Anonymous September 28 2005

1/2 lb Raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

Black pepper

1/2 tsp Granulated sugar

Scallions, both white and green parts

1/2 lb Pork butt

1 tsp Fish sauce (nuoc mam)

Clove garlic

1 Tbsp Vegetable oil

Dried rice papers (banh-trang)

For dieters or the cholesterol conscious here\\\'s an oven baked version

of spring rolls. In Vietnam these are often baked over

charcoal. Cut the shrimp into small pieces and sprinkle with the

black pepper and the sugar. Slice the scallions crosswise into very

thin slices. Slice the pork into thin pieces, 3 x 2 x 1/8

inch. Combine half the slice scallion with the shrimp and meat, the

fish sauce and a dash of black pepper. Chop the garlic

fine; place on a platter near the stove, along with the remaining

scallions. Heat the oil and fry the garlic and remaining scallion

briefly until they brown slightly. Add the pork-shrimp

mixture and keep stirring over high heat until cooked, about 5 minutes. Cut or break the 10 rice papers into quarters. Place

the cut rice papers on a flat surface. Using a pastry brush, or your fingers, paint water over the entire surface of each of

the pieces; this is to make the brittle papers become

soft and flexible. Try working an about 10 quarters at a time. This

will help you work faster. While some of the wrappers become

pliable, you can be filling the others. Place 2

pieces of shrimp and 2 small pieces of pork on the pointed end of a

paper, arranging the filling in a square shape. Bend the pointed end over the filling and roll twice, then fold the sides over and continue

to roll into a 2-inch-long cylinder about 1 inch thick. Place on a

tray, with the open end on the underside to prevent unrolling, while

you fill the remaining rolls. Place the rolls in the oven, directly

on the oven rack, without preheating. (They can be crowded together

while baking so that you can get many onto 1 rack.) Again, be

certain to place them open end down; turn the oven to 350 degrees

and bake them for about 40 minutes, 20 minutes on each

side.