Vietnamese Spring Rolls

I usually start with a picture of my finished recipe... but I did something silly when taking pictures of this.  I photographed the "ugly" one with the "best" one... just to show you how much my roll/wrapping technique improved between the first one and the last one!  Oh well.... you get my point, you too will improve.  Don't be disheartened by your first one.

I remember the first time I had Vietnamese Spring Rolls, it was at a work fundraiser, and I thought that maybe the person making it just didn't add enough exciting ingredients.  I know now that they were traditional, but I'd like to have more flavors and crunch in my spring roll.  Here's my first attempt to make these fresh little salad rolls, adding more veggies and changing up the sauce.  Thinking ahead for next time, I might even pre-marinate the prawns for more flavor!

Ingredients:

2 ounces rice vermicelli noodles

12 rice paper wrappers

24 large cooked, halved shrimp (peeled and deveined)

OR

8 oz firm tofu, cut into long thin matchsticks.

1 1/3 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil

1 carrot, shredded or cut into thin matchsticks.

1/3 of an English cucumbers, cut into thin matchsticks

1 cup of bean sprouts

3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 leaves lettuce, thinly sliced

Directions

Bring a small amount of water to a boil in a large saucepan, or stock pot.  (You need something big enough to dip the rice paper wrappers into after the noodles are done cooking!)   Boil the rice vermicelli noodles for approximately 3 minutes or until al dente. Remove noodles with tongs and let drain, retaining the water in the pan. Using the leftover noodle water, quickly dip the rice paper wrappers in the warm water to soften.

Get your work area completely prepped with all your matchstick veggies and pre-sliced prawns.

Using a large cutting board, Lay the wrapper flat and fill across the center with 2 shrimp halves (or tofu), cilantro, mint and basil, carrots, cucumbers, bean sprouts, vermicelli, and lettuce. Fold the wrapper inward on the sides and tightly roll. 

This can be kind of tricky… don’t be freaked out if your first couple are messy, they still taste great!   Repeat until all of your wrappers are filled.

These keep very well, but do tend to stick to each other, you might want to layer them between wax paper if you make a bunch ahead of time. These were great for lunches for 2 days after I made them.

Dipping Sauces:

My Favorite sauce-

3 Tbsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1-2 Tbsp chili garlic paste

1-2 drops of sesame oil.

Mix and serve with spring rolls.

This is the most typical dipping Sauce… but it is not my favorite. 

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons fish sauce

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons white sugar

In a small bowl, mix altogether.  Serve with the fresh spring rolls.

                 

Bacon Corn Chowder

I'm a big soup fan, and even though I posted my Pork and Chorizo Soup on Monday, I'm still thinking SOUP today.  It's so snowy nationwide with almost 2 feet in places, I just couldn't post the Vietnamese Spring Rolls that I had  planned.... seemed like we needed something more cozy.  Also, my husband needed some 'grub' for his group of friends who like to jam together last night, and I had all these ingredients ready to go!

I try to keep a bag of frozen cubed hash browns in the freezer, for the obvious hash browns, or a very quick soup or chowder.   I almost always have bacon in the fridge, or freezer, as I always buy the 4 pack at Costco.  If you didn't have frozen corn, you could use canned corn, or even creamed corn.

1/2 lb. bacon, thinly sliced into small strips
5-6  cups cubed potatoes (0r 32 oz. bag of frozen diced hash browns)
3 cups frozen corn, 1 cup reserved
1 1/2 onions, small dice
3-4 celery stalks, smaller inner ones with leaves are best, small dice
3 cups water, or broth (I used 2 tbsp of chicken base)
3 cups milk or cream, 1 cup reserved
Salt, going to take a tablespoon or two
Fresh ground pepper

Serving Condiments:
Grated cheddar cheese
sliced green onion
Crisp sliced bacon

Saute the bacon until browned, remove and drain the bacon, retaining 1-2 tbsp of bacon grease to saute the onions and celery.  Saute until they are soft, about 3-5 minutes.  Add the potatoes, and 2 cups of the corn.  Add 3 cups of water, or chicken broth.  I added about 2 Tbsp chicken base to my water to give it some great flavor.  Heat to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are tender, but not falling apart.  Meanwhile, add the remaining 1 cup of corn to your blender, with 1 cup of milk.  Blend until smooth and add to the soup when the potatoes are done.  Add the remaining cups of milk (or cream) and heat through.  If the soup is too thin for your liking, you could add 1/2 cup of instant potato flakes to thicken it up quickly. 

What else would this technique work on???

You could easily use this technique with:

• Canned clams- just skip the corn (or even include it) and you've got a nice clam chowder.
• Add Cooked chicken and make it Bacon, Chicken and Corn Chowder.
• Substitute Ham for bacon, or add both!