Nam Nuang (Grilled Pork Fresh Spring Rolls)

 

So following on from last Sunday's post about fresh spring rolls, here's part two- the Vietnamese style 'nam nuang'. I was initially quite confused by the name; 'nam' meaning liquid/water/sauce in Thai. After a bit of nosing around I discovered that they are known as 'nem nuong in Vietnamese (nuong simply means grilled in Vietnamese and across a few borders, they have become Nam Nuang in Thailand. These spring rolls are a simplified version of the original but are no less tasty for it...

This recipes makes about 8 rolls; use:

• 8 dried rice paper circles

• A shallow dish of cold water

For the sausages:

• 250g of pork mince

• a heaped teaspoon of black pepper, ground finely

• a small splash of soy sauce

• a small splash of oyster sauce

For the sauce:

• a very big splash of tamarind concentrate

• a big splash of water

• a small splash of fish sauce

• a big pinch of sugar

• a small handful of chopped peanuts

• a small pinch of chilli flakes

And for filling the rolls a selection of:

• shredded lettuce and/or whole baby leaves

• mint leaves

• fresh coriander

• shredded cucumber

• sliced red chillies

First make the sauce by heating the first four ingredients in a small pan, reducing down until the sauce takes on a thin caramel consistency. There should be a good balance of sweet, sour and savoury. Sprinkle over the chopped peanuts and chilli flakes. 

Next prepare all the herbs and vegetables and set out on a plate with the sauce.

Now comes the sausages- dead easy to make, just mix all four ingredients in a bowl by hand. Take a handful and shape into a chunky sausage shape (it should be at least a couple inches smaller than the width of your rice paper circles. Place the sausages on a foil lined tray and grill on a low-medium heat until fully cooked and browned (about 6-10 minutes).

With everything ready to serve, the rice paper comes last. Take a dried disc of rice paper and dunk it into the dish of water for about ten seconds before lifting out, turning over and dunking for ten seconds more. It should now feel fairly flexible. If not, and you still feel it will snap if you tried to fold it, dunk for a further ten seconds then shake off the excess water.

Place the damp rice paper sheet on a board (it will continue to soften and become gelatinous) and fill with your choice of veggies/herbs placed horizontally across the middle of the sheet. Place a sausage on top, drizzle over some of the sauce and roll up by folding the sides into the middles then roll up from bottom to top, using your fingers to hold all the ingredients inside the wrapper.

If you're feeling sociable, serve everything on a big platter and let your guests make and wrap their own nam nuangs!