"Old school" spring rolls & the "real" sauce

When we were little kids in Vietnam, my cousin & I had quite a few eating habit that we would do together. One of our routines, was afternoon visits to the vendor around the corner. The lady sold fresh cut fruits, creme caramel, agar-agar jelly, "che" (Vietnamese rice pudding) freshly made "goi cuon" (spring rolls) "bi cuon" (pork rolls) and occasionally the man with his cart of "goi du du kho bo" (green papaya & beef jerky salad) was there too. Now that's what I call snacking!

My usual always included one spring roll no matter what else I ordered. It would come with a little bowl of sauce that is slightly sweet & salty, topped with a small bundle of "do chua" (pickled shredded carrots & daikon) then sprinkled with chopped peanuts.

THAT is the sauce that you're supposed to get with your spring rolls when you order in a Vietnamese restaurants, not the peanut sauce, which is Thai.

To make "old-school" spring rolls, you will need:

• A big bowl of warm water to soak the rice paper.
• Rice paper
• Lettuce, washed
• Mint leaves, washed & stemmed
• Coriander, washed & stemmed
• Asian Chives, washed (also called Garlic Chives, the part that has no flower bulbs)
• Vermicelli, cooked as according to package, drained thoroughly.
• Pork (optional, cooked & thinly sliced)
• Shrimp (optional, cooked & split horizontally)

Dip the rice paper in the bowl of water half way through, and quickly turn it to moisten the whole thing. Shake off excess & immediately place on plate. After 30 seconds or so, when the water is evaporated, you can start rolling away. Make a roll-your-own spring roll party, your friends will love it.

To make THE sauce, here is my mom's recipe:

• a dash of olive oil, or canola oil
• a few cloves of garlic
• 1/2 a small onion, sliced
• Hoisin sauce (about 1-2 cups, depends on you)
  
• a couple of spoons of water
• Sriracha hot sauce (optional)
• Vietnamese "do chua" (optional, you can buy them in Vietnamese food/sandwich stores)
  
• crushed roasted peanuts
  

In a sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat, throw the garlic and onions in and stir around until fragrant & brown.

Put Hoisin sauce in.Heat through until it starts to bubble a bit. Put in some water and stir well to blend (Put more if you like your sauce more liquid) Take it off the heat & mix in Sriracha hot sauce if you want.

This is the "old school" version of Vietnamese spring rolls, but of course you can make them with whatever you like. Add julienned green mango, bell pepper, bean sprouts, cooked fish, chicken, or cooked strips of tofu. The sky is the limit!