I know I’ve already mentioned that we are in Thailand, but for just a moment we’re going to jump back to Vietnam. So as not to bore you with consecutive spring roll recipes back to back I spaced them out with some others, but now we’re back to the spring rolls.
Remember I took that cooking class way back in Hanoi (in mid-December)?
Well I’m sharing a final spring roll recipe now.
These fresh rolls are traditionally from Hue (an ancient capital of Vietnam). We only spent 2 days in Hue and while some of our friends raved about it and its charm we somehow missed this. Sure we enjoyed our tour of the citadel, ancient tombs, pagodas and a leisurely boat ride on the river but the atmosphere of the city didn’t quite capture us. And the fact that out of the 1,000,000 residents in the city 700,000 of them own motorbikes (and seem to use them daily) only further turned us off.
So what did we enjoy in Hue?
The food, glorious food. The various regions in Vietnam all have them own culinary dishes and specialties that are not to be missed out on.
Thanks to the tips of a local (who we met through Couchsurfing) all our meals were delicious.
From the 25 cent ban beo, to the 33 cent baguette sandwiches to the 40 cent smoothies, to the 75 cent fish soup we didn’t have to spend much on food.
Now I’m rambling. Back to the spring rolls. 
Deliciousness aside, these spring rolls are also healthy. No frying necessary, herbs, veggies, noodles and a sprinkling of shrimp and pork – talk about freshness.
Easy to make, and sliced into bite sized sections so just as easy to eat. Feel free to change up the filling and add your own spin to it, but don’t skip out on the dipping sauce – that’s key!
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 pork fillet
- 6 rice paper wrappers
- 12 stems water spinach (morning glory)
- ⅓ cup cilantro
- ⅓ cup mint leaves
- ⅓ cup Thai basil
- ½ cup rice vermicelli noodles
- 30 pickled prawns, diced
- Dipping Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 5 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 long red chili, minced
- Preheat over to 400 degrees F. Rub sweet potato with oil and roast whole for 30-40 minutes or until soft. Allow to cool and peel the sweet potato and slice into 2 inch long thin strips. Set aside.
- Poach pork in barely simmering water for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing into small cubes.
- Take one sheet of rice paper and dip into water for one second. Place on a flat surface and to the bottom third of the rice paper add sweet potato, spinach leaves, herbs and vermicelli in a tight line. Roll tightly (leaving the ends open). Chop off the open ends and then cut the spring roll into three sections and place on a plate cut side down.
- Repeat with remaining rice paper wrappers. Top each piece with a few pork cubes and pickled shrimp.
- Directions for dipping sauce:
- In a small bowl combine fish sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar and sugar. Mix until sugar has completely dissolved. Add garlic and chili. Mix until combined and serve with spring rolls.
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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