[CH] Mary-Anne's Rice Paper Wrapped Salad Rolls
Mary-Anne Durkee (durkee.ch.list@gmail.com)
Thu, 3 Aug 2006 13:08:10 -0700
This is a fav of ours for hot weather meals. If you don't eat pork use
chicken, and if you don't eat-shrimp or pork use mango and beef. If
you only eat veg use tofu. No matter the combinations the lettuce,
herbs, and chiles wrapped in these paper thin rice papers dipped in a sauce are
so tasty and refreshing for hot weather meals.
Rice Paper Wrapped Salad Rolls
(Mary-Anne's)
Serves 6 to 8
This version is my Thai slant on the traditional Vietnamese Salad
Rolls, as I add chiles and Thai Basil to zap the flavours.
1/3 pound pork shoulder or loin
12 medium size raw shrimp in shells
8 (12") round rice papers (keep extras on hand just in case you tear
some)
1 small head of red leaf lettuce-leaves separated and washed
4 oz rice vermicelli, cooked in boiling water 4 to 5 minutes, rinsed
in cold water and drained
1 cup bean sprouts (remove the root end)
½ cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup Thai basil leaves
½ cup Rau Ram leaves
½ cup Cilantro leaves
1/2 Shiso leaves
8+ minced Thai Dragon or 6+ bird chiles to your taste
Accompaniments (below is enough for 16+ rolls)
1 cup Hoisin-Peanut Sauce
And/or
1 cup Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
Cook the pork in boiling salted water until just tender about 30
minutes. Set aside to cool and then slice into 1 x 2 ½" inch
pieces. Cook shrimp in boiling water salted water until just done,
about 3 minutes. Shell, devein, and cut in half lengthwidse.
Refresh in cold water and set aside.
Just before making the rolls set up a salad roll station IE assembly
line.. Fill a deep pie plate or quiche pan with hot water. You will
need to change this water to keep it hot. Either keep a teakettle
hot or use an instant hot tap, as the water needs to be above 110 deg
F at all times to soften the rice paper quickly.
I set all the ingredients up on a counter or table in the order I
will use them for ease of assembly. Rice paper,, hot water, a damp
cheesecloth, and a platter holding the ingredients. This also can be
served where everyone rolls their own.
Working with only 2 rice papers at a time, dip 1 sheet edge first, in
the hot water and turn it to wet completely, about 10 seconds. Lay
the sheet down on the cheesecloth or a flat surface and stretch the
sheet slightly to
remove any wrinkles. Wet the other rice paper the same way and place
it along side the first.
Line the bottom third of the wet rice sheet with 3 shrimp halves, cut
side up, and top with two slices of pork. Make sure the ingredients
are neatly placed in a straight row, fold a piece of lettuce into a
thin rectangle about 5" long and place on top. (you may need to use
only half a leaf. I always remove the core part of the leaf and only
use the softer ruffley leave).
Next top with about 1 tablespoon of vermicelli, 1 tablespoon of bean
sprouts, 3 mint leaves and 4 basil leaves (medium sized leaves), etc. herbs and
chile minced pieces.
Make sure the ingredients are not clumped together in the center, but
evenly distributed from one end to the other. Using your second,
third and fourth fingers, press down on the ingredients while using
the other hand to fold over both ends/ sides of the rice paper.
Pressing down on the ingredients is very important because it
tightens the roll. With fingers still pressing down, use two thumbs
to fold the bottom edge over the filling and roll into a cilander
about 1 ½" wide by 5" long. Finish making all the remaiing rolls
being carefull to make the tight. IE press down on ingredients and
tightly roll being careful to not tear the rice paper.
It may sound complicated, but once you roll one it is so very easy!
It just takes so many words to describe the process. LOL
To serve, cut the rolls at an angle into two equal pieces and place
the cut rolls upright on a plate or tray. Serve with Hoison-peanut
sauce and Vietnamese Dipping Sauce. If you like you can garnish the
rolls with sprigs of cilantro. We love to drizzle both sauces on the
rolls. We find dipping to be far too messy and prefer serving the
sauces with a small spoon enabling guests to spoon on the sauces.
Infact if you just drizzle the sauce into the rolls it is much easier
to eat.
The rolls can be made two hours ahead of time and stored at room
temperature in an airtight container lined with a damp cheesecloth.
DO NOT refrigerate as the rice paper toughens.
I usually make a few dozen of these at a time for our family and
friends for parties and get togethers. They are always the first
appetizer to disappear!!! They also make a lovely Summer lunch
entrée on a hot day.
Hoisin-peanut Sauce
Makes 2 cups
This is a very versatile sauce. Use as is for Salad Rools. Mix with
garlic, chiles,and ginger for spectacular grilled fish, chicken, or
beef. It is also a wonderful marinade!
1 cup hoisin sauce
½ cup water
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup pureed or finely minced yellow onion
1 tablespoon ground chilli/chile paste or to taste (sometimes called
sambal)
1 tablespoon chopped roasted peanuts for garnish *
Put first four ingredients into a small pan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Add a little water if
it becomes too thick. Set aside to cool. Transfer mixture to sauce
dish and garnish with chopped roasted peanuts.
(*1 cup raw shelled peanuts, roasted in a nonstick pan over very low
heat until lightly toasted, about 7 to 10 minutes. Let cool. Put in
a spice mill and grind. I prefer using a mortor and pestle. I keep
the toasted peanuts in a tightly sealed glass jar or vacuum sealed
container as I use them on many dishes such as fried noodles or stir
fried dishes.
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
Makes 1 ½ cups
This sweet and sour fish dipping sauce is served with almost all
Vietnamese dishes. The secret to great dipping sauce is to use fresh
limes and use the pulp and smashed fresh Bird Chiles! It is
important to use a good quality fish sauce. This recipe will keep
for one month in the refrigerator.
2 small cloves garlic sliced
1 tsp. ground chili paste to taste
or
4 to 8 fresh Thai Bird Chiles chopped (I prefer this!)
¼ cup Fish Sauce (Nam Pla)
2/3 cup hot water
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice with pulp
¼ cup sugar (I use date palm sugar)
2 tablespoons finely shredded carrots for garnish
Place garlic, chili/chile paste in a mortor. With pestle pound into
a paste. If you don't have a mortor and pestle-finely mince the
garlic and chile, but it is much better when pounded!
Combine the garlic mixture with the remaining ingredients in a small
mixing bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Ladle sauce into
serving bowl and float carrot slivers on top.
Thai Chili/Chile Dipping Sauce
This sauce is much more potent, pungent, hot, and wonderful!
8 to 12 Thai Bird Chiles (if not available use serranos)
2 cloves finely minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
¼ cup fish sauce
Combine all ingredients in a sauce bowl. Sauce will keep 3 weeks in
the refrigerator in an airtight container. Great served with noodle
or rice dishes.
Now a word about fish sauce/nam pla. Buy the best available as it is
only a few pennies more.
My favorite brands are Tra Chang (meaning "weighing scale") and
Golden Boy. The latter is favored by many for its endearing label --
showing a baby boy sitting on a globe, cradling a bottle on the left
arm with right thumb up. Both are excellent, adding a superb flavor
to Thai and Vietnamese dishes, but they are a bit harder to find than
other brands, though well worth the effort of any search. Golden Boy
is available online from Temple of Thai. Reasonably good are the
Squid and King Crab brands.