Nem Nuong Spring Rolls

Nem Nuong is Vietnamese grilled pork sausage. This recipe is a lighter, fresher way to enjoy the grilled pork and you won't feel bad eating tons of them.  In addition to the pork, the filing has a crunchy fried eggroll wrapper, fresh Vietnamese herbs, and sweet pickled carrot daikon. You can make the nem nuong at home or buy them at an Asian grocery store.  We live in Seattle and there are several restaurants/stores that sell the pork patties that are ready to grill.

 At the moment, I am working on perfecting the recipe to make the nem nuong  at home.  There are many types of pork, spices and types of grinds of the pork meat that I have yet to figure our.  I thought that I had it down, but the color did not turn out right and I did not want to add food coloring to the pork. In the mean time, I use the store bought nem nuong for this recipe. I have the rest of my life to work on this.

Instructions

Spring Rolls

• Egg roll wrappers rolled and deep fried

• 1 package three ladies rice paper, size = 22 cm

• Green lettuce

• Fresh herbs: Thai basil and Perilla or purple mint

• Cucumber cut into thin strips

• Pickled carrots & daikon

• 1 package of the fine rice noodles (banh hoi)

Dipping Sauce

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 shallot

• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil

• 1/4 lb. ground pork

• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce

• 1 tbsp. creamy peanut butter

• 2/3 cup coconut soda

• 1 tbsp. roasted rice powder

• 1 tbsp. crushed roasted peanuts

Making the Dipping Sauce

• Heat a saucepan over High heat and when hot add the vegetable oil. 

• Add the peeled garlic and shallots and stir-fry until soften.

• Reduce heat to Medium, add ground pork and stir-fry until thoroughly cooked. 

• Add hoisin sauce, peanut butter, coconut soda, and roasted rice powder and stir. 

• As soon as the sauce starts to bubble, turn off the heat and allow to cool.  Transfer the sauce to the food processor and blend for few seconds.

Watch the video below for instructions