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Recipe: Vietnamese Pork Salad Rolls
On blazing hot summer days like this, a quick, light meal is just the ticket. These salad rolls pack a flavour punch, and kids love making and eating their own rolls!
What You’ll Need
Pork Mixture
- 1 lb lean ground pork
- ¼ cup (60 mL) finely chopped fresh Thai basil or basil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) hot chili sauce
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) sugar
- 2 tsp (10 mL) cornstarch
- 1 tsp (5 mL) black pepper
- 1 tsp (5 mL) coarse kosher salt
- Canola oil
Quick-Pickled Carrots
- 1-2 carrots, peeled and julienned, about 2 cups
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) sugar
- ½ Tbsp (7 mL) kosher salt
- ½ cup (125 mL) water
- ¼ cup (60 mL) rice wine vinegar
Dipping Sauce
- ¼ cup (60 mL) hoisin sauce
- 1 tsp (5 mL) fish sauce
- 1 tsp (5 mL) Sriracha or other hot sauce, or more to taste
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) crushed peanuts
Salad Rolls
- 1 package rice paper wraps, expect 6-8 per person for a meal
- 1 package rice vermicelli, cooked according to directions, drained and cooled
- 1 English cucumber, julienned
- 1 mango, peeled and julienned
- 1 cup (250 mL) alfalfa and/or radish sprouts (optional)
- ¼ cup (60 mL) Thai basil or basil, leaves only
- ¼ cup (60 mL) cilantro, trimmed
Directions
Pork Mixture
In a large bowl, gently mix together all ingredients except canola oil. In a large skillet or wok, heat 1-2 tsp (5-10 mL) canola oil over medium-high heat. Pan-fry pork in batches until well-done. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
Quick-Pickled Carrots
Combine carrots, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Using fingertips, massage salt and sugar into carrots until dissolved. Add water and rice vinegar. Pack vegetables into a quart-sized mason jar. Pickles can be used immediately, or for best results, seal jar and refrigerate at least overnight and up to 1 week.
Dipping Sauce
In a small bowl, mix together hoisin sauce, fish sauce and Sriracha. Top with crushed peanuts. Set aside.
Salad Rolls
Prepare a wide, shallow bowl of hot water. Dip a rice paper wrap into the water until it starts to become flexible (the wrap will continue to soften and become a little sticky once it’s out of the water, so don’t leave it in for too long!)
Add in a small amount of all ingredients, as well as pork mixture and pickled carrots just below the centre of the wrap – it’s important not to be greedy!
Lift the bottom of the wrap over the ingredients, then fold the sides over the ingredients. Wrap the roll tightly. Repeat with remaining ingredients and serve with dipping sauce.