The Meal: Vietnamese Spring Rolls from Personal Chef Jerzy Gonzalez-Arroyo, ICook4U.
*Special thanks to the Granary Apartments for use of the kitchen
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
The Wrap
2 ounces rice vermicelli
Chef Tip: You can substitute any noodle
8 rice paper wrappers (8.5 inch diameter)
Chef Tip: You can find these in an Asian grocery or in the international aisle of your grocery store
8 large cooked shrimp - peeled, deveined and cut in half
Chef Tip: You can have the shrimp peeled & deveined at the seafood counter
1 Large Carrot cut into matchsticks
1 large English cucumber cut into matchsticks
1 1/3 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 leaves lettuce, chopped
Chef Tip: Get creative & use whatever ingredients you like or have on hand
Directions
Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil.
Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain
Chef Tip: For the rice noodles, you can also boil water & take it off the stove. Transfer the water to a bowl and add the noodles. Allow them to soak for 30m. With either method, the noodles can be cooked ahead of time.
Fill a large bowl with warm water
Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften
Chef Tip: The water will make the rice paper wrapper pliable
Lay wrapper flat and, in a row across the center, place 2 shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side.
Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce
Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Dipping sauce
4 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 cup water
1 lime, cut in half. Zest then extract the juice
1 clove garlic, minced
Chef Tip: Never smash garlic against a cutting board. That will infuse the flavor into the cutting board, rather than into your dish. Garlic is at its most flavorful when grated on a microplane
2 tablespoons white sugar
Chef Tip: You can also grate in some fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts (optional)
Chef Tip: You can prepare the dipping sauce ahead of time
Directions
In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.
Personal Chef Jerzy Gonzalez-Arroyo, ICook4U
https://twitter.com/msjerzy?lang=en
https://www.instagram.com/chefjerzy/
