Vietnamese Spring-Rolls How-To

I learned how to make Vietnamese Spring Rolls
from my sister-in-law Marivic last New Year 2008 weekend.
I think she learned how to make the roll from
Vietnamese friends in the Sacramento area here in California.

Its a good change from the usual Filipino
Lumpia , Lumpia Shanghai because it is not
deep fried, or maybe an alternative to
our Filipino fresh Lumpia because its accompanying
dipping sauce tastes different. The filling can be flexible from
grilled fish to shrimps to tofu for vegetarians.
In my case, I used marinated and grilled Sturgeon fish.

The accompanying Hoisin-Peanut dipping Sauce
brought out the marvelous flavors of the spring roll.

You will need to make a trip down to the Asian Supermarket
particularly with a section dedicated to Vietnamese food ingredients
if it is a multiple Asian Food store to
hunt down needed ingredients such as Rice Vermicelli,
Rice paper, shrimp, or fish, and an assortment of vegetables and herbs.

See images below to give you an idea
what Rice Vermicelli and Rice Paper products looks like
which I used for this dish.

Other possible ingredients could be a combination of cucumber,
cilantro leaves, Mint leaves, fresh basil, carrots, or bean sprouts.

Ingredients:

1. A pack of Rice Paper rounds (see sample product below)
2. Pack of 4 ounce Rice Vermicelli noodles (see sample product below)
3. Marinated and grilled fish (I used Sturgeon fish)
4. Bunch of Cilantro (Wansuy) leaves






Vietnamese Spring Roll cooking procedure:

1. Soak the Rice Vermicelli noodles in hot water until it is soft.

2. Locate an area in the kitchen counter area wide enough to lay and roll
the Rice paper. Position a bowl of warm water within reach.

3. Soak the rice paper until it becomes soft.


4. Lay the rice paper on the flat kitchen surface.

5. Assemble the Rice Vermicelli noodles, cilantro, and grilled fish
as shown below.





6. Take the edge of the circular wrapper nearest you and use fingers to
make a roll toward the middle. While making one complete turn, pause and
take sides and flap or fold them in then finish rolling the spring roll (See photograph).


Hoisin-Peanut Dipping Sauce preparation Procedure

Here's my sister's version of a dipping sauce
for the Vietnamese Spring rolls.


4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce
2 tbsp starch
2 tsps. Malaysian chili paste (sambal oelek)
1 cups Water

Stir-fry the minced garlic for two minute or until the garlic is softened and slightly browned. Add the hoisin sauce, and
peanut butter, stir to blend then add water, and bring to a boil.
Add the starch to thicken the dipping sauce and stir with a wire whisk to dissolve the starch completely. Add the chili paste.

Transfer the dipping sauce to a bowl.