Haus Vietnamese Spring Rolls Recipes

VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS RECIPE (GOI CUON)

Steps:

• Add pork, onion, salt and sugar to a small pot and add enough water to cover about 1 inch above the pork. Bring to a boil on high heat and then lower to medium and cook for about 25-30 minutes or until pork juices run clear when poked at the thickest part, or it registers 145 F with an instant read thermometer at the thickest part.
• Cover the pork in a bowl as it cools so it doesn't darken. Once cool, slice the pork as thinly as you can to make rolling easier later.
• Defrost shrimp in water bowl. Once defrosted, de-vein the shrimp. Hold a shrimp up to a light to locate the vein, pierce the whiter part (joint) of the shrimp just below the vein with a toothpick, and pull the toothpick upwards towards the shrimp back. Do this slowly to remove the vein. Piece again at another joint if the vein breaks to remove all traces of vein. Repeat with all your shrimp.
• Cook the shrimp: add shrimp, salt, and enough water in a small pot to barely cover your shrimp. Boil on medium-high heat for only about 1.5 to 2.5 minutes or until the shrimp is no longer translucent. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.
• Remove the shells and tails from shrimp, and cut the shrimp in half along the body.
• Cook either your rice noodles according to the package instructions. Timing can vary wildly depending on noodle thickness and brand. This can be anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes. Drain and cool the noodles under cold, running water to stop it from cooking further.
• Prepare your vegetables by rinsing and drying them.
• Add warm water to a plate and soak the rice paper sheet for about 5-10 seconds. Soak the rice paper just enough so that it is pliable and easy to handle, but remove the sheet before it gets too soft and sticky. Lay rice paper on a plate and begin to assemble your roll.
• Add lettuce towards the bottom of the rice paper. Leave 1 to 1½ inches of space on either side of the rice paper. Layer with mint and chives. Try to not add too many items because it will be harder to roll and might tear your rice paper.
• Add shrimp in the middle of the rice paper with the orange skin facing down.
• Layer the sliced pork on top of the shrimp.
• Add the noodles across the vegetables, spread evenly across.
• Fold the left and right sides towards the middle so that it's snug. Lay some chives lengthwise with one end poking out. Then fold the bottom up to cover the noodles. You want to keep the roll tight, so lightly squeeze it together as you roll. Continue to roll upwards to complete the spring roll.
• In a pan over medium heat, saute garlic in oil until fragrant.
• Add in hoisin sauce, peanut butter, and water and mix thoroughly.
• Bring to boil, and then immediately turn off the heat and pour into a heat safe dipping bowl. The sauce will slightly thicken as it cools.
• Sprinkle ground peanuts on each sauce dipping bowl, and leave the chile paste on the side so others can add to their own dipping bowl as desired.

FRESH VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS

Steps:

• Pick your dipping sauce of choice above and mix all the sauce ingredients together. Make sure to use warm water for the nuoc cham so that the sugar dissolves more easily.
• Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings as necessary.
• I like to prepare the sauce before making the spring rolls so that the flavors have a longer time to develop.
• Fill a medium saucepan or small pot with water and bring it to boil on high heat (see note 6).
• Once the water boils, add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the water and let them cool for 5 minutes. Peel the shells from the shrimp.
• Lay a shrimp on its side on a chopping board. Gently press the shrimp down with one hand and use the other to slice the shrimp in half, horizontally (knife parallel to the chopping board). Repeat with the remaining shrimp.
• Fill a large saucepan or small pot with water and bring it to boil on high heat.
• Turn off the heat. Let the noodles sit in the hot water for about 5 to 8 minutes. Double check the package directions to see how long they should sit in hot water as the cooking time varies across different brands.
• Once the noodles have softened, drain and rinse the noodles under cold water. I like cutting the noodles with kitchen scissors several times so they are shorter and easier to grab.
• Fill a large bowl with lukewarm water to wet the rice paper sheets.
• Transfer all the vegetables, shrimp, herbs, and noodles into bowls and arrange them on your work top.
• Get a chopping board ready. Dip your hand in the water and brush water over the surface of the chopping board so that it is damp. I usually wet the surface again after every 2 spring rolls. Alternatively, lay a damp paper towel over your work surface.
• Quickly dip a sheet of rice paper in the lukewarm water to moisten the entire surface. This should take no longer than a few seconds.
• Lay the wet rice paper on your work surface. Place a piece of butter lettuce close to the bottom edge of the rice paper. Arrange a small pinch each of rice noodles, carrots, cucumber, red bell pepper, and mint leaves over the center of the lettuce leaf (see note 7).
• Arrange 3 pieces of shrimp about 1 1/2 to 2 inches below the top edge of the rice paper. Make sure that the orange/pink side is facing down.
• Grab the lower edge of the rice paper and lettuce and start rolling up the spring roll. Once you have reached the shrimp, fold in the left and right sides. Finish rolling up the spring roll all the way to the end.
• Repeat the rolling process with the rest of the ingredients. If the chopping board is looking dry, brush some water over the board.
• Serve the spring rolls with the dipping sauce.

