add a pinch of salt while cooking. Set in another small bowl after it's cooked through. Let cool.

Step 3: Prepare the vermicelli. Boil a big pot of water. Put dried vermicelli into the water when it comes to boil. When noodle turns "al dente," drain noodles with a strainer. Run cold water over it, let cool, and set in a large bowl.

Step 4: Prepare the lettuce strips. Chop into thin strips and set in a large bowl.

 Step 5: Prepare the rice wrappers. You can only a few at a time. Emerge one dried rice wrapper at a time into the warm water for a few seconds, take it out and spread it out on another big round plate. Repeat. (tips: don't let it sit in the water for too long, it'll get too soft to handle and break very easily)

Step 6: Set the ingredient bowls around. Here comes the fun part - start wrapping!
Layer the ingredients and roll it into a beautiful spring roll!! See step-by-step guide below:

Step 7: Make the dipping sauce: Put all sauce ingredients into a food processor. Blend and pour into a dipping dish prior to serving.

Alternates: Peanut sauce and Hoisin sauce can be used also! Equally delicious!! It might be a bit complicated to make this, but sooooo tasty!!! Perfect appetizer for everyone!!! Enjoy!!!!

Chinese New Year Celebration! Year of Tiger!

Happy Chinese New Year! Everybody I know that cares for this special time of the year just indulges themselves with lots of laughter, surrounding themselves with rich food and festive activities with their loved ones. I, of course, am one of them. Following a wonderful new year performance at the Washington University, Ping, my friend invited us over to her house for some wonderful food. I also cooked some of our favorite dishes to kick off the Chinese New Year with my family. Here're some of the pictures:

Crispy Shrimp with sweet and spicy ginger sauce (Mun's)

This is not hard to make but the quality of the shrimp is pretty important. They need to be fresh and relatively large so it'll be easier to peel. Keeping the heads on is also important, that's where all the flavor comes from. When the shrimp is cooked through with the hot, sizzling spicy sauce, the soaked-up heads taste really, really good! Peeled shrimp was also pan-fried with soy bean and egg to go with rice. It's my kid-friendly dish on the table!

Shrimp with egg and soybean (Mun's)

Here're our double fish dish this year. Cooking them double symbolizes prosperity in the new year inChinese beliefs. Heads and tails have to be attached for good luck. Here are our versions of this dish.

(Left) My supervisor in the kitchen (Mun's)

Pan fried Red Snappers - Cantonese style  (Mun's)

Baked Tilapia (Ping's)

Ah, here comes my favorite! It's my famous Eggplant again. It's a must-have for me for any special occasion! (recipe is listed on my older post this year)

Crispy stuffed Eggplant Bites (Mun's)

 I also baked up some chicken breasts in a "creative" tangerine marinade. It has a nice citrus flavor that is a bit sweet and sour. I keep the tangerine peel with the chicken while baking at around 400 degrees in the oven. It keeps the chicken nice and tender when chopping up later for platting.

Baked Tangerine Chicken (Mun's)

Ping made a meat dish with pork ribs using the pressure cooker. Not sure what her secret was, the meat was so juicy that it fell right off the bone. It had some smoky flavor with a hint of sweet soy sauce. I swore I devoured a whole bowl of rice with it. So gooood!!!

Short pork ribs in soy sauce (Ping's)

 By now, you might be wondering where the vegetables were. Well, they were definitely not to be forgotten. They were beautifully green and fresh as ever. Noodles and soup were also served.

Chinese broccoli with pork (Ping's)

Stir fried A-choy with oyster sauce (Mun's)

 

Vegetable with tofu and scallops (Ping's)

Trey's chicken soup (Ping's)

 

Spicy Chinese noodle (Ping's)

For desserts, we have fresh fruit salad, mochi with sesame filling and ice-cream. Yum, what a feast! I think it's time for a nap!

Sesame mochi (Mun's) 

 

HAVE A GREAT YEAR EVERYBODY!

Chinese Crab Rangoon with Mango Chutney Sauce (Bake or Fry!)

Ah, crab rangoon! It's not originally from China, but somehow, it has become one of the biggest symbols of Chinese food in America. I love the idea of fried wontons, but the way they serve it in the restaurant here is a bit too sweet for me. I've decided to put a few personal touches into this interesting dish.
Ok, I've gathered some basic ingredients and here we go:

Ingredients:
Wonton Wrapper (1 pack)
Fresh Crab Lump Meat
Philly Cream Cheese (the onion and chive kind-1 pack)
1 Large Egg
Spring Onion (a few stalks)

Dipping Sauce: (Mix all together and set side in a small bowl)

Mango Chutney (5 tablespoons. Available in most asian supermarkets. I bought mine at a local grocery store)
Sesame Oil (2 teaspoons)
Tabasco Sauce or Sriracha Chilli Sauce (1 teaspoon)
Rice vinegar (3 tablespoons)

Step 1: Wash and chop up some green onion.

Step 2: Mix onion, cream cheese and crab meat together. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.

Step 3: Fill a wonton wrapper with crab filling as shown below. Squeeze gently around the edges with a bit of cold water to seal the dumplings. Now, they are ready to bake or fry, your choice (see options below):

Option A: To bake them (a healthier choice-I personally prefer  frying them in oil):
- Brush a bit of melted butter and bake for about 10 minutes in the oven (preheated to 250 degrees)

Option B: To fry them (crispier!):
- Fry them in hot oil (medium heat) for about 3-5 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve immediately with dipping sauce!

 

Happy Chinese New Year!