Chef Rotha
Last week I asked: How are Vietnam Spring Rolls made?
Here’s how – see recipe
I am often asked what my favorite ethnic food is.
I’d have to say Vietnamese.
It has a lot of fresh veggies and is never too spicy hot.
My all-time favorite breakfast is pho, a Vietnamese soup served for breakfast and all day long.
The light broth is full of flavor.
On my last trip to Vietnam I learned about some other traditional foods on Pandaw’s Red River/Halong Bay cruise.
I really enjoyed visiting villages and learning about the local food.
In a village in Hai Duong province villagers were making Green Bean Cake, a specialty food of the area, and wrapping them up for sale.
The sugar-cube size cake is made of green beans, sugar, vegetable oil, essence of coconut, and grapefruit flower.
Years ago King Bao Dai visited the province and was offered the green bean cake to enjoy with his green tea.
He liked the flavor so much he allowed the Golden Dragon, a symbol of royal power, to be used on the package.
I should have tried the green bean cake with some green tea because I found it too dry and with very little flavor.
In Ninh Giang I tried Banh Gai, sticky rice cakes, made from glutinous rice flower, gai leaf, sugar, mung beans and wrapped in a banana leaf.
I found this much more palatable.
Rice noodles are common part of many Vietnamese recipes.
In one village I saw rows of rice noodles hung out to dry.
An onboard event included how to make Vietnamese spring rolls.
The spring rolls make an excellent summer treat that is easy and healthy.
All the guests got to try making their own spring roll.
Assembling the ingredients was easy, but I need a little more practice to make my spring roll look as neat and as perfect as Chef Rotha’s.
The spring rolls are healthy and a variety of ingredients can be used.
Chef Rotha, the cold chef, suggested using two rice papers to prevent the ingredients from breaking through.
The rolls can be dipped in a variety of sauces but Chef Rotha was Cambodian and shared the recipe for his Khmer dipping sauce.
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
14 round rice paper wrappers
Several sprigs of fresh mint leaves
7 oz chicken, cooked, cut in 4 inch long, one-half inch wide strips (cooked shrimp, peeled, and sliced in half lengthwise can also be used)
7 lettuce leaves
1 cup cooked rice vermicelli, cold
1 carrot, julienned
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
Fill a large bowl with warm water.
Dip two rice papers (or one) in water for about 1 minute, until soft.
Lay the rice papers on wax paper. Start layering, making sure to keep the ingredients an inch from the sides.
Place four mint leaves on the rice paper.
Add 2 or 3 pieces of chicken. Top with a lettuce leaf, a small portion of vermicelli, several pieces of carrots, and then several bean sprouts.
Add additional mint leaves (or cilantro).
To roll, fold sides inward, then tightly roll the rice paper.
Khmer dipping sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium red chilies, seeded and minced
2 tbsp lime or lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1 cup water
3 tbsps fish sauce
3 tsp ground peanuts
Blend garlic, chilies, juice, sugar and water. Add the fish sauce and stir. Stir in the ground peanuts.
Recipe can be adjusted to taste by adding more water and/or fish sauce or chilies.
Travel Trivia Tease™: When should you plan your winter getaway?
Look for the answer next week.
Sandra and her husband, John, have been exploring the world for decades, always on the lookout for something new and unique to experience. We have sailed down the Nile for a week on a felucca, stayed with the Pesch Indians in La Mosquitia, visited schools in a variety of countries, and — to add balance to our life — stayed at some of the most luxurious hotels in the world. Let the fun continue!
missing or outdated ad config