Tram Mai Dishes on the Valley and Her Mom’s Spring Rolls
A Peek Into Her Refrigerator
Ingredients
Peanut Sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- ¾ cup low-sodium chicken stock or water
- Sriracha chili sauce (optional, if you like it with a kick!)
- Crushed peanuts (optional, as a garnish)
Spring Rolls
- 1 pound 30- to 40-count shrimp (peeled, deveined and steamed, or purchased already cooked)
- ½ pound boneless pork loin (steamed or boiled, then thinly sliced)
- 10–12 Vietnamese rice papers
- 4 ounces rice vermicelli (boiled, drained and rinsed in cold water)
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
- 1 medium carrot (shredded)
- 1 cucumber (cut in half and sliced thin lengthwise)
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh mint leaves
Instructions
1. To prepare the peanut sauce: Sauté the garlic in vegetable oil until lightly brown. Add the brown sugar, peanut butter, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and chicken stock/water. Cook and stir until well blended. Simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with crushed peanuts if using.
2. To assemble the spring rolls: Dip a rice paper in a large bowl of warm water for 1–2 seconds and transfer to a plate. It will take about 30 seconds for the rice paper to soften. For each roll, beginning at the bottom of the rice paper, layer the shrimp, lettuce, pork, rice vermicelli, carrots, cucumbers and fresh herbs. Typically, it’s good to use three shrimps per roll and maybe two to three slices of pork. Tightly roll, and when you reach the halfway point, tuck in both ends, then continue rolling to the top.
Serve the roll immediately, dipping it into the peanut sauce.
Recipe by Tram Mai
Related Stories & Recipes
