XIN CHÀO mọi người!
~ Welcome to the new cooking show: "Cooking with Tamda" ~
 

Here you will find a plethora of authentic recipes and inspiration from Asian cuisine, which is continuously gaining popularity. In Part 1, we will prepare a dish that's perfect for summer, as it's light, refreshing, healthy, and full of fresh ingredients. We're talking about summer rolls – "Nem cuốn" (from Northern Vietnam) or also known as "Gỏi cuốn" (from Southern Vietnam).

We hope you'll enjoy these delicious treats, and "chúc ăn ngon!" (which means "enjoy your meal!" in Vietnamese).

INGREDIENTS: 

   ROLLS 

• Rice paper = "bánh tráng" (for fresh summer rolls) x "bánh đa nem" (for fried rolls) 

• Rice noodles (thin) - "Bún" 

• Eggs - 2-3 pieces • Cucumber - ½ 

• Carrot - 1 piece 

• Lettuce (Iceberg, Romaine) - a smaller quarter 

• Shrimp - 6 medium-sized 

• Pork belly - 120 g 

• Fresh herbs - cilantro, mint, perilla... 

• Salt, pepper 

• Water 

• Optional - pineapple, mango, bell pepper...

    SAUCE

• Carrot - ¼ 

• Small turnip - ¼ 

• Garlic - 1 clove finely chopped 

• Fish sauce - "nước mắm" 

• Sugar 

• Water 

• Vinegar/lemon 

• Pepper/chili

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Start by cutting the carrot and turnip for the sauce. Soak them in sugar and vinegar (to soften them a bit). Set aside.

   2. Boil the pork belly in a pot with water and a bit of salt for about 30 minutes. Let the meat cool down afterward.

   3. Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles ("bún"). Drain and set aside.

   4. Crack the eggs into a bowl, season with a bit of salt and pepper, and whisk. Heat a pan with a little oil. Pour a thin layer of the egg mixture into the pan using a ladle, and cook both sides. Cut the cooked egg into thin strips.

   5. Clean and devein the shrimp, then sauté them in a pan with a bit of fish sauce or salt and pepper.

   6.  Prepare the vegetables and herbs. Cut the vegetables and cooled meat into thin strips. For the herbs, remove the stems and use only the leaves.

   7.  Dip one rice paper at a time into water, then spread it on a flat surface (cutting board, plate...). Place a small amount of the prepared ingredients on the rice paper in any order, then tightly roll it up.

   8. Now prepare the sauce. 

In a bowl, mix water, sugar, fish sauce, vinegar/lemon in a ratio of 4:1:1.5:0.5. Add chopped garlic, chili, and pepper according to taste. Rinse the soaked vegetables prepared at the beginning, squeeze out excess water, and add to the sauce.
Enjoy your meal!