Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls

You know those fancy Vietnamese spring rolls you get at restaurants that are so delicious? Well, believe it or not, they aren't as difficult to make as they may seem! I first had these at a friend's house. We served them family style and everyone made their own rolls. It was so much fun and so delicious, I had to make the whole meal again myself. I made it with Salmon, but you can make it with shrimp, or really any protein or veggie ingredients that you would like. And while typically you'll find spring rolls served as an appetizer in restaurants, these are delicious as the main course. They only take 20 minutes or so to make (or however long it takes the fish to cook, as that takes the longest)! Healthy, filling, and fun to make...you'll really enjoy these! So here we go...


First, I baked the salmon. Just crack a little salt and pepper over the fish, a spritz of lemon and pop it in the oven to bake (typically at 425degrees for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the fish). You can also oven-poach the fish or cook in any other way you like...a miso marinade would also be delicious!


While the fish was cooking, I made the dipping sauce so the flavors could marinade together while I was preparing the rest of the meal. I created the sauce by taste, so here are my approximate ingredients:


1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Garlic Clove chopped and mashed into a paste
3 Tbsp Okonomi or Hoisin Sauce
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Sriracha (or other chili-garlic paste)
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
Spritz of lime or lemon juice
About 1/4-1/2 Cup of water to thin out the sauce to desired thickness


Combine all ingredients until smooth and serve at room temperature (you can make the day before and refrigerate, just be sure to pull it out plenty of time before serving).


Then, I boiled water for the rice vermicelli noodles. I'd suggest about a handful of uncooked noodles per two people. It only takes two-three minutes for the noodles to cook.


Finally, I prepared the lettuce leaves and cut a cucumber into thin sticks. If you'd like, I bet these would also be good with herbs like mint and cilantro or scallions...get creative!

When the fish was cooked and all the ingredients were prepped, it was time for the fun part...putting it all together!

Using rice paper spring roll wrappers (which you can find at any Asian Grocery or probably even your local store), roll the stiff wrapper in warm water until it is completely wet (but not soaked). As the wrapper sits on your plate, it will get softer so just start loading! I first put a lettuce leaf on the wrapper and took a helping of the noodles to spread down a line. I'd suggest lining everything up slightly off center so you can get a good roll going. I added some cucumbers and grabbed a few pieces of fish to put inside as well. 

Once I was satisfied with the contents of my spring roll (be careful not to over-stuff it!), I started rolling, just like rolling a burrito! The rice paper will be softened by then and you won't have any trouble. Make sure you wrap it tight, but be careful to to rip it! The rice paper sticks to itself but if you are having trouble getting the paper to seal, stick a finger in the warm water and rub it on the end to make it close. I typically fold up one side before rolling the entire roll so everything doesn't fall out, but whatever works for you!

 

Then, dip it in the peanut sauce! If you're up for some extra spice, add extra sriracha and enjoy! 

It's a lot of fun to make, and perfect for an interesting, hands-on dinner party!

My Philosophy on Cooking

If you use ingredients that you like, it's really hard to go wrong (unless, of course, you burn it, under cook it, or really think tuna and ice cream would go together on spaghetti). For example, the other night I was craving some sort of fresh, lemony, shrimp dish and decided to go with shrimp scampi (of which I don't have a particular recipe for but have made before). In looking through my kitchen, I decided the perfect pairing for my shrimp scampi craving would be a creamy lemon risotto. Not having recipes handy for either of these dishes, I decided to make it up as I went along. I like experimenting in the kitchen and since I do feel I have a basic knowledge of how things are made and what goes well together, I figured I have nothing to lose (and I also have a bunch of delivery options if this happens to be completely inedible). 

I apologize in advance as I do not have official recipes and am really bad at trying to figure out how much of everything I used, but I'll try since I received so many requests for my "recipe." So here we go...

Ingredients needed for lemon risotto (serving 2):
I used about 1 cup of sushi rice instead of arborio 
White Wine- about 1/2 cup
Chicken stock- about 2 cups
Garlic- 2 cloves or to your liking
1 large lemon or two
Parmesan cheese- about half a cup (or more depending on your liking)
Butter- approx. two tablespoons
Olive oil- approx. two tablespoons
salt and pepper to taste

In a deep skillet, I heated the olive oil and added the two cloves of finely minced garlic, which I sauteed for about a minute (or until you can start smelling the sweet fragrance of the garlic...but before it starts to turn brown!) and added the rice. 

I sauteed the rice and garlic mixture for a few minutes, adding the zest of a lemon. Then, I added the white wine and stirred until almost completely evaporated. I slowly started adding the chicken stock about 1/4 cup at a time letting the stock cook into the rice and evaporate before adding another ladle of stock. 


Once all the stock had been incorporated, and the rice was al dente, I added the juice of one lemon and let that cook into the rice. Then, I stirred in the butter, and added the parmesan cheese. 


Season to taste and serve!

For the shrimp scampi, you'll need similar ingredients (which is why this dish goes so well together):
A few tablespoons of olive oil
Two or so cloves of garlic
About 1/4 cup of white wine
A few tablespoons of chicken stock
1 lemon
salt and pepper
Optional: Parsley and my personal favorite, Cajun seasoning
About a pound of shrimp

I cooked the shrimp almost all the way through (you can also use already cooked frozen shrimp or whatever is easier for you). In the meantime, I sauteed the finely chopped garlic in the olive oil. When the garlic started to get fragrant, I added the white wine and chicken stock. Letting it simmer so it would thicken a little. I then added the lemon, parsley, and seasonings. Once the sauce was at a good thickness and taste, I added the shrimp to continue cooking in the liquid.


I poured the shrimp scampi over-top the risotto, added a side of greens with homemade balsamic vinaigrette and had a fabulous meal!


Now I hope that wasn't too confusing or un-followable (I don't even know if I could recreate this meal exactly the same), but the point is you can take ingredients you love and makeup some fabulous meals with a little creativity. Let me know how it goes! I'd love to hear more creative "recipes" and suggestions!