Guacamole with Spring Roll Wrapper Chips

Avocado was on sale yeasterday so I bought a few and decided to make guacamole but then I forgot to buy some chips to go with it. Not to worry...hehehe... I had some spring roll wrapper leftover from when I made lumpia shanghai so I fried those up and made spring roll wrapper chips. These chips are a little more fragile compared to regular chips so I had to use spoon to spoon the guacamole over the chips. The taste as well as the crunchiness is really good. I didn't really add any seasoning to the spring roll chips as they already taste good without any but you can season it with salt and pepper, if desired, once they have been fried.


Making guacamole is quite simple and requires a few ingredients ut it really does pack a punch especially becaused I kicked up the spiciness factor a bit by adding a little bit more chili but feel free to cut down the amount to make it less spicy. Another key to making it less spicy is to discard the seeds as they contain the highest concentration of capsaicin.


Ingredients:

2 ripe avocado, cut in half and stone removed
1-2 shallots, chopped finely
1 roma tomato, cored and deseeded then chopped finely
4 Thai chillies, cored and deseeded then chopped finely
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
small cilantro bunch, chopped

1. Using a spoon, remove the flesh of the avaocado from its peel then mashed coarsely using a fork.
2. Add shallots, tomato, cilantro, lime juice, and peppers. Mix well.
3. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with chips



Spring roll chips

Ingredients:
5 spring roll wrappers
oil for frying

1. Using a scissor, cut spring roll into 4 equal squares.
2. Then cut the squares into 2 equal triangles.
3. Again cut each of the triangles into two equal smaller triangles. Each spring roll wrapper should make about 16 small triangles.
5. Leave the spring roll wrappers out for about 15 minutes to help dry it out a little bit.
6. To fry: Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
7. When oil is hot enough, fry a few pieces of the spring roll triangles until golden in color. This will only take about 2-3 seconds so you need to keep an eye on it to prevent it from burning.
8. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil.

Vietnamese Spring Roll (Goi Cuon) with Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham)

Vietnamese spring roll is something that I discovered about 10 years ago and have really fallen in love with it. It is simple and easy to make plus most of the ingredients are easily accessible. It has all the yummy goodness of a spring roll without the greasiness and added cholesterol. It is also like a handheld salad which you can take with you and eat while on the go. To me, the spring roll itself is bland because, with the exception of the herbs, there is nothing that has been added in terms of seasoning. The secret though is in the sauce. It can either be dipped in peanut based dip or a fish sauce based dip. In this recipe, I served it with the fish sauce based dip.

Handling the rice paper wrapper can be tricky especially for those who are using it for the first time. They easily tear and quite hard to handle when they are very wet so the trick is to just get it wet enough that it becomes slightly pliable but still retains it shape. What I do is just dip it in water for a second or two then place it in my work surface area then let the rice paper wrapper soak up some of the excess fluid which takes about 30 seconds then start adding the filling. When adding the filling, make sure not to overfill as it will be hard to handle when rolling the rice paper wrapper.


INgredients:

12 jumbo shrimps, shelled and deveined
3-4 oz vermicelli (bean threads)
1 large carrot, peeled then julienned
rice paper wrapper (Banh Trang)
Lettuce leaves, washed and dried then cut into half (lengthwise) with the hard membrane removes
handful of mint, chopped coarsely
handful of cilantro, chopped coarsely

1. Boil jumbo shrimp in a small pan of water until it turns orange. Remove and cool.
2. In the same pan where you boil the shrimp, add the vermicelli and boil for 2-3 minutes or until it turns soft. Rinse in cool running water then drain.
3. When shrimp is cool enough to handle, slice in half (lengthwise)
4. To assemble: Take a piece of rice paper wrapper and dip in a pan of water for a second or two.
5. Place the rice paper in a flat work surface and let it rest for 30 seconds.
6. Take a piec of the lettuce then top with a small handful of vermicelli, add carrots, mint, and cilantro. Add three slices of shrimp arrange side by side.
7. To wrap: fold the sides inward to enclose the filling then take the end closest to you and start rolling until you reach the end. NOTE: Make sure you roll as tight as possible without causing the wrapper to tear.
8. Serve with prepared dip.

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham)
Adapted from here

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water
6 Tbsp fish sauce
5 Tbsp fresh lime juice
5 tsp rice vinegar
6 Tbsp sugar
1 chopped fresh red chili, seeded and choped finely
3 cloves of finely chopped garlic

1. COmbine water, sugar, and vinegar into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Remove from heat and cool.
3. Add fish sauce, lime, chili, and garlic then mix thoroughly.
4. Serve with fresh Vietnamese spring roll