Nem Nướng Cuon (Grilled Pork Spring Rolls)

Nem Nướng Cuon (Grilled Pork Spring Rolls)

These delicious Nem Nướng Cuon or Grilled pork spring rolls are packed with vibrant Vietnamese flavors, fresh herbs, and pairs with a lime garlic fish sauce.

Course Lunch & Dinner Recipes

Cuisine Vietnamese

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 10 40

Servings servings

Calories 294kcal

Author Megan

Ingredients

Nem Nướng

4 lb Pork Shoulder butcher ground 2x
4 tablespoon ice water
4 tablespoon fish sauce
2 ½ teaspoon baking powder Alsa Brand
20 Garlic cloves pulverized
3 tablespoon roasted rice flour bot thinh

Wonton Crisp

15 Wonton wrappers
15 stalks green onion
2 tablespoons Vegetable oil

To Serve

Lettuce
Mint
Vietnamese Coriander Rau Ram
Vietnamese Perilla Tia To
Cucumber
Vermicelli Noodles optional

Garlic Fish Sauce Dip

½ cup Fish sauce
1 cup water
½ cup + 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
½ cup lemon or lime juice
3 garlic cloves minced
Garlic chili paste to taste

Instructions

Make the Nem Nướng

Marinate the meat. In a large mixing bowl, mix together 4 tbsp of ice water, 4 tbsp of fish sauce, and 2 ½ tsp baking powder. Add in the ground pork and mix with your hand thoroughly. Place in a large ziplock bag and marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Prepare the garlic. Grind the garlic in the food processor until it turns into a paste. Take the garlic out and put it in a separate bowl. Set aside.
Grind the marinated pork. Fill 1/3 of the food processor with the marinated pork and the pork for 30 seconds until the meat turns into a paste. Remove the meat and continue with the remaining marinated meat until completed.
Mix in the garlic and roasted rice flour. Gradually mix the garlic and the rice flour with the meat in three different portions. This helps you thoroughly mix in the garlic and the rice flour since the meat will be sticky. Continue mixing until combined.
Roll the meat into logs. Place about 2 feet sheet of plastic wrap on your work surface. Place one end of the plastic wrap on a kitchen scale. Measure about 0.75 lb of meat on the scale. Then tightly roll the meat in a roll try removing all the air bubbles. When rolling, make sure to leave the two ends of the plastic to wrap like a giant candy. You will need the ends to tighten the meat into a log. Then, twist the ends as tightly as you possibly can, then tie the ends with string or a rubber band, and marinate for at least 5 hours or overnight. The tighter you roll and twist the ends the tighter the meat will hold together and be easier for shaping.
Cook the meat (Option 1 Pan Fry). Smash the meat down to the size of a circle that is 1/2 inch thick and about 5-6 inches in diameter. Cover with a damp paper towel, and microwave on each side for 1 minute this will hold the meat together when pan-frying it. On a medium-large skillet, add olive oil and heat to medium-high. Place the meat on the pan and cook for 1 minute on each side or until slightly charred. Vertically, slice the meat into 1 cm slices.
Cook the meat (Option 2 Grill). On your work surface, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap that is longer than your skewer. Place your meat into a 6-inch rectangle onto the plastic wrap. Place your skewer on top of the meat and then using the plastic wrap, wrap the meat around the skewer pressing tightly to mold the meat. Roll the meat on your work surface to evenly distribute the meat. Preheat your grill to medium heat and generously grease the grill with vegetable oil. Grill the meat for about 15 minutes rotating them every five minutes and brushing the skewers with vegetable oil to prevent them from sticking.
Wonton Crisp: wrap each wonton wrapper with a stalk of green onion and then seal with vegetable oil. Cook in the air fryer at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can heat your skillet on high, fill the bottom of your skillet with vegetable oil, and when the oil reaches 350-365 F fry the wonton wrappers until brown and crispy about 3-4 minutes.
Garlic Fish Sauce: in a medium bowl, mix together the fish sauce, minced garlic, lemon juice, sugar, and garlic chili paste.

How to Assemble the Spring Roll

Dip the rice paper in warm water. In a large bowl, or rice paper bowl pour in warm water around 120 F. Dip the rice paper into the water submerging the entire paper, and then lay it on a plate slightly larger than the rice paper.
Add your vegetables. Place the lettuce, rau ram, tia to, and cucumber on the edge of the rice paper closest to you leaving about 1-2 inches for you to grab onto.
Add in the wonton crisp. Place the wonton crisp on top of the vegetables.
Add in the Nem Nướng slice. Place nem nướng on top of the wonton crisp and vegetables.
Begin rolling the rice paper. Lift the rice paper on the edge closest to you and make your first fold.
Fold in the left and right edges of the rice paper to seal the ends and prevent the contents from spilling out.
Continue tightly rolling the roll upward until no more rice paper remains. Use your hands to tightly roll the spring roll and prevent too much air from entering.

Notes

Nem Nướng requires plenty of time for marinating. Marinating nem nướng requires ideally two separate nights of marinating. So plan ahead! The meat tastes the best when the flavors have marinated together.
You will need a scale and a food processor. This recipe calls for the pork to be ground to a paste to achieve the correct consistency. You will need a food processor for this. Moreover, to have equal portions you will need a kitchen scale to measure out the pork.
Have all the ingredients laid out around you before you roll. This helps make the process infinitely times easier.
To prevent the rolls from breaking, use a limited amount of filling. Layer the filling ingredients in horizontal lines and add more layers from the bottom up. To roll, wrap up your spring roll similar to a burrito: fold in the left and right sides and fold up the bottom flap, and keep rolling in an upwards motion.
Roll as you eat or wrap in plastic wrap immediately after. The rice paper will dry out and become hard to eat if the roll is not eaten immediately or wrapped in plastic wrap.
Storage Instructions: You can make these Nem Nướng in advance and store them individually wrapped in the meat logs before they are cooked, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, and in the freezer for up to 3 months. If already cooked and rolled into spring rolls, individually wrap the rolls in plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Over time, the rice paper will dry out and be hard or very chewy. I recommend eating them as soon as possible when they are rolled.

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