Viet Cold Rolls (Spring Rolls) @ my home

This summer at home has definitely been an eating fest, as one can see from my blog. My mom has truly made it her mission to make me all her specialties, i.e. my favorites. Summer is nearing its end, and Viet Cold Rolls are definitely the last of the bunch. This is so easy to make, and doesn't cost nearly as much as restaurants charge. Oh yea, did I mention that it's healthy because not only is it not fried, but there's tons of veggies in it. Lastly, the peanut sauce tops it over. Delish.

Bean Sprouts
hand trimmed both ends and cleaned

Red Leaf Lettuce
softer than romain and iceberg so it's malleable in the rolls

Purple Leaf Asian Basil (mint leaves)
minty

Vermicelli Noodles
cooked via directions on package and rinsed with cold water

Shrimp & Pork Belly
boil both items separately. De-shell the shrimp, slice in half and clean the icky stuff. when pork belly is done, cut into pieces and trim off fat

Wrapper w/ Shrimp and Pork Belly
you take the wrapper (called tapioca wrapper) and you dip it in more than warm water to soften it. when you lay it flat, the wrapper will absorb more of the water and will soften more. lay two pieces of shrimp face down, and then place pork belly on top

Add the vermicelli noodles on top of the pork belly, then the bean sprouts, red leaf lettuce and finally the mint leaves

Fold the bottom of the wrapper facing you more than one half way of the filling. pull the sides over, like a burrito and ROLL!

3 rolls are enough for one person...trust me...and last but not least you need SAUCE!

Roasted Peanuts for the sauce
roast raw peanuts in a hot pan, no oils needed. peanuts only take about 5 minutes, and you'll know when it gets uber fragrant. peanuts need to have the outer membrane removed. once done crush peanuts into smaller pieces

Peanut Sauce
buy a jar of Chee Hou sauce from asian store. put sauce in a sauce pan, and add water to thicken it. when sauce cools it will continue to thicken, and add crushed peanuts to it when ready to be served, i.e. dipped