Vietnamese Wrap Recipes

Steps:

• For the pickled carrots: In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, vinegar, and salt until dissolved. Add the carrots, toss to coat and allow to pickle for about 2 hours. For the pork: Combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, five-spice powder, garam masala, black pepper, garlic and shallots in a re-sealable plastic bag. Seal and shake until well dissolved. Add the pork to the bag, massage the marinade into the pork and marinate for 1 hour. When you're ready to cook the pork, grab a large cast-iron skillet. Place the pan over high heat until it is smoking. Using a pair of tongs, pull each pork chop out of the marinade, shake off the excess and place it in the pan. Don't crowd the pan - no meat should be touching! You want the meat to sear, not steam. After about 2 minutes, flip each chop; it should be a caramel brown color. Cook another minute on the other side and remove from the pan. If you're cooking in batches, cook the remaining chops. Slice the chops into thin strips. For the sandwiches: Warm the tortillas up over an open flame so they become soft and pliable. I also like to char them a little! If you don't have a gas stove, warm them in a pan over medium heat, or pop them in a microwave for 10 to 15 seconds. Smear a little mayo down the middle of the tortilla. Then, pile a little layer of pickled carrots, some cucumber slices, a few sprigs of cilantro, some mint leaves, pork chop strips, a few slices of chiles a and squeeze of fresh lime juice over the top. Wrap, and secure with toothpick. Wrap in parchment paper if you're taking them to the beach, or just eat right away if you're not!;
• Add the green cardamom seeds, cloves, black cardamom seeds and cinnamon sticks to a spice/coffee grinder and grind until fine. Store in an airtight container away from direct sunlight.

Steps:

• Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.
• Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. In a row across the center, place 2 shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
• In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
• Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix vinegar, sugar and salt until blended. Stir in carrots and onion; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes., In a large skillet, cook pork, ginger and garlic over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until pork is no longer pink, breaking up pork into crumbles; drain. Stir in soy sauce, mirin, salt, pepper and, if desired, fish sauce., To serve, drain carrot mixture. Place pork mixture in lettuce leaves; top with cucumber, red pepper, green onions, carrot mixture and herbs. Sprinkle with jalapeno and peanuts; drizzle with hoisin sauce. Squeeze lime juice over tops. Fold lettuce over filling.

Steps:

• Heat the pork in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Season with the salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Transfer pork to a paper towel-lined plate using a slotted spoon. Let cool. Mix the hoisin sauce and water chestnuts together in a small bowl. Add the pork and mix well. Refrigerate while preparing the rice papers. ASSEMBLY: Fill a pie plate or other wide, shallow container with lukewarm water(do not use cold water or hot water). Place 2 rice papers in the water. Let sit until somewhat soft, about 45 seconds. Remove 1 paper at a time and place on a paper towel. Cover with an additional paper towel. Repeat the process until there are 12 layers of rice paper. The rice paper will become pliable 1 to 2 minutes after being stacked. Invert the stack and use the rice papers in the order in which they were removed from the water. Place 3 rice papers at a time on a clean work surface. Sprinkle each rice paper with 1/8 teaspoon of the sesame seeds. Place 1 basil leaf on the bottom third of each rice paper. Top with 1 tablespoon of the pork mixture. Cover with one mint leaf. Fold the right and left edges toward the center of the filling, pressing firmly. Fold the bottom edge of the rice paper toward the center and gently but firmly roll until the top edge is reached and a rectangle 11/2 by 2 inches is formed. Repeat until the first 12 rice paper rolls are complete. Cover assembled wraps with a very damp towel and cover with plastic wrap. Soak remaining rice paper wraps and assemble until remaining ingredients have been used. Cover the wraps as directed. These rolls can be left at room temperature for up to 3 hours. Do not refrigerate or the rice paper will harden.

Steps:

• Put the cucumber, carrot and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan, add the chicken and fry on a medium heat until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and set aside. Pour the remaining oil into the pan and lower the heat. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook for 2 mins until softened but not coloured. Add the sugar, soy sauce and 150ml water, and bubble for 5 mins until saucy. Return the chicken to the pan and heat through.
• Warm the tortilla wraps following pack instructions. Top the tortillas with the lettuce, chicken, and pickled cucumber and carrot.