A fun way of serving dinner family style is to give everyone their own reigns to make-their-own. From pizza to sushi, bringing the kitchen to the tabletop makes a memorable family gathering or dinner party with friends. Whenever we have Vietnamese Summer Spring Rolls my Mr. is usually eating them as fast as I can make them, resulting in a perpetually empty serving plate. At our last family gathering I resolved this by hosting a make-your-own Vietnamese Summer Spring Roll party. A hit with everyone, the victory was affirmed by my sixteen-year-old step-son asking for the recipe and rushing home to make them for his mom and grandparents the following day. Packed with fresh herbs, veggies and slices of savory grilled pork chops and served with a peanut dipping sauce these Vietnamese Summer Spring Rolls pack well for lunch the next day—if there are any left over!
To make vegetarian, sub pork for tofu or any protein or all vegetables.
Photography by Food That Looks Good.
- 3 Tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 Tablespoon packed brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce (or Bragg’s Amino Acids)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon ginger, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon Santa Maria Seasoning or salt and pepper
- 1 lb. pork tenderloin, sliced into ½-inch thick slices
- 1 lb. grilled marinated pork chops
- 3 carrots, shredded or julienned
- 1/2 cucumber, julienned
- 1 cup daikon radish, shredded
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- 6 romaine lettuce leaves, chopped
- 1 bunch mint leaves
- 1 bunch basil leaves (Italian or Thai)
- 1 bunch cilantro leaves
- 1 Cup Hoi Sin sauce
- 1/4 Cup Peanut Butter
- 4 Tablespoon sweet chili sauce
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, crushed/minced
- Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside until ready to serve.
- Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl. Place pork chops in a ziplock bag along with marinade. Best if marinated overnight.
- Grill pork chops on an outdoor grill or on medium-high heat in frypan. Let pork chops sit for at least 5-minutes before slicing in 1/4-inch thick slices.
- Prepare all the vegetables and place them in small bowls to make assembling the spring rolls easier.
- Fill a large round pan (cake, quiche dish, etc.) with warm water. Gently submerge each rice paper wrapper in warm water for a few seconds till it becomes soft, ensuring not to over soak the rice paper. Place rice paper on work surface. Layer fillings; a few slices of pork chops, carrots, cucumber, daikon radish, bell pepper, lettuce, mint, basil and cilantro. Roll the wrapper over the fillings away from you, making sure to keep the spring roll fillings wrapped tight. Serve immediately with peanut dipping sauce.