How are you spending the Christmas holidays this year? Cozying up from the cold by a warm fire? Watching the snow flakes float past your window?
Or are you in tropical part of the world where the sun is shining and the beach is a-calling?
We are the latter – here in Vietnam and spending Christmas Eve and Christmas day with our 2 Easy Rider motorcyle guides. Yep Dave and I signed up for a 4 day tour via motorbike of the central highlands in Vietnam and it just so happened to fall during the holidays.
Overall we have loved every single one of our 17 days in Vietnam but riding around the countryside on a motorbike has been especially exciting and amazing.
The only thing missing this holiday season is my family, my own Christmas tree, and a light sprinkling of snow (hey I’ll even take some fake snow).
Though I’m no stranger to warm weather during Christmas, since I lived in Australia for 5 years when I was little, it is still strange to not have to bundle up and brave the blistering cold and wind outside. Still while my Australian holidays were nice, I’m really enoying my time in Vietnam and the Christmas cheer that the locals have.
So today instead of sharing a traditional Christmas recipe I’m posting a spring roll recipe from my first cooking class in Vietnam (in Han0i).
The Vietnamese are masters of spring rolls and with so many different varieties and types I couldn’t try all of them even if I wanted to. But I did have the chance to recreate 4 types in a cooking class and today I’m sharing my favorite one.
Instead of using regular rice paper these are made with a lacy spiderwebby like rice paper. I had never seen this in standard US supermarkets but I have no doubt the Asian supermarkets must carry out.
And you must find this rice paper and make these rolls immediately. They are nothing sort of spectacular. With the tuna lighting sauteed it mingles perfect with the fresh carrot, daikon radish and coriander flavors.
My favorite part of Vietnamese cuisine is the fresh and crisp veggie flavors and this roll showcases those perfectly.
Hmmm so good.
So Merry Christmas to all of you wherever you may be!
- 250 grams tuna steak, skin removed
- 1 carrot peeled and julienned
- ¼ daikon radish, peeled and julienned (amount should be equal to carrot)
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- ⅓ cup cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 4 Lacy Spring Roll Wrappers
- In a small bowl combine carrot, daikon, black pepper and sugar. Mix and set aside for 10 minutes.
- , Cut tuna into 2 inch by 1 inch thick pieces.
- Place lacy spring roll wrappers under a damp towel to soften them. Take one wrapper at a time and place on a cutting board.
- To the bottom third of the wrapper add the tuna, daikon and carrot mix, and a few cilantro and dill leaves.
- Tightly roll up the wrappers, leaving the ends up. Place seam side down on a plate and repeat until all filling is used up.
- Heat 1 tablespoon peanut oil in a pan and lightly pan fry the rolls on all sides, just until the tuna is cooked through.
- Slice each roll in half and serve with dipping sauce.
Recipe From Hanoi Cooking Centre
Welcome to Avocado Pesto! Long time foodie and travel enthusiast, I started this blog to share my curious culinary efforts and kitchen endeavors. Here you'll find a smorgasbord of ethnic cuisines and hopefully a few humorous tales too.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks so delicious,I havent heard about lacy rice papers before…I will check them in super market,Hope I will find them soon,want to try this….
Wish you & your family,Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!!
Amy recently posted..Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!!
Thanks Amy! Hope you had a merry Christmas and great New Years as well! Let me know if you end up finding these spring roll wrappers! If not you could just lightly pan fry the tuna until cooked through and then just use regular rice paper wrappers to make these spring rolls.
These spring rolls look A-maz-ing! I’m so glad that you are on this trip to introduce us to all of these wonderful new dishes.
Kari@Loaves n Dishes recently posted..VEGETARIAN SHEPHERD’S PIE
Thanks! I loved them! The cooking class was great but by the end I had made 4 different types of spring rolls with about 6-8 rolls for each type so it was quite the spring roll feast for me!!
Has anyone had any luck finding these rice papers in the states yet? I’d love to find them and try a recipe with them. Just curious how readily available they are.
Annette, Let me know if you’re interested in making the rice wrappers from scratch and I can send you the recipe. Also if not I think these could be make with regular rice paper wrappers with either the tuna lightly pan fried beforehand or added raw and then the rolls themselves lightly pan fried.
These look great, I’m going to make them tonight – what is the recipe for the dipping sauce – the picture of the sauce looks like it’s mustard based?
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