Ha Thanh fried spring rolls- Traditional flavor richness

Fried spring rolls have been the staple dish of Hanoi's table for a long long time ago. During the war years, though very poor, but the Tet tray has never been short of fried spring rolls. Fried spring rolls might be made for ten people to eat with just 2 ounces of fillet, but they are vermicelli, bean curd, carrot, shiitake, wood ear, egg. Even if there is absolutely no pork, vegetarian fried spring rolls could be made according to the temple's recipe. At this time, the pork is replaced by dried mushrooms soaked and diced. Of course, vegetarian rolls are only used by those who keep the virtues.

If it is fried spring rolls, although there is no pork, they still have to fry it with lard. The townsfolk only use cooking oil for a single fried dish, tofu. In recent years, even though cooking oil manufacturers have been scrambling to talk about the harmful effects of eating lard, people have not used it to fry fish or meat. In the end, it is still correct to follow the ancient tradition. There have been studies talking about the harmful effects of cooking oil, sometimes even more than lard. And the food must be delicious first. Some delicious food is known as poisonous from ancient times, but it is hard to leave it. All of the raw meat rolls are such dishes.

In Hanoi and the North in general, there is a system of spring rolls that are called and clearly divided. Speaking of spring rolls, we immediately think of all kinds of sticky rolls such as spring rolls (nem chạo), pork shoulder rolls (nem thịt lợn vai), sour spring rolls (nem chua), vermicelli rolls (nem bê thui). These spring rolls are mostly processed with raw meat, pomegranate seed fat with shreded pork skin. Regular sour spring rolls are fermented by powdered grilled rice. Sour spring rolls (nem chua) tightly wrapped with banana leaves on the left side, for a few days, it is just sour to eat. Actually, the fish salad dishes in the northern coastal areas are also based on the same principle of fermentation by hearing of rice.

Hanoi fried spring rolls have a general recipe including pork, vermicelli, wood ear mushroom, mushrooms, jicama, eggs, garlic. Depending on the season, the jicama can be replaced with bean sprouts, kohlrabi. The remaining ingridients are indispensable. The way of processing is also never changed. Pork shoulder with a little fat must be minced. Short-cut vermicelli, sliced bean curd, shredded mushrooms. Just enough eggs to mix wet. Too many eggs are watery, too few are dry. The richer will buy more boiled crabs to remove the meat, and mix with this mixture. Delicious fish sauce marinated in the kernel although very little, but without it it will be less fragrant.

The roll of spring rolls to fit is the first cooking lesson of Hanoi girls, often strictly instructed by their mothers or mothers. The sheet of rice cake quickly glides on the plate of water to soften it to prevent it from being broken. The small roll is too easy to be interpreted as a miserly stingy. If it is too big, the guests will press their stomachs to look at each other and laugh. The last step of fried spring rolls is also strictly followed. Pan with full boiling fat covered, wait for spring rolls to fry them. Yellow spring rolls evenly to hang up to drain off the new fat pick out.

The process of mixing the sauce bowl is equally sophisticated. Thinly sliced ​​papaya or kohlha, mixed with carrots and pruned flowers. Delicious fish sauce with sugar, vinegar, garlic, chili, add water to make it light enough. Hot sponge rolls will absorb strongly. Dipping sauce that is not suitable is difficult to eat. That's why the cooks always have to taste the dipping sauce. Of course, the taste of the ladies is very different. So customers who come to eat spring rolls often have to prepare more to their liking. If you come to your house to eat spring rolls, you must try to eat according to your taste. Do not swing your hand to cure the bowl of sauce that one day loses both "salty" and "pale" to the owner.

Fried spring rolls must be eaten hot with raw vegetables: Lettuce, herbs, coriander, perilla, oregano. Men like to eat more raw onions. Young women avoid eating chili sliced, chili in a bowl of sauce is enough spicy. Pick up the hot spring rolls soaked in the bowl of melon to contribute to the accompaniment of raw vegetables to enjoy the sweet and sour taste on the winter day, there is nothing as delicious….

Come to Hanoi, to enjoy delicious dishes, imbued with traditional flavors here, because besides fried spring rolls, there are many other specialties that will fascinate your taste buds. And renting a room or small house here is also a very good idea, help you stay in Hanoi, experiencing all the flavors of the capital of Vietnama – a country of thousands of years of civilization!

Translated by Le Nguyen, Hanoi Home from An Ninh Thu Do magazine