Rice Noodle Rolls , traditional along with a new twist!

I have been trying to make the Rice Noodle Rolls for a while, watched many video on YouTube and tried the different methods demonstrated.

I have persevered as I have had success in making crepes, Nalysniki  although I have never been able to make the paper thin crepes my mom would make. 

To the amusement of the Vietnamese Lady that was giving me a pedicure and only after seeing a picture of the Rice Noodle Rolls that I had posted on Instragram, she recited her recipe which I wrote down.  She felt I was making the crepes too thick, more like the Chinese method of making these crepes. 

Rice Noodle Roll Batter

• 1 c Rice Flour
• 1 c Tapioca Flour
• 2 c warm water

Mix this together first, then add 

• 1 1/2 -2 c cold water
•     salt

Let the batter set for at least 10 minutes

Whisk before pouring as it does settle out

Heat the pan to medium heat, brush oil lightly with a paper towel*

Grease the top of the counter where you will flip the crepes when cooked  

Ladle a small amount into the heated pan to make a thin crepe
Swirl around to cover the whole pan

Cover with a lid to steam the crepe.

The crepes cooks quickly and should look translucent!

 




















Flip the crepe to the greased counter space or cutting board.

Work quickly to roll up the crepes with your filling.

Depending on the size of the roll, cut into 2 -3 pieces that are bite size.

I used two different skillets, one was a Teflon 9" and a Cast Iron 8".  The important thing is to have the pans at a correct heat and to lightly oil them with a paper towel.  If there is too much oil on your pan, the batter will not spread out well and if the pan is too cold the batter will stick. 

I used two different pans and found that the cast iron worked the best overall as it retained it's heat when taken of the heat to flip the crepes. 

If you are using a filling, like steamed shrimp or BBQ pork, the filling needs to be ready to go as the noodles stick together very quickly! 

Dipping sauce 

• 2 T soya sauce
• 2 T oyster sauce
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 c water
• minced fresh ginger
• minced garlic

Since my grandkid was coming over after school for Piano practice, I saved some of the batter for my grandkid.  Since she doesn't  like shrimp, I decided to use canned apricots as a filling for this. The girls enjoyed this very much. The apricots had to be dried well before using in the noodle roll. 

The youngest who came later as her Mom had to work thought she was eating eggs!!

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

 Fresh Spring Rolls have never been my favorite in a Vietnamese restaurant, packed with rice vermicelli, a few shrimp and tasteless!  However, you will find Spring Rolls that you make at home can be very tasty as you add your favourite vegetables and seafood.  This is also a perfect Lenten dish.





The rolls use rice paper wrappers which are dipped into water before rolling up. These wrappers are easily found in Superstore or any Asian Market. 

It does take some practice to master handling the rice paper.  I would disregard any of the directions about warm water and timing as you still have a glutinous mess of rice paper.  I have found that the best way to make firmly wrapped rolls is to first have all your ingredient ready before starting.

The temperature of the water does not seem to matter. Using a round pan, dip the wrapper into the water only to wet the wrapper and turn over quickly so the other side gets wet and take it out when wrapper is still stiff.

Place your seafood in the middle and then layer your filling, 






Bring the bottom of wrapper up over the filling, then both sides of the wrapping and then roll up to top of the wrapper.  By doing this you can see the seafood through the transparent wrapper.  If making the rolls ahead of time, I found that you did need to spray the plate with oil so that the rolls doesn't stick to the dish and rip. 

Fillings

• Garlicky Shrimp
• Alaskan Pollack
• Carrots julienned
• Cucumber julienned
• Red pepper julienned
• Scallions, sliced thinly
• Rice vermicelli, cooked
• cabbage, shredded
• avocado
• bean sprouts
• Fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, mint

Dipping Sauces such as Hoisin Sauce, Peanut Sauce and Sriracha are set out for dipping the rolls in!  Lettuce can be added to the fresh roll, in fact wrapping the fresh veggies in the lettuce can help prevent the vegetable ripping the wrapper. I like to use the Romaine lettuce leaves as another wrapper and roll the fresh roll in the lettuce before eating. 

Vietnamese Sub Sandwiches- Banh Mi

The Vietnamese sandwich, sometimes called a "bánh mì" sandwich is the result of the influence of the French Colonization in Indochina, using French baguettes, pate and mayo along with Vietnamese ingredients, such as cilantro, chilli peppers and pickled carrots.

In this recipe meatballs are used instead of cold cuts. The meatballs were made and frozen on tray for later use. 

Hot Chili Mayo 

Mix hot chilli sauce into mayonnaise

Add chopped onions

Cover and chill

Meatballs

1 pound of  ground meat.

chopped fresh basil

4 cloves of minced garlic2-3 

green onion, chopped

1 T fish sauce

1 T hot chili sauce like Sriracha

I T sugar

2 tsp corn starch

pepper and salt

Mix all the ingredients together and form meatballs. Bake in a 375 oven until cooked, about 20 minutes.

Pickled Carrots

2-3 cups of grated carrots

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup of rice vinegar 

Mix and let marinade for a couple of hours!

Sandwich

Baguettes

Basil leaves or Cilantro

cucumber cut horizontally into wedges

slices of jalapeños

Pate slices

Slice the baguettes in half. Spread spiced mayo on bread, add pate, meatballs, drained pickled carrots, basil, cucumber and jalapeños