By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

Wednesday, January 16, 2002

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Traditional dipping sauces
top off Vietnamese rolls

Grace Tobita would like to make Vietnamese summer rolls, but needs more information to wrap it up, so to speak.

Specifically, she wants to know how to make the dipping sauces, both the peanut sauce typically served with the fresh rice-paper wraps, and the vinegar-chile sauce served with fried spring rolls.

Recipes for both sauces follow, along with a formula for making summer rolls.

Summer Rolls

"Authentic Vietnamese Cooking" by Corinne Trang (Simon & Schuster, 1999, $30)

4 ounces dried rice vermicelli
4 ounces pork tenderloin
18 small to medium shrimp, peeled
12 sheets banh trang (rice papers or spring roll wrap, 6-inch round size)
12 leaves Boston lettuce
24 large mint leaves
1 cup julienned carrots

Soak vermicelli in water 15 minutes; drain and squeeze out water. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place vermicelli in sieve and lower into water; remove after 5 seconds. Cool; divide into 12 portions.

Place pork into the same boiling water until cooked through, 10 minutes. Cool; cut into 24 thin slices.

Drop shrimp into boiling water until opaque, about 1 minute. Cool, then halve lengthwise and devein.

Soak rice papers in lukewarm water 5 minutes. Blot each sheet (they will be sticky).

To assemble: Leave 1 inch uncovered on the edge closest to you. Place 1 lettuce leaf on the sheet. Cover with a portion of vermicelli, then 3 shrimp halves, 2 pork slices, 2 mint leaves and some carrots. Fold wrapper once over the filling, then fold in the sides and continue rolling tightly to the end. Keep rolls covered with a damp towel. Makes 12.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per roll: 70 calories, 0.5 g total fat, no saturated fat, less than 20 mg cholesterol, 30 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate, 5 g protein.*

Peanut Dipping Sauce

"Authentic Vietnamese Cooking"

3 ounces unsalted roasted peanuts
1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 or more Thai chilies, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce (patis)
1 tablespoon sugar

Chop 1 tablespoon of the peanuts; grind the rest.

Stir-fry garlic and chilies in oil over medium heat, 5 minutes. Add ground peanuts and stir until they release some of their oil, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; bring just to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer until oil begins to surface, about 15 minutes. Garnish with chopped peanuts. Makes 2 cups.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per 2 tablespoon serving: 60 calories, 5 g total fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, less than 5 mg cholesterol, 180 mg sodium, 3 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein.*

Spring Roll Sauce

"Keo's Thai Cuisine, Revised" by Keo Sananikone (Ten Speed Press, 1999)

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 to 2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 to 3 teaspoons ground chili peppers
1/2 carrot or daikon, shredded
1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Stir in red wine vinegar, fish sauce and chilies. Chill. Stir in carrot and top with peanuts just before serving. Makes 1 cup.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per 2 tablespoon serving: 50 calories, 2 g total fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, less than 5 mg cholesterol, 280 mg sodium, 6.5 g carbohydrate, 1.5 g protein.*

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.