Servings: 20 nems
Calories: 544kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
For the nems
- 50 g rice vermicelli (or mung bean noodles) dry weight
- 450 g ground pork ideally 30% fat
- 190 g carrots grated
- 30 g wood ear mushrooms sliced, rehydrated weight
- 30 g shallots sliced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch white pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
For frying
- 1 L vegetable oil neutral oil, such as sunflower or corn oil, for frying
For folding the nems
- 250 ml warm water
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 20 dried rice paper wrappers (bánh tráng)
To serve
- Lettuce, Thai basil, cilantro
- Nước chấm dipping sauce
Procédé
Filling
- Soak the vermicelli in warm water, making sure it is fully submerged, for 30 minutes. Drain well, then cut into 0.5cm pieces.50 g rice vermicelli (or mung bean noodles)
- Rehydrate the wood ear mushrooms, weigh out 30g, and slice them. Freeze the rest—you can never have too many nems.30 g wood ear mushrooms
- In a large bowl, combine the vermicelli, ground pork, grated carrot, wood ear mushrooms, shallots, garlic, egg white, ginger, fish sauce, vegetable oil, salt, white pepper, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined.450 g ground pork, 190 g carrots, 30 g shallots, 1 garlic clove, 1 teaspoon ginger, 1 egg white, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil, 0.5 teaspoon salt, 1 pinch white pepper, 1 teaspoon sugar
Folding the nems
- In a large shallow bowl or deep plate, dissolve the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar in 1 glass of warm water. The sugar is optional, but it helps the nems brown as they fry.250 ml warm water, 2 teaspoons sugar
- To wrap each roll, dip a rice paper wrapper in the sugared water for about 5 to 10 seconds, making sure it is fully submerged. Remove it from the water. It will still feel fairly firm, but it will soften quickly.20 dried rice paper wrappers (bánh tráng)
- Place about 40 g of filling in a log shape on one side of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper tightly over the filling (no air bubbles!) and roll the nem forward one full turn. Press lightly on each end of the filling to flatten the rice paper and push the filling together, removing any air pockets.
- Fold one side of the wrapper toward the center of the nem. Repeat with the other side. Roll the nem forward, tucking it tightly as you go to prevent air pockets. The rice paper will stick to itself; nothing else is needed to seal it.
- Place the uncooked nems on a plate or tray lined with a clean, dry kitchen towel or parchment paper.
Chilling
- Once folded, transfer the nems to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour so they can dry and firm up. This step helps minimize bubbling in the rice paper during frying, though a little bubbling is normal.
- Remove them from the fridge 15 minutes before frying.
Cooking the nems
- Heat the frying oil in a medium saucepan to 170 °C; the oil should come a little more than halfway up the sides. Fry the nems in small batches, about three at a time. Make sure they do not touch immediately after you place them in the oil, as the wrappers will be sticky until a crust forms. If they stick, do not pull them apart by hand. Be patient—they will separate on their own as they cook.1 L vegetable oil
- Cook each batch for 5 to 6 minutes, or until lightly golden. Frying them in small batches helps keep them from sticking together.
- Use a metal skimmer to lift them out of the oil. Drain on a wire rack and continue frying the remaining batches. Maintain the oil temperature by adjusting the heat as needed.
- Just before serving, fry the nems a second time (yes, they need to be fried twice) at 175°C for 1.5 to 2 minutes, or a little longer, until golden and crisp. Double frying is very, very important!
- Serve with fresh lettuce, cilantro, Thai basil, mint, and nước chấm for dipping.Lettuce, Thai basil, cilantro, Nước chấm dipping sauce
Video
Notes
This recipe makes 20 nems; I allow about 2 nems per person. You will have about 800 g of filling in total, so each of your 20 nems should contain about 40 g of filling.
If the nems stick together while frying, do not try to separate them or touch them. They will come apart on their own.
Thanks to Andre Souppaya, a member of the site’s official Facebook group, for the ultra-fast nem folding technique video.
Nutrition
Serving: 150g | Calories: 544kcal | Féculents: 15g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 52g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 27g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Graisses trans: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 265mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1591IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg
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