These crunchy spring rolls are packed with pork and veggies and wrapped in a light and chewy rice paper casing. Serve with a sweet and savoury Vietnamese fish sauce dip (nuoc cham), fresh mint and lettuce.
Recipe
Makes: approx. 18 pieces| Time: 1h
Ingredients
Filling
- 200g minced pork (1/2lb | 7oz)
- 2 carrots, grated
- 1 onion or 1/2 large onion, grated
- 100g dry rice vermicelli (3.5oz)
- 6 dry wood ear mushrooms, finely diced
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp nuoc cham
Other
- Rice paper Ø22cm
- Oil (to fry)
- Fresh mint (to serve)
- 1 head of butter lettuce (to serve)
- Nuoc Cham (to serve) – see substitution for alternatives
Method
Prepare the filling (10min)
- In separate bowls, rehydrate wood ear mushrooms and vermicelli in boiled water.
- Grate onion and carrots (I use a food processor to make it quicker).
- Drain well and finely chop wood ear mushrooms.
- Drain well and roughly cut vermicelli in approx. 2inch strands.
- Mix together: vermicelli, mushrooms, carrots, onion, pork, nuoc cham, egg.
Assemble and fry (50 min)
- To roll the spring rolls:
- Dip a sheet of rice paper in water (or briefly run under a cold tap). Lay flat and let soften for 30 seconds (if it is not soft enough, you can moisten it with a few more drops of water).
- Follow picture 3 instructions to fold. Place a tablespoon of filling on one edge and roll. Do not overfill & overtighten the nem otherwise it will burst during cooking.
- Make sure spring rolls do not touch each other as you wait to fry them, they are extremely sticky and you risk tearing the rice paper.
- Fry on medium heat until golden working in batches if needed (8 to 10min per batch).
Serve
- Serve with butter lettuce, mint and nuoc cham.
- To eat roll the spring roll in a lettuce leaf with a couple of mint leaves and dip in nuoc cham.
- Enjoy!
Substitutions
I highlight here the core that makes the soul of the dish and suggest possible substitutions to adapt the nems to your preferences, diet and ingredients available to you.
Core: Rice paper, vermicelli, nuoc cham dipping sauce.
Frying vs. baking: You can also bake your nems for 30min in an 210°C oven (410°F). Brush with olive oil prior to baking and cook on baking paper or non-stick map, or oiled rack.
Ingredient substitutions:
| Recipe components | Possible substitutions* |
| Protein | • Pork & beef mix • Beef • Crab • Chicken • Prawns • Tofu • Skip to make veg only |
| Vegetables | • Garlic • Bean sprouts • Other onions (spring onion, shallots, etc.) • Other mushrooms (e.g. shitake) • Kohlrabi • Jicama |
| Rice vermicelli | Mung bean vermicelli |
| Nuoc Cham | • Soy sauce • Sriracha mayo / Sriracha Greek yogurt |
Country
Vietnam
Vietnam
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