I always feel a tad bit sad after the holidays are over. That’s especially true this year since I had such a blast in Michigan. I miss my family, and I definitely miss their food. My aunt and grandma are two of the best cooks I have ever known. My grandma can make banh cuon FROM SCRATCH which is the most difficult Vietnamese dish technically. One thing we always have when I’m visiting is spring rolls.
My family does Vietnamese spring rolls a tad bit differently in Michigan. They don’t come all pretty and already rolled; we grill our meat and make it during the meal. This is the traditional way of eating spring rolls. My aunt likes to use nontraditional ingredients such as mussels, squid, and fish which is what always excited me about hers. This time around we had two ingredients I’ve never used before: salmon and pork loin. At first, I wasn’t sure how this would turn out. I had never had salmon in spring rolls before, but I was pleasantly surprised when I took my first bite. The salmon was just amazing!! I was feeling inspired by that meal this week, so I decided to recreate this meal using my own ingredients.
What I love about this salmon and pork spring roll recipe
Spring rolls are usually something you have in the summer since they are served cold, but I like to have them all year round. What I like about them is that you can use almost any ingredient as the “meat” filling. I’ve seen people use tofu, beef, nem nuong, Chinese sausage, and even chicken. My favorites are still the traditional ones: pork belly and shrimp. The sweetness and flavors of these two ingredients just go so well together. A close second is definitely the salmon I used in this iteration. Salmon has such a great natural flavor that goes well with the veggies and hoison dipping sauce.
Which dipping sauce should I use for these spring rolls?
The most traditional dipping sauce to used for these spring rolls is Vietnamese peanut sauce made with hoisin, peanut butter, and garlic. Another good option is nuoc cham.
Did you make this dish?
If you made this dish, I would love to see!
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Salmon and Pork Loin Spring Rolls
Ingredients
Salmon & Pork Loin Spring Rolls
- 1 lb pork loin cut into ½ inch strips
- 1 lb salmon cut into ½ inch strips
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 package vermicelli noodles
- 1 head lettuce
- 2 Persian cucumbers julienned
- mint to taste
- 12 rice papers
Hoison Dipping Sauce
- ¾ cup hoisin sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
Instructions
- Cook the pork loin in 1 tablespoon of butter until it's brown on all sides. This should take about 1-2 minutes depending how thick the pork slices are. Set aside.
- Use the last tablespoon of butter to cook the salmon. This should take less than a minute since fish cooks pretty quickly. Set aside.
- Wet the rice paper with warm water and place over a flat surface. Put a few spoonfuls of pork loin or salmon in the center of the rice paper. (Or you can be adventurous and add both.) Add in a small amount of vermicelli, 2-3 strips of cucumber, 2-3 leaves of mint, and a 2 x 2 inch piece of lettuce. Put one side of the rice paper over the ingredients and roll it once. Tuck in the sides and roll the ingredients until it is complete.
- Sauce: Add in the garlic and cook until it is shiny. Add in the hoison sauce, water, and peanut butter and stir. Cook for a minute and remove the sauce from the stove.
DELICIOUS!!!!! I have never left a comment on a recipe before nor have I ever made spring rolls. This recipe was easy to follow and delicious!!! Thank you!!
Thank you so much for trying them! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!