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| Vietnam Summer Rolls! |
After Dan and I returned to West Virginia from our last trip to Vietnam in 2015, having taking a number of cooking classes and “foodie” tours all across the country, I sourced seeds for Vietnamese herbs online, and began growing them in our garden at the Elkhorn Inn! The herbs and greens we had in Vietnam were truly delicious and unique, and as we don’t live anywhere near an Asian Market, growing them ourselves was the only way Chef Dan would be able to make truly authentic Vietnamese dishes- such as his Claypot Ginger Chicken, and Pho- for our Elkhorn Inn dinner guests! And then I began making things like Bo La Lot (Grilled Betel Leaf-Wrapped Meat) and Summer Rolls! And Summer Rolls are actually easy and fun to make!
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| An assortment of Vietnamese herbs from our garden… |
Some of the herbs we grow are Vietnamese Red & Green Perilla, Chrysanthemum Greens, Tatsoi Mustard, Vietnamese Mint, Garlic Chives, and Coriander, Basil and Holy Basil, Lemon Grass, La Lot, Fish Mint… and the unique tastes and textures of these herbs truly contributes to the deliciousness of Vietnamese dishes! “Table Salad”- an assortment of herbs and greens- is a staple of the Vietnamese table, and without at least some truly authentic Vietnamese greens, a Vietnamese meal just isn’t right! If you are lucky enough to live near an “H Mart“- the chain of huge and fabulous Korean groceries that has EVERYTHING- (there is an excellent one in Fairfax, Virginia), you can get all the fresh herbs and veggies in the Asian universe! But we live 6 hours from the nearest H Mart, so if we don’t grow them, we can’t have them!
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| Vietnamese Summer Rolls & Dipping Sauce! |
The first step to making Summer Rolls is to set out all your ingredients, and get everything set up so you can roll them quickly. You will need a pack of “Spring Roll Wrappers”, which are rice paper circles that you soak for 10 seconds before rolling them- and believe it or not, most Walmarts have them! This time I made Summer Rolls with cooked (frozen) shrimp, Vietnamese Bun Rice Vermicelli Noodles (cooked in water in the microwave for one minute), Vietnamese and other herbs and greens (Vietnam cilantro/coriander, Asian Basil, and Vietnam Mint are pretty much musts), and Asian veggies, including water chestnuts (canned), and Chinese Cloud Ear Mushrooms and Lilly buds, which were dried, and which I cooked in the microwave in water for a minute and then cut in small pieces. The herbs and greens (Vietnamese mint, cilantro, basil, and garlic chives, Red Perilla, lettuce, etc.) I tore into small pieces.
You can also add Bean Sprouts, hot Vietnamese peppers, cucumber, scallions, and other herbs and greens…
The next step is to set out a large bowl of warm water. Dip one Rice Paper Wrapper in the warm water for about 10 seconds. Lay it on a plate. Put the shrimp (small shrimp are best- these were large, so I cut them in pieces) and water chestnuts in the center, about 1/3 down, as shown in the photo.
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| The ingredients for Vietnamese Summer Rolls |
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| The first step… |
Top the shrimp with the herbs and greens, and then with the Bun Noodles, and then with more herbs and greens.
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| Add herbs… |
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| Add the Bun Noodles and more herbs… |
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| More herbs and veggies… |
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| Top with lettuce… |
Fold the bottom of the wrapper up over the filling, and then fold the sides in. Then roll it up, quick and tight…
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| Fold up the bottom of the wrapper |
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| Fold in both sides, and then roll it up tight |
And Voilà! You have made a Vietnamese Summer Rolll!
Soak the next wrapper and do it all again, and keep doing it until you have run out fillings, and/or wrappers!
They are delicious served with a lemon-y Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce, and while you can make your own from scratch (there are lots of Vietnamese recipes online), Saucey Sauce makes a truly authentic and delicious one: https://getsauceynow.com/
Have you made Summer Rolls? Any other Vietnamese dishes? Do you grow your own veggies and herbs? Tell me in the comments and we can share recipes!
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