Pad Thai Spring Rolls with Tamarind Dipping Sauce Recipe

Serves	Makes 8 Spring Rolls
Meal type	Appetizer
By author	Rosanna Bell

Take traditional pad Thai ingredients and transform it into a fun appetizer. Learn how to make pad Thai spring rolls with tamarind dipping sauce.

Ingredients

For Tamarind Dipping Sauce

1 tbs. fish sauce
1 tbs. minced shallots
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup tamarind concentrate
1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 Thai bird chiles, remove and discard stems. Finely chop the chiles and seeds
1/2 cup palm sugar (approximately 6 discs) roughly chopped
1 kaffir lime leaf, cut into thin strips and finely chopped (can substitute the zest of 1 lime)

For the Spring Rolls

4 oz rice stick noodles
2 pieces thick-slice bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch strips
salt
freshly ground black pepper
24 medium shrimp (about 1/2 a pound) peeled, tails removed, and deveined
3 oz mung bean sprouts
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced
8 Vietnamese spring roll wrappers (rice paper)
a handful of cilantro, stems discarded
1 bunch chives, cut into 2-inch pieces

Note

Thai bird chiles are spicy. If you’re sensitive to heat, you can reduce the number of chiles or you can remove the seeds for less intense heat.

Directions

Tamarind Dipping Sauce
Step 1
1. Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook sauce at a rapid boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to serve.
Spring Rolls
Step 2
Fill a stockpot up halfway with water. Bring water to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and add the rice noodles. Let the noodles soak in the hot water for 15 minutes. Then drain the noodles and divide into 8 equal portions
Step 3
Heat a skillet over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, add the bacon strips and cook until crisp, about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the pan starts to smoke during this process, reduce heat to medium.
Step 4
Remove pan from heat and using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate.
Step 5
Season shrimp with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Step 6
Put pan with bacon fat back onto medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook until they have turned pink and are opaque throughout, turning occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 7
Remove the pan from heat and transfer the shrimp to a paper-towel lined plate using a slotted spoon. Let the shrimp rest until cool enough to handle. Once cool, cut the shrimp in half lengthwise.
Step 8
Fill a rimmed baking sheet halfway up with water. Add 1 wrapper to the pan and soak for 20 seconds, flipping once. While it’s soaking, rub your hand over the surface, smoothing it out. Transfer the wrapper to a clean work surface, allowing the excess water to drip off (if you don’t do this, your work surface will become too wet and the delicate rice paper will tear). Rub each side briefly to make sure the surface is smooth and pliable.
Step 9
Working quickly: place 3 shrimp pieces, bright side down, in the center of the bottom of the wrapper, leaving a 1 ½ inch border. Top shrimp with a few pieces of bacon, cilantro leaves, mung bean sprouts, a sprinkle of peanuts, and diced egg. Top with noodles, chives, and another layer of toppings.
Step 10
Working from the side closest to you, fold the wrapper tightly over the toppings. Then fold the sides into the center. Finish by rolling it up until wrapped tightly.
Step 11
Repeat steps 8-10 for the remaining 7 spring rolls.
Step 12
Serve immediately with the pad Thai dipping sauce.