Summer Roll Success!

After many delays and trips to different stores I was finally able to make the Vietnamese summer rolls. Ohhhhhh boy. I think I outdid the restaurant ones. These even had mangos in them! And shitakes marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper! I think I might have it down to an art now. The only thing I am worried about is how they will stay in the refridgerator. There were many many summer rolls left over. Maybe I'll pass them out at my garage sale on Saturday. Buy an old textbook or t-shirt, get an awesome summer roll. Ok enough. Here is a picture of the finished product:





Now onto the making of. First of all, this took like, at least 4 hours to make. So I wouldn't try and make these unless you seriously like to julienne things and marinade crap. Also, by the time I got to actually rolling them, I got the same feeling I tend to get when I make really awesome pancakes. Once it comes down to actually frying them, I'm kinda over it. I should have called in my assistant.

I was skeptical about the mango, I have to say. But when I tasted it I have no idea why. There are lots of different distinct tastes in this: sweet, spicey, salty, and a little sour because of the lime in the dipping sauce.

Anyways, here is my adapted recipe:

Summer Rolls with Dipping Sauce to Impress
MUSHROOM MARINADE
1 T olive oil
4 oz shitake mushroom caps, cut into 1 inch squares 1/4 cup rice vinegar (or balsalmic, if it's all you've got)
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
salt & pepper

12 Shrimp, all prepared and de-pooped
3 oz vermicelli (1 log, if you bought a pack of 6)
1 T peanut sauce of some sort
rice paper sheets
2 carrots, julienned
1/2 cucumber, peeled, de-seeded, julienned
fresh mint leaves
fresh basil leaves
fresh cilantro leaves
1 mango, julienned

DIPPING SAUCE
1 clove garlic
salt
2 T sugar
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 T fish sauce
1/2 tea spoon red chili sauce
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 lime, all its juice

1. Cook the shrimp for about 2 minutes and slice them. Set them aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cover rice vermicelli with hot shrimp water; let soak for 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Mix the peanut sauce into the noodles. Set aside.
3. Heat canola oil in a large skillet set over high heat. Add mushrooms, and sauté until tender and mushrooms have released most of their liquid. Add vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil; cook about 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a small bowl, and let cool to room temperature.
4. Fill a wide dish with warm water (can reuse the vermicelli/shrimp water as it should still be hot). Working with 1-2 rice-paper wrapper at a time, soak in water for 30 seconds; immediately lay flat on a work surface. Place 3 reserved shrimp halves, cut sides up, on bottom third, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Place 2 to 3 reserved mushrooms over shrimp. Top with assortment of vermicelli, carrots, mint, basil, cilantro, cucumber, and mango. Fold bottom of wrapper over fillings; roll over once, tuck in sides, and finish rolling. You can try only using one rice paper but i usually had to overlap two.
   
5. Place finished roll on a plate; cover with a damp towel. Repeat process with remaining ingredients. Serve with dipping sauce (#6-7).
6. Crush garlic clove in a press and transfer to a small bowl.
7. Stir sugar in hot water until dissolved, and add to bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator until ready to use. Store sauce in a refrigerator for up to 3 days.