With a mother who cooks only Vietnamese food and a father who will eat nothing else, it was inevitable that Phuong Mai would also master the craft. I was lucky enough to taste the proof and hear a few secrets to creating traditional Vietnamese dishes here in Philly.
At Penn, Phuong manages to recreate some of her childhood favorites working primarily from memories of her mother in the kitchen. Vietnamese spring rolls are just one of these delicious family favorites.
She assures me that I shouldn't be intimidated by the recipe; the preparation and assembly are fun and easy. The biggest challenge is finding the ingredients. For those trying to tackle this recipe, plan a trip to Chinatown in search of unique supplies. For easier navigation, check out a few of Phuong's recommendations:
Hung Vuong Supermarket, 1122 Washington Ave.
Chung May Food Market, 1017 Race Street
King's Market, 140 N. 10th Street and 145 N. 10th Street
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
(Makes 20 rolls)
1 lb. shrimp
1 lb. pork
Vermicelli (called Rice Sticks, or Rice Noodles, and can be found in FroGro)
Rice Paper (about 8 inches in diameter)
Lettuce
Cut the pork into small pieces and boil in water for 15-20 minutes, or until gray. Remove it and put the de-veined shrimp in the same boiling water, cooking them for 5-8 minutes. Then place the vermicelli in fresh boiling water for 1.5 minutes - don't overcook it!
Set out a large, deep bowl of cool water, a clean plate, and all of the ingredients. Carefully spin rice paper in water for about 45 seconds. After laying the wet rice paper on the clean plate, place a small portion of the cooked vermicelli about 2 inches from the bottom, adding a few pieces of pork and a leaf of lettuce directly on top. Roll up the rice paper once around to secure all the ingredients and then place three pieces of shrimp before completing the roll, making sure to fold in the sides. Phuong calls this the "burrito technique."
Phuong's secret sauce
« cup hoison sauce
« cup peanut butter
¬ cup coconut soda
Placing the pork and shrimp broth you have created (see above) on medium heat, add the hoisin sauce and peanut butter and mix completely. The consistency should be thin while cooking but once cooled, it is more of a thick paste.
Phuong's secret ingredient is coconut soda - not to be confused with coconut milk, extract, or anything else - which she adds to the broth-hoison-peanut butter mixture.
Once the sauce is cooled, dip spring rolls and enjoy.
