As anyone who follows this blog knows, I love Vietnamese food. One of my favorite dishes, and one that many non-Vietnamese are often familiar with, is nêm, or fried spring rolls (also called chả giò in southern Vietnam). However, because most nêm is fried and rather heavy with oil, I prefer nêm made with a special rice paper called bánh tráng rế, which looks something like a circle of dried, pressed string.
Following are recipes for nêm and rau cải xào nấm (sautéed bok choy and baby shiitake mushrooms) courtesy of M--, who I think really needs to open up her own restaurant because she makes the best Vietnamese food I’ve ever had.
Ingredients (for 2 people)
4 wood ear mushrooms (soaked and chopped)
8 baby shiitake mushrooms (soaked and chopped)
1/2 carrot (slivered and then chopped)
150 g minced pork
50 g fresh crab meat
50 g cabbage (chopped)
1 bunch green onions (chopped)
1 package miến noodles (soaked and finely chopped)
1 package bánh tráng rế
1 egg
1 tsp salt
2 tbs vegetable oil
Instructions
1. Soak the wood ear and shiitake mushrooms for 10 minutes, then slice into slivers.
2. Sliver carrot and chop finely.
3. Mince pork and break crabmeat into small pieces.
4. Chop cabbage and green onions into small pieces.
5. Soak miến noodles for 10 minutes and finely chop.
6. In a bowl, mix all of the above with 1 egg.
7. Scoop spoonful of mixture and place on one sheet of bánh tráng rế, then roll smoothly (pictured below).
8. In about 2 tbs of vegetable oil, fry the rolled nêm until golden brown and crisp.
9. Set cooked nêm on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
10. Serve plain or with soy sauce and/or nước mắm.
The nêm is more delicious if you have herbs and lettuce on hand to eat with it. Cilantro, mint, shiso, and basil go nicely with this kind of nem. Bean sprouts are another nice accompaniment.
Rau Cải Xào Nấm (Sautéed Bok Choy and Baby Shiitake Mushrooms)
Ingredients
Sautéed bok choy and shiitake mushrooms
200 g bok choy
8 baby shiitake mushrooms
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vegetable oil
pork seasoning powder, or bột hạt nêm (optional)
Instructions
1. Soak shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 2-3 minutes (or soak for 10 minutes in room-temperature water), then chop in half.
2. Separate bok choy pieces.
3. Heat oil at medium temperature. Add bok choy and mushrooms and sautée for 2-3 minutes.
4. When veggies have turned darker and a bit softer, add salt, and bột hạt nêm and turn off heat. Let veggies continue to cook with heat off for a few more minutes.
5. Enjoy with nêm and cold beer.
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Looks amazing! Love that you did not skimp on crab meat. Thanks for introducing me to bánh tráng rế! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Tia: Thanks for the comment! Yes, fresh, high-quality crab meat is fairly cheap in Hanoi, so there's no reason to skimp on it. In fact, that's all the more reason to pile it on. :) I don't know if bánh tráng rế specifically is available where you live, but if so, it's definitely worth making!
ReplyDeleteMMMMM,..The fodd doesn't look tasty but ooh so pretty & fabulous too!
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing these dishes with us! I never savoured a lot of Vietnamese food before,..But that's going to change now!
Kisses & many Greets from Brussels to you!
I read about vietnamese food blogs a lot and I have to say you're the first foreigner knows "nem" and "chả giò" are the same dish.
ReplyDeleteHi Sophie: Maybe the nem are tastier than they look! They were gone in about 1 minute!
ReplyDeleteHi Thanh Nguyen: I probably just got lucky. :) It helps, of course, having lived for 3 years each in Hanoi and Saigon. Thanks for your comment!