I like to eat Vietnamese food on a regular basis. But since I don’t know how to make Pho, I thought I’d make what I do know how to make – summer rolls.
Vietnamese food became very popular in Korea a few years ago, and now there are a bunch of Vietnamese restaurants that are Korean owned. I think the tastes do vary, as every cuisine does, according to its new culture. I’m no expert but I do know when I like something!
Summer rolls are yummy. I like the contrast between the crunchy texture of the cucumbers and lettuce against the chewiness of the wrap. I’m a huge fan of sauces, so it’s even better when you can dip it in three different kinds. It’s an excuse for me to eat sauce. YES!
Sriacha, peanut and fish sauce (I added bell peppers). Sorry I forgot to take a picture until I was finished eating. 
These rolls are usually much bigger, filled with mint, lettuce and rice noodles. I had none of those things on hand but really wanted to eat it so I just stuck to what I had (crab legs, cucumber, avocado and apples).
Makes 8 rollsIngredients:
8 pieces of Vietnamese rice paper
12 boiled pieces of shrimp, deveined and deshelled
8 crab legs, taken out of wrapper
1/2 of a kirby cucumber, cut into strips
1/2 avocado, cut into strips
1/3 of a Fuji apple
1/3 cup of shredded lettuce
6 oz. of boiled rice noodles (adjust to preference)
Few pieces of mint
Procedure:
1. Fill a large frying pan with 1 cup of water over high heat. Make sure it’s big enough to immerse the rice wraps fully in water. When the water boils, remove from heat.
2. Immerse rice paper in water for about 40 seconds or so. When the rice paper is tender, pull out one side with a chopstick then use both hands to hold the wraps steady, and remove from water. Make sure to keep the wrap separate because it will stick to each other and break! You might have to turn the heat back on after 3-4 wraps since the water will cool.
(I always burn my fingers or manage to ruin the wrap. Oops. I don’t know if there is a special trick….. if you know of one, please let us know in the comments! Some people will dip the wrap in a cold water bath immediately after but I find that it cools down the wrap too quickly and makes it tough.)
3. Lay wrap flat on a plate. Add ingredients. Fold one side in, then the edges, and roll.
4. Dip in dipping sauce and enjoy!
I just leave the ingredients in a container in the fridge and cook the rice paper for another bunch of rolls. You can even lay out the ingredients on a huge plate and have people make their own. I know of a Pho restaurant where you can do just that. They also give you pineapples and pork to add to your roll.
By the way, I just had the best Vietnamese food in San Francisco. More on that later!
September 23, 2008
yumm! I didn’t realize you can put different things into summer rolls! I’m not a big fan of carrots and green onion, so this summer roll looks incredibly delicious! I will have to give it a try one of these days!