summer rolls

One of the greatest lessons that cooking imparts is that there are very few barriers between the individual and greatness. Where once we may have thought that greatness was reserved for a select, chosen few, mastering a sauce or crisping a meat to perfection teaches us that we, too, with planning and the willingness to try again, can make for ourselves the tastes that once only came from a mysterious closed kitchen. Vietnamese food is a cuisine that is light yet supremely flavorful and bright, and summer rolls are definitely central to my love of it. Though many scoffed that they were simple and cheap to make, I was intimidated by the hard, gelatinous-looking dried shells. But after fortuitously stumbling upon a step-by-step recipe, I too can now scoff at restaurants and decry the unreasonably inflated costs of these little rolls of joy. Here are the ingredients I used on my first night with summer rolls, feel free to add shrimp and any other meats and vegetables you could desire!


1. Boil water to immerse 1/3 package rice vermicelli for approximately five minutes.
2. Wash and cut bean sprouts, carrots, cilantro, thai basil, and mint. One thing you can do is peel and discard the outer layer of carrot, but then continue peeling the carrot into shreds for use in the rolls. I'm not sure if this is a technique that everyone has been using for centuries and I am slow to discover, but I felt like a rock star when I realized it could be done and will never awkwardly slice a carrot again.
3. Slice bbq roast pork into strips. I used the red kind from the asian markets, the most delicious meat ever.
4. When the vermicelli is soft, combine with 2 tbsp rice vinegar and 1 tbsp granulated sugar. You can adjust this ratio as you wish.
5. Keep the water you used to boil the vermicelli in, and immerse one by one spring roll wrappers until they are no longer stiff plasticy sheets but flexible wrappers of goodness. This will happen within seconds in near-boiling water and up to 30 seconds in lukewarm water.
6. Combine the sliced vegetables, vermicelli, and pork and roll the wrapper together. Fold one edge over the toppings, then take the two sides and fold them in, and finally roll the ingredients into the last edge.
7. Top with garlic chili sauce or peanut sauce, and enjoy immensely!!!


A note on purchasing spring roll wrappers: There are many roll wrappings to choose from in asian markets. Make sure these are round, plastic-looking clear wrappers and not opaque or square. That would bring us to an entirely different country's rolled foods entirely, and much as inter-ethnic babies may be a delight, I promise this culinary fusion would not be.