Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls (Banh Trang)

During the first visit of my mother in law to our place in Sydney, I specifically asked her to show me how to prepare banh trang. It is not difficult and the sauce is the key ingredient in this dish. Thu and I slightly modified the recipe based on our preference of omelette, chicken rather than pork, and we add extra lemon and roasted peanuts to the sauce.

This is our signature dish when we invite friends to come over. As I am Indonesian and Thu is Vietnamese, I love to introduce this dish to my Indonesian friends. They always had fun make their own spring rolls on the dining table. If you have some guests over to your place during spring/summer and want to have a healthy dish. I suggest you to try this. I guarantee you'll be the star!!

Salad Ingredients:

• half chicken breast fillet 
• 15 green prawns
  
• 2 eggs
  
• a handful of bean sprouts
• a range of Vietnamese herbs (Vietnamese basil, Vietnamese garlic chives, mint leaves)
• Lettuce
• 1 pack of dongguan rice vermicelli
• 1 pack of banh trang rice paper (round shape)
  
• 1 big bowl of boiling water
  

Sauce Ingredients:

• 5 tbs Tung Chun brand hoisin sauce
• 2 tbs white sugar
• 2 freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 0.5 cup chicken broth from the boiled chicken breast
• 2 tbs roasted granulated peanuts (buy granulated peanuts from any supermarkets and place them in the oven for 3 mins or until slightly golden)

Preparation:

1. Boil the chicken breast fillet with water in a small pot. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. When the chicken is cooked, take it out to cool. Run the chicken broth through a filter and use 0.5 cup of the broth for the sauce. Cut chicken breast fillet into thin strips (about 3cm x 6cm).
   
2. Remove the prawn shells and cut sideways in half. Pan fry the prawns with a small amount of olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground blackpepper.
3. Using 2 eggs to make a thin omelette. Cut into strips.
4. Wash all the vegetables. Cut lettuce in half so that they can fit nicely in the spring rolls. Separate herb leaves on the plate as some guests may not like certain type of herbs.
5. Boil vermicilli in hot water for 5-7 mins, wash with cold water for 30 sec, then drain for 20 mins.
6. Once the sauce is made, put 4 tbs of sauce into a number of small bowls based on how many people you are serving.
   
7. When the salad and sauce are ready, boil water using kettle. Transfer the hot water into a big bowl and locate it in the center of the dining table so that everyone can use it for their rice papers.
   
8. Dip the rice paper in hot water. Place it on your plate. Add a small amount of vermicelli, 2 strips of chicken/2 pieces of prawn, 1 or 2 pieces of omelette and different herbs. 
9. Roll the rice paper with all ingredients into a spring roll shape. Eat it with the sauce.