Nem Ran Viet Nam
Vietnam’s cuisine is extremely diverse and rich with delicious and attractive dishes. Not so that we have dishes that are classified as the quintessence of the world, famous throughout the five continents such as bread, pho or noodle soup. The dishes are rustic but full of homeland, imbued with the atmosphere and culture of the Vietnamese people, one of which is spring rolls – a traditional dish, present in all Vietnamese rice trays from the North to the North. Male.
For Vietnamese people, Nem Ran are not only a rustic and ordinary dish on a daily tray of rice, but it is also an indispensable dish on special occasions. However, not everyone can know the origin and birth of this dish.
There are some opinions that the Vietnamese Nem Ran are from China and that the Chinese people who migrated to Vietnam brought this dish with them. Because, the Chinese also have a dish similar to the Vietnamese, which is Chunjian fried like Vietnamese spring rolls. This dish is made with simple ingredients such as wood ear, shiitake, and eggs, later with a bit of meat with a thick flour shell and is served with spring vegetables.
Later, when the British government took control of Hong Kong and some Chinese provinces, called this dish “egg roll” or “spring roll” or spring roll. With a similar appearance and similar ingredients, the British called Vietnamese spring rolls the same name “egg roll”, perhaps that’s why some people think that Nem Ran are called “egg roll” by some people. originated from China.
It is also said that, in the past, the Chinese brought this dish to Vietnam, it was widely spread throughout the southern provinces, later, it was brought to Hanoi by a French woman to do business. Hanoians have modified it in their own style to create the current Vietnamese spring rolls.
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However, in my opinion, Nem Ran are a special dish, with a unique flavor, created by the people of the North of Vietnam. Because, the ingredients and spices, the sauces of Vietnamese Nem Ran are different from those of the Chinese. With a few main ingredients, but the way of making, as well as processing, the way of eating Vietnamese spring rolls is also very different from that of Chinese Chunjian.
If Chinese food only consists of meat, wood ear and eggs, Vietnamese Nem Ran are a combination of many foods and spices combined to create a harmonious and rich flavor of the dish. With ingredients such as pork, wood ear, shiitake mushrooms, eggs, also add vermicelli, onions, carrots, bean sprouts and some herbs like basil to increase the eye-catching color of the dish. The blend of these foods and spices creates an extremely unique flavor for Vietnamese dishes.
Ingredient Nem Ran
The main ingredients for making spring rolls are selected extremely carefully. Pork must be fresh, finely chopped, but not too crushed to be mixed with other foods and spices. The remaining ingredients are picked and washed, cut into small pieces, which is both easy to pack and can help deeply blend the spices.
After mincing the meat, people mix the main ingredients together to form a sticky, multi-colored mixture, intertwined as intimately as the love between the beautiful spring of Vietnam. Beat the mixture well, add eggs and spices such as salt, fish sauce, seasoning powder, ground pepper and we have a perfect layer of cake for Nem Ran.
As for the spring rolls, if the Chinese prefer to use thick wheat flour to make the crust, in Vietnam, people use rice paper rolls for their signature Nem Ran. Banh nem is made from finely ground rice flour, rolled thinly and then dried, then fried, crispy and fragrant with rice. Rice paper rolls have many different shapes, but the most characteristic is round.
The preparation for Nem Ran is also very sophisticated, but in order to have a delicious fried spring roll in the right style, people also focus on wrapping and frying spring rolls. Spread a rice paper roll out and add a filling in the middle, roll it up so cleverly, tightly, and then fold the two sides of the cake to make it really beautiful. The final stage is to fry spring rolls, oil is put in a pan, heated, and then gently drop each wrapped spring roll inside. Fry until the spring rolls are golden on all sides. When frying, the fire must be small, not too big to keep the crispiness of the crust as well as the flavor of the filling inside to keep the color of the vegetables.
After the Nem Ran are finished, they must be golden evenly, both having the crispiness of the outer spring rolls and the softness of the inner spring rolls to meet the requirements. In addition, Nem Ran must be served with fish sauce – a rustic specialty made from fish of the Vietnamese people, mixed with sugar, lemon and chili, creating a unique aroma for the taste of this fried spring rolls. Nem Ran are also served with cilantro, lettuce, and herbs, which is exactly the ethereal taste of Vietnamese people’s rice tray.
Regarding the name, Nem Ran in each region have different names. The North calls it spring rolls, the Central calls it ram cuon, the South calls it spring rolls. Each region also varies the dish according to its own specific flavors but always retains the general taste of the national specialty.
Our country is conserving a series of cultural features, traditions, unique customs, temples, shrines, so intangible culture such as cuisine should also be taken care of. protected and developed by the quintessence of culinary culture will also contribute a significant part to creating the identity and soul of a nation. Expatriate children, please use the name “nem” to replace “egg rolls”, to retain the spirit of the Vietnamese national culture.
Nem Ran are an extremely quintessential specialty of the country’s culinary culture. Let’s join hands to protect that cultural feature so that it can be perpetuated by our Vietnamese people.
