Mon, 8 May 2023
Vietnamese summer rolls are deliciously fresh and crisp, and with this zingy, spicy dipping sauce they make a perfect summer appetizer or lunch. You can even prepare the ingredients and encourage your guests to wrap their own rolls. Here we give the ‘classic’ recipe, with aromatic pork and sweet prawns (shrimp), but we’ve made all sorts of versions – try adding avocado, mango, pineapple, smoked salmon, roasted (bell) pepper or satay chicken, or using leftover roast chicken, beef or pork. Any pork leftovers are delicious in noodle soup or in a banh mi-style sandwich.
Adding edible flowers makes the rolls look gorgeous. We particularly love cheery violas because they look like sweet little faces, but calendula and dahlia petals also work well, and nasturtiums add bright colour and a little peppery flavour.
Makes 16 rolls
For the pork:
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) pork loin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp Chinese five spice
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
300 ml (10 fl. Oz) vegetable or chicken stock (broth)
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp oil
For the dipping sauce:
1½ tbsp fish sauce
1½ tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
a pinch of chilli flakes (or 1 red chilli, finely chopped)
For the summer rolls:
50 g (1¾ oz) vermicelli noodles
half a cucumber
3 spring onions (scallions)
a small handful each of mint and coriander (cilantro) leaves
16 × 16 cm (6 × 6 in) circular rice paper summer roll wrappers
100 g (3½ oz) lettuce, finely sliced
1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
32 viola flowers
150 g (5½ oz) cooked prawns (shrimp), halved lengthways
1. Rub the pork loin with the salt, sugar, five spice and garlic and place in a large bowl or tray. Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate overnight.
2. When you are ready to cook the pork, put the soy sauce, stock and chilli sauce in a measuring jug (pitcher) or bowl. Scrape most of the garlic from the pork and add this too.
3. Put the oil in a deep pan (for which you have a lid) over a high heat, then sear the pork on all sides.
4. Pour the stock mixture into the pan, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 30–45 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through. It should feel quite firm when you push it, but if you are unsure just take it out and cut into the middle. If it is still pink, cook it for a little longer. You will be slicing it anyway.
5. Take the pork out of the pan and set it aside to rest. Increase the heat and simmer the sauce to reduce it to a thick glaze. Pour it over the pork, leave to cool completely and put it in the fridge. It will be much easier to slice thinly when it is cold.
6. Make the dipping sauce by combining the fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and lime juice, stirring well to ensure the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the garlic and the chilli flakes or chopped chilli.
7. Put the noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak for 5–10 minutes, until soft, then drain.
8. Now arrange all the other ingredients for the rolls so that you can easily reach them as you make the rolls. Slice the pork thinly and cut into rectangles approximately 5 × 3 cm (2 × 1 in). Cut the cucumber in half lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a small spoon and cut the flesh into matchsticks. Cut the spring onions into 5 cm (2 in) lengths and then slice into fine strips. Pick the coriander into little sprigs and the mint into individual leaves.
9. Dip one sheet of rice paper in a bowl of cold water for about 10 seconds, shake off the excess water and place it on a plate or board.
10. Place a small amount of sliced lettuce, mint, coriander and noodles on the rice paper, 1 cm (1/2 in) in from the edge closest to you.
11. Place a few batons of carrot, cucumber and spring onion next to the herbs and noodles.
12. Next, beside the vegetable batons – you should now be about halfway up the paper – put a couple of edible flowers face down so that you can see the back of the flower or petal. Put a couple of prawns on top, arranging them so that you can see the prawns between the flowers. On top of this, add a few pieces of the sliced pork.
13. Roll up from the edge nearest you until you reach the carrots, then fold in the sides and continue rolling to make a neat package. Serve as soon as possible, with the dipping sauce.