CHA GIO (VIETNAMESE FRIED SPRING ROLLS)

Steps:

• Soak the dried mung bean noodles in warm water (submerge them completely) for 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly, and cut into ¼ inch pieces.
• In a large bowl, combine the noodles, ground pork, grated carrot, chopped wood ear mushrooms, shallots, garlic, ginger egg white, fish sauce, vegetable oil, salt, white pepper, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix until everything is uniformly combined.
• In a large, shallow bowl or deep plate, dissolve the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar in 1 cup warm water. Sugar is optional but does help the spring rolls to brown when frying.
• To wrap each roll, place a rice paper wrapper into the sugar water for about 5-10 seconds, making sure it is completely submerged. Remove it from the water. It will still be quite firm, but it will soften quickly!
• Place about 40g of filling in a log shape on one side of the wrapper. Begin tightly folding the wrapper over the filling (no air bubbles!), and roll the spring roll forward 1 complete revolution. Lightly press down on each end of the filling to flatten the rice paper and push the filling together to eliminate any air bubbles.
• Fold one side of the wrapper towards the middle of the spring roll. Repeat with the other side. Roll the spring roll forward while tucking in the front to prevent air pockets. The rice paper wrapper will stick to itself. It doesn't require anything additional to seal. Place the rolls on a plate or sheet pan lined with a clean, dry kitchen towel or parchment paper.
• Once wrapped, transfer the spring rolls to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour, so they can dry out and firm up. This step helps minimize the wrapper bubbling when frying (though bubbling is normal). Take them out of the refrigerator 15 minutes before frying.
• Heat about 3 cups of canola or vegetable oil in a medium pot to 335°F/170°C (the oil level should be a little over halfway up the sides). Fry the spring rolls in small batches-about three at a time. Make sure they do not touch just after they are placed in the oil as the skins will be sticky until a crust forms. Cook each batch for 5 to 6 minutes, or until light golden brown. (Frying them in small batches prevents them from sticking to each other.)
• Use a metal slotted spoon to pull them out of the oil. Drain on a rack, and continue frying. Maintain the correct oil temperature by periodically adjusting your heat.
• When ready to serve, refry the spring rolls (yes, they need to be fried twice) at 350°F/175°C for 1 ½ to 2 minutes to make them nice and crispy. Double-frying is important! Serve with fresh lettuce, cilantro, Thai basil, mint and nuoc cham for dipping.

VIETNAMESE FRESH SPRING ROLLS

Steps:

• Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.
• Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. In a row across the center, place 2 shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
• In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
• Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.

AUTHENTIC VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS (NEM RAN HAY CHA GIO)

Steps:

• Soak rice noodles in cold water until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain well; cut into 2-inch long pieces.
• Combine the noodle pieces, chicken, shrimp, eggs, carrot, wood fungus mushrooms, and green onions in a large bowl. Sprinkle in sugar, salt, and black pepper; stir filling mixture well.
• Soak 1 rice paper wrapper in a shallow bowl of warm water to soften, about 15 seconds. Remove from water and place on a damp cloth laid out on a flat surface.
• Place 1 tablespoon of filling mixture into the center of the softened rice paper. Fold the bottom edge into the center, covering the filling. Fold in opposing edges and roll up tightly. Repeat with remaining rice paper wrappers, soaking and filling each one individually.
• Heat oil in a work or large skillet over medium heat.
• Fry the spring rolls in batches of 3 or 4 until crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

HAU'S VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS

Steps:

• Mix together all ingredients except the egg white.
• Use a fork and spoon to place mixture on wrappers.
• Use the fork to form the mixture into roll shape on the wrapper.
• Roll up wrapper.
• Use egg white to seal edges.
• May be frozen at this point. Use wax paper to separate layers.
• Remove desired number of spring rolls and fry until golden brown (do not thaw).

VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS

Steps:

• For the filling: Preheat a 14-inch cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Sprinkle the ground duck with salt and pepper, then add to the heated pan. Allow the ground duck to brown all over, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, green cabbage, onions and mushrooms to the same pan. Cook the vegetables down until most of the liquid is removed and the cabbage is a light brown color, about 10 minutes. Add the soy sauce and stir to combine. Turn off the heat and fold in the basil, cilantro and mint. Pour the filling onto a sheet tray and allow to cool for 5 minutes at room temp, then refrigerate until completely cool.
• Preheat the oil in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F.
• Place 2 sheets spring roll pastry on a work surface on top of each other with a pointed end facing you. Place 1/3 cup filling in the middle of the spring roll pastry sheet. Dip 1 finger in a small bowl of water and run along the edge of the spring roll pastry sheet. Fold in the sides to meet in the middle over the filling. Fold up the bottom point over the filling, then tuck to tighten the roll and roll the wrapper towards the top point. Place seal-side down on your work surface, then cover with a damp towel and repeat the process until all the springs rolls and filling are gone. Fry, in batches, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain on a wire rack-lined sheet tray.
• For the nuoc mam: Add the water, sugar, lemon juice, lime juice, fish sauce, vinegar, chile flakes, garlic and serranos in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside until ready to serve.
• When cool enough to handle, cut each fried spring roll wrapper into thirds on the diagonal with a serrated knife. Build a platter of lettuce cups, bean sprouts, Fresno, peanuts, lime wedges, Thai basil leaves, cilantro leaves and mint leaves. Serve with the nuoc mam.