About the Recipe
Blistered crispy exterior and a moist flavour bomb on the inside. This authentic Vietnamese recipe is a little time consuming but once mastered will blow your friends and families sock off.
Ingredients
SPRING ROLL FILLING
500g pork mince
50g vermicelli noodles
100g carrot
20g shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ginger
2 tbsp Thai basil
2 tbsp coriander
1 egg white
1 tbsp soy
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp caster sugar
4 cups vegetable oil for frying
NUOC CHAM SAUCE
1 tbsp 10g palm sugar
1 tbsp 15g rice vinegar
1 tbsp 15g lime juice
1 tbsp 15g fish sauce
1 clove garlic
1/2 chilli
Method
FILLING PREP
1. Prepare the ingredients for the filling by
1.1 mincing the garlic
1.2 coarsely grate carrot (too small and it will disappear)
1.3 finely dice shallots
1.4 grate ginger with a zester
1.5 finely chop Thai basil
1.6 finely chop coriander
2 prepare the vermicelli noodles by soaking in a bowl of boiling water for no more than 2 minutes
2.1 transfer to a cold bowl of tab water for 1 minute
2.2 transfer to a clean dry tea towel to allow to further dry out for up to 15 minutes
3 Place pork mince in a large bowl along with the chopped ingredients
4 Followed with the egg white, lime juice, vegetable oil and salt
5 Lastly place the vermicelli noodles onto a chopping board and chop into 1 cm lengths then add to the bowl
6 With your clean hands massage the bowl of ingredients and ensure the ingredients are evenly distributed
7 Place filling in the fridge to prepare the rolling station
ASSEMBLY
1. Place caster in 2 cups of boiled water and stir to combine
1.1 pour sugar water onto a dinner plate
2. Stack 22cm rice paper so it’s easy to retrieve
3. Have a clean wet Chux cloth ready to wipe fingers clean after handling filling
4. Place the bowl of filling on a scale (this allows you to monitor the amount of filling going into each spring roll)
5. Place a square of baking paper in a large container (preferably airtight)
6. Lastly wet a clean tea towel and fold in half and place on the edge of the bench
7. Take 1 rice paper roll and place onto the plate of water, fully submerge into the water and immediately flip the paper over and submerge again
8. Lift up the paper sheet and lay flat on the wet tea towel
9. With your fingertips and in a circular motion press down the rice paper then flip over with a few centimetres hanging off the bench allowing for easy access to grab
10. Tare off your scale and place 45 / 50 grams of the filling a 3rd of the way up the rice paper disk
11. Roll over and pull back to tuck the lip under the mixture, if the mixture tried to escape push in with your fingers
12. Pull the two sides of the rice paper around so the next two rolls complete the spring roll
13. Place in the fridge for at least 30 min before frying but can remain in the fridge covered for 1 day
NUOC CHAM DIPPING SAUCE
1. Finley grate the palm sugar into a bowl
2. Add fish, rice vinegar and lime juice
3. Add roughly chopped chilli and garlic
4. Mix the contents
COOKING
1. In a pan or pot bring 4 cups of vegetable oil to 180c then drop in a spring roll, be careful adding too many to the oil as they will stick together until they form a crust. Fry for approx. 10 min and golden-brown.
2. With a pair of tongs lift the golden-brown spring roll and let the residual oil drain off then place on a bed of scrunched up paper towel to cool and soak up the oil
PLATE UP / SERVING
On a bed of lettuce place your cooked spring rolls around a small bowl of dipping sauce, if you are serving as a starter or hors d’oeuvres you can use some kitchen sheers to cut the rolls in half.