Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Goi Guon) 越南春卷

We like deep fried Vietnamese spring rolls but sometime I also prepare fresh type like this, it is refreshing and healthy!

 

Ingredients used..FYI, you can get Vietnamese spring roll wrapper at Tesco..



 

How to wrap Fresh Vietnamese spring rolls..

 

For fresh spring rolls, it is nice to serve with this Peanut Hoisin dipping sauce instead of nuoc cham dipping sauce

Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Goi Guon) 越南春卷

*makes 16 rolls

To prepare Peanut Hoisin sauce (Nuoc Leo)

50g warm water
50g hoisin sauce
60g crunchy peanut butter
1tbsp rice wine vinegar
1tsp sweet chili sauce
-Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well blended

To prepare spring rolls

200g pork tenderloin
32 fresh medium prawns, peel and devein (or reduce half of the quantity if you like to halve the prawn)
½ carrot, shredded
1 cucumber, shredded
A bunch of coriander leaves
A bunch of basil leaves
1 small head butter lettuce leaves
50g dried rice vermicelli, blanched in hot water till soft
Vietnamese rice papers

Method

1. Bring water and one sprig of spring onions to a boil over medium heat in a saucepan and poach the pork for 10mins or until cooked. Remove and set aside to cool. Slice the pork into thin strips
2. In the same pot of water, poach the prawns for 1min or until pink or just cooked. Remove and set aside to cool (You can also halve the prawns).
3. To make the spring roll, briefly dip a rice wrapper in a bowl of water (drinking water) and use a clean cloth wipe off the excess water. Place on a dry surface, place a lettuce leaf onto the wrapper, and top with some pork strips, rice vermicelli, cucumber, carrot and basil leaves. Fold the closest edge of the wrapper over the filling, then fold in the sides and roll up halfway. Place 2 prawns, side by side, along the roll and top with coriander leaves, then continue to roll up tightly to complete the folding. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up.
4. Arrange the spring rolls on a serving platter and serve with serving bowls of Peanut      Hoisin dipping sauce on the side.

Recipe inspired by: Homestyle Vietnamese cookbook, with slight changes

Vietnamese Pumpkin flowers stuffed with prawn (bong bi don thit) 越式酿南瓜花

I tried to order this stuffed pumpkin flowers with prawn when we were taking dinner at one of the restaurant at Ho Chi Minh but it was out of stock. Before return home, I was happy to find this edible pumpkin flowers at a wet market nearby hotel, so I brought back some to try out.

 

This was the first time I enjoyed a cuisine using edible flowers..It seem quite hard to find pumpkin flowers at our pasar (market) here ..

Frankly, it was hard to detect the pumpkin flower aroma..

Vietnamese Pumpkin flowers stuffed with prawn (bong bi don thit) 越式酿南瓜花

12 pumpkin flowers, stems intact with stamen removed

Filling ingredients

115g prawns paste
100g fish paste
Dill, chopped ( I replaced with spring onions)
1/2tsp fish sauce
1/2tsp salt or to taste
1/2tsp sugar
Freshly crushed black pepper

Crispy batter- refer to recipe here

Method

1.     Mix all filling ingredients till thick paste.

2.     Take a tablespoon of paste and carefully stuff each pumpkin flower. 

3.     Coat each flower with crispy batter.

4.     Heat oil in a wok, deep fry flowers in batches over medium low heat until crisp and golden brown, place on absorbent paper towel.

5.     Serve hot.

Recipe inspired by : here, by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover

Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Crepes) 越南煎饼

After I made the Vietnamese Bo La Lot, I used the leftover bean sprouts and herbs to make another Vietnamese cuisine Banh Xeo. Banh Xeo is a Vietnamese savoury crepes that stuffed with meat, bean sprouts and herbs. A lot of peoples thought the crepes is a egg crepe, actually the crepes is made with rice flour and colour with turmeric powder but no egg is added. The first time I had this was at Quan An Ngon, Ho Chi Minh Vietnam.

 

some of the ingredients

 

if you don't have a good non-stick wok, then you can use non-stick frying pan to make this..

 

Crispy edges, yum!

Ok, here are some update about my blog:-

My blog will go through some renovation. I will remove the current blog list (remove those inactive blogs and some blogs that I seldom visit) and make a new blog list (it may take some time for me to recover all blogs). Also move the traffic counter to the bottom of the blog since I don’t really care the traffic figures. Due to my busy schedule, I have no time to take part of any blog activities in the future (i will try to participate if time is permitted) and also I have stopped to operate “My Kedai Runcit” shop.

Thanks for all the readers is browsing my blog every now and then. Anyway, I will still bake, cook and try out new recipes for my family and sharing in my blog. Hope you all enjoy reading my post!

Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Crepes) 越南煎饼

(recipe source: made reference to here, by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover)

Batter

120 rice flour
110g coconut milk
110g water
1tbsp cooking oil
1/4tsp salt
1/2tsp turmeric powder

Filling

100g bean sprouts
Some chopped spring onions and corianders, shredded carrot
100g prawns
100g lean pork, sliced

Dipping sauce- Nuoc cham sauce (Vietnamese chili dipping sauce), recipe refer here

Method

1. Heat little oil in a frying pan, cook prawns and pork slices separately, season with salt, remove and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok over low heat, pour batter in the wok and swirl to distribute evenly. Sprinkle cooked prawns, pork slices, bean sprouts, carrots, spring onions and corianders over half of the batter. Cover with the lid, cook for several minutes.
3. When cooked through and edges are browned, fold the crêpe over and slide onto a plate. Repeat for second crêpe.
4. To serve, serve as an appetizer to share or a main dish. To eat, wrap a piece of the crêpe into a lettuce leaf with a few herbs. Dip into the sauce and enjoy!

