Nem is a ground pork mixture. Roll it up in a wrapper and fry and it is called an eggroll/Imperial roll. Grill it and it is called nem nuong. Flatten it out and cook it and it is called cha. Roll it in rice paper and it is a fresh roll. It is very inexpensive to make and if you plan it out, you can make several days of meals with different spices and seasonings.
The following recipe is one of my family's favorite. We grab a couple of loaves of crusty baggettes, toast them up, spread some mayo and pate, sprinkle on some soy sauce and fresh cut peppers, stuff them fat with pickled julienne carrots and daikons and add the nem and dress it up with some cilantro on top.
Nem Nuong:
1 lb all-natural ground pork/chicken
10 cloves garlic
1 large shallot
1/4 cup of organic sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp freshly ground organic black pepper
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp oil
With the side of your knife, whack the garlic to remove the paper. Finely chop and mince the garlic. Finely dice the shallot bulb. In a large bowl, add your pork, garlic, shallot, sugar, salt, black pepper, oil, and fish sauce. Dissolve the baking powder by adding a few drops of water into the baking powder, just enough to easily mix into the meat mixture. Add all the ingredients together. Allow the mixture to rest for about 30 minutes.
Before grilling, shape the mixture into little patties, any shape of your liking. I like to shape them depending on what I am using the nem for: long wide and flat shape for banh mi, little round meatballs for noodles, log shaped for fresh rolls, etc.
Heat up the grill, grill pan and make sure that the cooking surface is hot before putting the nem on. Grill for about 3-4 minutes on each side.
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