Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Mid-July. The cookbook photography starts in November, which is four months out, which means Lily and James and I have been doing the recipe development pre-work — testing each dish under controlled conditions, locking down measurements, writing the headnotes. I have been writing my section, which covers the family recipes that pre-date the restaurant: Mai's pho, Mai's thịt kho, the spring rolls, the bánh mì, the banh xèo, the chè, the family Tet menu. Twenty-three recipes from my chapter alone.

The hardest part is the headnote for Mai's pho. The recipe itself is straightforward — bones, spices, water, time. The headnote needs to carry forty-five years of history and a refugee story and a Vietnamese-American household and the Saigon street stall in District 4 (which Mai now considers the gold standard) and the 12-hour simmer that Mai never cuts short. I wrote eleven versions. Lily read the eleventh and said, "Dad, this is it." It was a paragraph long. It opened with: "My mother's pho is a four-decade conversation with the dead." She said it goes in. We'll see what Vy says.

Made the pho Saturday for Mai (mostly recovered now, back to weekly Saturday lunches at her house). Mai took two bowls. She didn't comment. The lack of comment is the highest compliment. Mai criticizes. The silence is approval.

Smokey had to go to the vet Tuesday. Routine checkup. Bloodwork. Heartworm test. Annual shots. Smokey — three years old, brindle, tail-wagging, the dog who has never met a stranger he didn't want to lick — was excellent at the vet. The technician said she wished all her patients were Smokey. I said, "You and me both." Smokey is a perfect dog. I had been alone too long before Lily made me get him.

The pho headnote took eleven drafts. The spring rolls took two — because they don’t need explaining the way forty-five years of history does. This recipe sits three pages after the pho in my chapter, and in our house it always appears the same way: assembled at the table, passed hand to hand, eaten while the next batch of bones is already going into the pot. Mai never measures the herbs. I had to follow her around with a scale for three Saturdays before I could write a number next to anything. This is that version — the one she finally approved without comment.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 4 (makes about 12 rolls)

Ingredients

12 round rice paper wrappers (8–9 inch)
3 oz dried rice vermicelli noodles
12 large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cooked (halved lengthwise)
6 oz thinly sliced cooked pork belly or char siu pork
1 small head butter lettuce, leaves separated
1 cup fresh mint leaves
1 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
1/2 cup fresh Thai basil leaves
1 cup bean sprouts
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned
1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
Warm water, for softening wrappers

For the peanut dipping sauce:

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons warm water, plus more to thin
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sriracha (optional)
1 tablespoon crushed roasted peanuts, for garnish

Instructions

Cook the noodles. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add rice vermicelli and cook according to package directions, usually 3–4 minutes, until tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, and set aside.
Make the dipping sauce. Whisk together hoisin, peanut butter, warm water, lime juice, garlic, and sriracha (if using) in a small bowl until smooth. Add more water a teaspoon at a time until it reaches a consistency you can dip into easily. Top with crushed peanuts. Set aside.
Set up your rolling station. Fill a wide, shallow dish or pie plate with warm water. Arrange all fillings — noodles, shrimp, pork, lettuce, herbs, bean sprouts, cucumber, and carrot — in separate small piles or bowls within arm’s reach.
Soften the wrapper. Submerge one rice paper wrapper in the warm water for 10–15 seconds, just until it becomes pliable but still slightly firm (it will continue to soften on your work surface). Lay it flat on a clean, damp cutting board or plate.
Layer the fillings. In the lower third of the wrapper, layer a lettuce leaf, a small handful of noodles, 2 shrimp halves (pink side down), a few slices of pork, some cucumber and carrot, a pinch of bean sprouts, and a generous amount of mint, cilantro, and Thai basil. Do not overfill.
Roll it up. Fold the bottom edge of the wrapper up and over the filling, tucking firmly. Fold in both sides toward the center, then continue rolling away from you, keeping tension as you go, until sealed. The shrimp should be visible through the wrapper on the outside of the roll.
Repeat and serve. Continue with remaining wrappers and fillings. Arrange finished rolls on a platter, seam side down, covered lightly with a damp paper towel to prevent drying. Serve immediately alongside the peanut dipping sauce.

Nutrition (per serving, 3 rolls with sauce)

Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls — Rolled While the Broth Simmers