Bo La Lot ( Vietnamese Grilled Lemongrass Beef wrapped in Wild Betel Leaf)

Sometime i feel my kitchen is like International café, I cook Chinese, Japanese, Malay, India, Thai, Vietnam, Italian & etc..I am especially like to cook those dishes that I have tasted in a restaurant or foods that I tasted while travelling. I have been cooking few Thai dishes and Vietnamese dishes, hopefully I can post it up soonest since my memory still fresh. I first tasted Bo La Lot was at the Ben Tahn market . The other day when I tried to clean up some of the wild betel leaves wildly spread at the backyard, perfect timing to try this Bo La Lot (Vietnamese Grilled Lemongrass Beef wrapped in Betel Leaf)).

This is how Vietnam peoples like to enjoy Bo La Lot, with a lot of fresh herbs, rice vermicelli, and with Vietnamese style of chili dipping sauce

 

I learnt this Nuoc cham sauce (Vietnamese chili dipping sauce) from a shop owner in Ben Than market while I buying fish sauce from her.

 



 

Ingredients for Bo La Lot

 

I just roll it the most simple ways, actually there are few difference way of wrapping it.

 

I simply grill them in a oven, if grill on charcoal fire, it will be perfect!

 

When my daughter first tasted this Bo La Lot,  " Mom, this is so juicy and yummy ".
My tips is add some water into the mixture to make it moist..


 

since my little son can't accept betel leaf, I also grill some chicken, using same seasonings but with additional of fresh turmeric

I always love Vietnamese foods, with a lot of fresh herbs and salad.

Bo La Lot ( Vietnamese Grilled Lemongrass Beef wrapped in Wild Betel Leaf)

(recipe source: ref to here and here, recipe by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover)

330g beef mince

2 lemongrass stems, white part only, sliced
2 shallots, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped

3/4tsp salt

1/2tbsp fish sauce
1tsp sugar
White pepper
1tsp cooking oil
1tbsp water
1/2tbsp corn flour

Fresh wild betel leaves (daun kaduk) , washed and pat dry
Wooden skewers, soak in water

Method

1. Pound lemongrass white stems, shallots and garlic with a mortar and pestle.
2. Combine lemongrass mixture, beef and all seasonings in a mixing bowl, mix till evenly combined.
3. To form the rolls, lay one betel leaf shiny side down with the stem of the leaf pointing towards you. Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of the beef mixture onto the bottom half of the leaf and roll the leaf from bottom to top, like a sausage roll
4. Use a wooden skewer to pierce a hole through the leaf, through which the stem may be inserted to fasten the roll. Repeat this process with the remaining betel leaves and beef mixture.
5. Use a wooden skewers to skewer few rolls together, which will make turning for even cooking easier
6. Brush cooking oil on all rolls, grill at a pre-heated oven at 190C for 5-10mins.

Nuoc cham sauce (Vietnamese chili dipping sauce)

200ml hot water

1 and 1/2tbsp sugar
1tbsp fish sauce
1/4tsp salt
1 and ½ lime juices
2 fresh red chili, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped

Method

1. Melt sugar with hot water.
2. Mix all seasonings, chili and garlic together, adjust the taste accordingly.

To serve Bo La Lot - scatter crushed roasted peanuts over the top of cold rice vermicelli noodles. Serve with nuoc cham sauce in individual bowls for dipping together with fresh salad and herbs ( carrot, bean sprouts, cucumber, basil leaves, coriander leaves and mint leaves)

Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Cha Gio)

I went a short trip to Hanoi recently. Vietnamese spring rolls was one of the item i ordered for almost all meals i taken there. I am ok with either deep fried or just plain rice paper wrap with shrimps, both were simply yummy..

I usually stock up this brand of fish sauce from Vietnam, this bottle i bought in Ho Chi Minh last time.

In order not to waste, usually i will save the stem from Chinese shiitake mushroom. This time i chopped the stem (after soak in water to several hours) and add into the filling of this spring roll.

These colourful bamboo small bowls also bought in Hanoi..

Items that needed to make Vietnamese spring rolls..

Enjoy this spring roll, must have this yummy Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc cham )

Vietnamese Spring Roll (Cha Gio)
(recipe source: by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover)

For dipping sauce (nuoc cham)
1 and 1/2tbsp sugar
5tbsp hot water
1 and 1/2tsp Vietnamese fish sauce
½ key lime juices
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ fresh red chili, chopped

Method
1. Dissolved sugar in hot water. Set aside to cool.
2. Add in fish sauce, lime juices, chopped garlic and red chili, mix well and adjust the taste accordingly.

For spring roll
250g minced meat
3 shallots, chopped
70g mushroom stem or mushroom, chopped
10g carrot, chopped
1 spring onion, chopped

1tbsp fish sauce
1tsp sugar or to taste
1/2tsp salt or to taste
2tbsp water
1tbsp tapioca flour

Vietnamese rice paper
Lettuce leaves
Basil leaves


Method
1. Mix minced meat with all other ingredients and seasonings, stir till become sticky filling.
2. To roll the spring roll, dip a clean cloth or kitchen towel with drinking water, rub the entire rice paper.
3. Place 1 heaped tablespoon of filling on the moist rice paper, fold the rice paper over the filling, tuck in the sides, then roll to form a cyclinder.
4. Deep fry in cooking oil over medium heat till golden brown. Drain excess oil on paper towels.
5. Serve immediately with dipping sauce (nuoc cham ) or wrap with lettuce leaf and basil leaf and dip it with dipping sauce

This green plate with stand also bought in Hanoi..love it!