Vietnamese Spring Roll Recipe Test

All of us in the family loves spring rolls or popia. We cook it at almost every other occasion. I have tried cooking it the Cantonese style (SM MIL's style) but Dad prefers the traditional Foo Chow style where you dump everything in and fry them together. He finds it easier to wrap and eat.

Then there is the skin problem. It is not easy to buy fresh popia skin ... on non festive seasons. In JB, I will sometimes order it from the people who sell popia in the market or in the hawker centres. But if am not mistaken, some times we can get from Tun Aminah Market. In Spore ... I really dono where to get them. Hence, have to cook popia here. If cant get fresh popia skin, then the frozen one is the other option. Off course there are some fussy eaters who say that that skin is only for fried popia. After cooking the popia ingredient, I have no more energy left to fry popia. So, if those who want to eat fried popia, then, you fry, I cook the ingredients ...:0

Last sem, one of our Family Group Members from Vietnam cooked popia the Vietnamese style. I thought that their style is sooooooo simple compared to ours. So, I got LN to buy the skin for me from HCM thinking that with it, I can make them. But lo and behold, the fish sauce used is different from Thai fish souse. So, I hold back making it during the Nov-Dec hols ... now that I've got both the skin (2 packets) and the Vietnamese fish sauce, I am ready to make them during CNY BBQ reunion ... la la la la .... excited.. :0 .. jus in case I forget the recipe given by my friend, let me pen it down :

Ingredients
Fresh vegies : mint, lettuce, carrots cut to long thin slices then squeeze lime over it, cucumber
Meat : pork or chicken - steamed and slice thin
Prawns : shelled and steamed
Bi hun : boiled in hot salted water for 2mins, drained
Fish Sauce : garlic chopped fine, chili chopped fine, lemon, sugar, fish sauce and a little hot water
Rice paper

This is a recipe which I lifted off the internet .... the interesting thing was off course the Hoisin peanut dipping sauce. I will probably mix this 2 recipe and try them out to see how it works better for me :

Ingredients

• 2 ounces rice vermicelli
• 8 rice wrappers (8.5 inch diameter)
• 8 large cooked shrimp - peeled, deveined and cut in half
• 1 1/3 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 leaves lettuce, chopped
• 4 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
• 
  
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts

Directions

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.
2. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. 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.
3. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
4. In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
5. Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.

Hoisin Peanut Dipping Sauce Recipe

1 cup (8 oz) hoisin sauce (if sauce is thick, add about 1/4 cup warm water to reach desired consistency)
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 Tbs rice vinegar
2 garlic, crushed
1 minced thai chili, or more for desired spiciness