Nick Smith takes a trip to Southeast Asia! He started at the Civic Center Farmer's Market in the morning with Chef Tammy Huynh to shop for ingredients at her favorite Vietnamese farm booths, tasting and learning along the way.
Together they shopped for fresh herbs, vegetables and fruit for a lunch or dinner meal.
He then headed over to Bong Su kitchen in SOMA to cook the meal with a light, easy and healthy dish to stay cool: Bo Bia: Soft rice paper rolls of steamed lap chang, carrots, jicama, basil & peanuts!
Bo Bia Rolls
By Executive Chef Tammy Huynh
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb Chinese pork sausage
- Bunch of Mint and Basil
- 1/2 lb Spring lettuce mix
- 1 package rice paper wrapper* (8 in. round)
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted peanuts, chopped
- 2 eggs, scrambled with salt and pepper
- 1 cup each jicama and carrots cut into 1/8 inch matchsticks.
For dipping sauce:
- 1/2 cup Hoisin sauce*
- 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2/3 cup water
- 2 teaspoons Sambal* (or other chili sauce)
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
In a medium saucepan, bring 6 cups of water and salt to a boil over medium heat. Add the pork to the pot, cover and cook on low to medium heat for 10 minutes, or until done. Drain and let it cool to resting at room temperature. Thinly slice the pork about 1/4 in. in thickness.
In another pan, warm pan on low heat with cooking oil. Add scrambled eggs to pan and cook slowly till set. Set aside on plate to cool. Slice eggs in ¼ inch stripes. Then, saute jicama and carrots with 2 tsp of oil and seasoned with salt and black pepper.
To make the Bo Bia:
Briefly dip one full sized wrapper and one half wrapper at a time in a shallow bowl of warm water until pliable. Lay full wrapper on a dry surface, blot excess water with paper towel, then place half wrapper in the middle to create a stronger wrap. Place lettuce on the lower center of rice paper. On the outer third of the wrapper, place a slice of pork sausage, a slice of egg, bunch of jicama and carrots, mint leaves and basil and a sprinkle with peanuts. Fold in the 2 side edges of the rice paper toward the center and then roll up the wrapper away from you into a tight log. Repeat, until all the ingredients are used up.
Bong Su Restaurant & Lounge
311 Third Street, at Folsom
Bong Su Restaurant & Lounge is a modern Vietnamese restaurant located in the heart of SOMA.
For more information, visit www.bongsu.com
