"Nem": Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

The week leading up to Christmas my family spent in Vietnam, as I mentioned before. Three days in Hanoi, three days on a cruise in Ha Long Bay. The cruise was amazing--it was so peaceful to sit up on the deck of our boat and watch the rocky islands rise out of the mist and loom by. We had ample time to sit and enjoy as there were only a few activities planned: rowing around a floating fishing village, kayaking among the islands, touring a pearl farm, and making spring rolls.

The spring roll-making demonstration took place before dinner on both nights, and we learned how to assemble Vietnamese nem (spring rolls). We made fresh spring rolls, so that we could devour them immediately. My spring roll-making-skills definitely improved on the second night!

To make fresh nem, first you need rice paper. Handmade rice paper is best because it is easier to use. You simply lay it on a damp washcloth while preparing the spring roll so that it becomes more pliable. If the rice paper is handmade, it will have a pattern on it from the mold. Rice paper that is not handmade has to be soaked in warm water for about 20 seconds before using, which makes it stickier and more difficult to roll.

There are many things that can be put in fresh nem, but whatever ingredients chosen, it is best if they are in strips so that the spring rolls are not as bulky and have fewer air pockets. Any meats or eggs should, of course, be pre-cooked. We used carrots, lettuce, strips of scrambled eggs, shrimp, and special Vietnamese pork.

For a dipping sauce, they had a special homemade sauce which cannot be found in stores. They casually listed the ingredients while explaining the spring roll process, and I had to frantically write them down. So, since it is a simple list and I have not yet tried making it at home, I'm not sure of proportions. When I make it, I'll update it. However, you can experiment with it as you like! It may be worth trying because the sauce on the boat was really tasty and perfected the spring rolls, in my opinion.
Here are the ingredients, and let me know how it goes if you use them to make a sauce!

Spring Roll Dipping Sauce
2 parts water
1 part fish sauce
1 part rice vinegar
Garlic
Chilies
Lime juice
Sugar

To assemble the nem, you lay a piece of rice paper on a damp washcloth, then you make a small pile of ingredients near the base of the rice paper. You do not want to use too many ingredients!! We saw a lot of people load them to bursting, and lets just say that their spring rolls were, I'm sure, yummy but not pretty. Also, it is easiest to put all of the ingredients in a pile on the rice paper, not in a carpet across the paper. Once all of the ingredients are on the rice paper, start rolling it up very tightly. When rolled halfway, fold the edges into the center, and finish rolling. Then, rub a little water on the edge of the rice paper to glue it down. Or, you can lick it, and, as our guide explained, no one will steal your spring roll. Finally, dip your spring roll into the sauce for a few seconds so that the sauce seeps into your spring roll. If you do a quick dip, it won't have as much flavor and will be more difficult to take a bite of.

This is a really fresh and simple treat, and is fun to make. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Muffins

How was your Christmas?

Ours was wonderful. I'm in Taiwan with my family, but we took a week before Christmas to vacation in Vietnam. It was amazing! We tried a lot of ethnic food, which did some pretty sketchy things to our stomachs--fried corn, pho, fish stir fry at a restaurant which Obama ate at, and more seafood than I've ever eaten in my life. We're ok though, so no regrets. We spent a few days on a boat cruising through Ha Long Bay, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The rocky islands rising out of the mist are surreal.

We came back to Taiwan on the 24th and three minutes after we stepped foot in the apartment, my mom and I were in the kitchen, making breadsticks, zuppa toscana, and peppermint ice cream for our Christmas Eve dinner.

Christmas Day was filled with monkey bread, cookies, steak, wrapping paper, and Christmas music.

Now it's Boxing Day, as they say in New Zealand. A day to relax, enjoy the new presents, and do a little more baking. Pumpkin muffins are an easy and tasty treat if you're looking for something to make today, like me. They're tender, not too crumbly, and just a little bit sweet. I love the seeds and the crumble because it gives them more yummy flavor and texture. The raisins too, except that we usually leave them out because SOME PEOPLE who shall not be named do not like them. *Ahem* But we devour these muffins at every opportunity--breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, snack, dessert, midnight snack... They're healthy enough that it's justified. Right?

This is a recipe that is always in our fall-winter recipe rotation. They're just so warm and comforting! I actually took these pictures a few years ago and have been meaning to share the recipe with you ever since, but that's neither here nor there. So, you'd better make up for lost time and get baking! Merry Christmas!

Pumpkin Crumble Muffins
Makes: 18 regular muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk*
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins
3 Tbs. raw green (hulled) pumpkin seeds (pepitas), divided

Crumble Topping, optional:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. butter, softened

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400ºF with rack in the middle. Butter muffin pan or use muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, pumpkin, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Gently stir in raisins and 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds.
5. Evenly divide batter among prepared muffin cups and sprinkle with remaining pepitas.
6. Make crumble topping: Combine ingredients in small bowl. Cut butter in until crumbly. Sprinkle onto tops of muffins.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then remove from muffin tin and cool on a wire rack.

*To make 1 cup of buttermilk substitute: 1 Tbs. vinegar or lemon juice + just enough milk to make 1 cup. Let sit for five minutes before using.