VIETNAMESE SUMMER ROLLS

Vietnamese Summer Rolls image

If you have ever considered making a Vietnamese summer roll, you may have been intimidated by the process. But these delicious rolls are not at all difficult. I learned my summer roll technique from a native of France. I learned three things: Rice paper is very forgiving; don't overstuff; and the more you make, the easier it gets. The rolls include rice vermicelli, lettuce, shredded carrots, a variety of herbs (the best combination is basil, mint and cilantro), and pork or shrimp or both. I would consider only the herbs truly sacred, but substitutions would work elsewhere: hard-cooked egg or tofu for the pork or shrimp, shredded daikon or anything else crunchy for the carrots, chopped greens for the lettuce, any pasta for the noodles.

Provided by Mark Bittman

Time 30m

Yield 16 rolls

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

16 6-inch rounds rice paper
8 leaves lettuce, washed, dried and torn or chopped
2 cups cooked rice vermicelli, rinsed and drained
1 cup shredded peeled carrots
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup fresh Thai basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
32 slices cooked pork or 32 poached or grilled shrimp, split lengthwise in half, or use half pork and half shrimp
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon Vietnamese chili-garlic paste, or to taste, or chopped fresh chilies to taste
Salt and black pepper to taste
Lime wedges

Steps:

Dip a sheet of rice paper a third of the way into a bowl of hot water for about 2 seconds. Turn it and dip remaining section, then lay on a damp towel.
Working on bottom third of rice paper, spread a bit of lettuce, noodles, carrots, herbs and pork and/or shrimp. Fold up bottom edge to cover, then fold in the sides. Roll tightly. Continue with remaining ingredients.
Combine fish sauce, sugar, ginger, chili-garlic paste and about 1/4 cup water. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary.
Serve rolls right away, or refrigerate, lightly covered, up to 2 hours. Cut each roll into 2 or 3 pieces, then serve with dipping sauce and lime wedges.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 367, UnsaturatedFat 4 grams, Carbohydrate 57 grams, Fat 8 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 15 grams, SaturatedFat 3 grams, Sodium 861 milligrams, Sugar 2 grams