Festival Food Fair – “Vietnamese Spring Rolls”

Anna of Morsels & Musings is hosting a wonderful event – Festive Food Fair. I know Christmas is coming but the event goes beyond that. As long as the food is for feast, it is fine! My entry is Spring Rolls – an essential dish for any Vietnamese celebrations. Whether is Chinese New Year, family gathering or parties, spring rolls “must” be presented on the table.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Nem rán) are somewhat different from the Chinese counterpart. First, it is wrapped using Rice Paper Roll (Bánh Tráng) not the wheat wrapper varieties. The rice paper in Vietnam is elastic, making the roll-up very easy. Second, the fillings vary with inclusion of pork mice, prawn meat, crab meat, spring onions, eggs, grass noodles, wooden ears and different vegetables. I grew up with the Northern style – we use julienne carrot and kohlrabi or bean sprout, which give the spring roll the sweetness and freshness of vegies. These lovely rolls are served with Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (N