Spring Rolls (Nem Srors)

Khmer cuisine — or Cambodian cuisine — may not be as well known as Vietnamese and Thai food, but like it’s neighbors, the dishes here are packed with flavor and herbs. Our Khmer Fish Amok recipe is one of our most popular, but Khmer cuisine features a variety of flavors.

This particular recipe for Spring rolls — from our Cooking and Culture in Southeast Asia culinary vacation — is a light and refreshing dish. With the addition of the peanut dip — which often accompany Asian cuisine — its easy to add yet another dimension to this perfect meal.

Discover how to make more recipes like this one with our new Vietnam and Cambodia cooking vacations.

Spring Rolls (Nem Srors)

Serves: 3
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 minutes
Cook method: Fry

Peanut Dip ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp sugar palm
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) hot water
• 2 tsp chicken broth
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 5 g (1/8 oz) shallot
• 2 tbsp finely ground peanuts

Roll ingredients:

• 50 g (1 3/4 oz) fried shrimp
• 10 pieces of lettuce
• 2 tbsp fried garlic and corn oil
• 10 g (1/4 oz) carrots, julienned
• 5 g (1/8 oz) mixed Khmer herbs
• 20 g (1 oz) cucumber
• 15 g (1/2 oz) Khmer noodle (glass noodle)
• 10 g (1/4 oz) bean sprouts
• 3 pieces of rice paper wrapper
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp chicken broth
• 1 tsp oyster sauce

Instructions: 

1. Start by making the peanut dip. Caramelize sugar palm and add then add water. Boil this mixture.

2. Keep the mixture warm and then add all the ingredients to the water/sugar palm mixture. Allow the dip to cool and keep cold for at least 2 hours before serving.

3. Lightly fry the shrimp in a hot pain in oyster sauce, chicken broth, and sugar. This should take about one minute, and then set it aside.

4. Fill a large, shallow dish with water and soak the rice paper wrappers until they soften (just a few seconds). Carefully place the wrappers on a plate. Add all the vegetables and cooked shrimp on the wrapper.

5. Fold the lower edge of the wrapper up, and carefully snuggle it around the filling. Then fold in the left and then the right of the wrapper toward the center. Roll it cigar style toward the upper edge.

6. Put a thin layer of garlic oil on the rolls to prevent them from sticking.

7. Cut the rolls into two parts and serve with spring roll peanut dip.

Try your hand at other wonderful Southeast Asian recipes, including:

• Red Curry Chicken
• Hoi An Pancakes
• Vietnamese Eggplant
• Seafood Salad with Vietnamese Herbs

If you want to learn more about our culinary tours in Cambodia, Vietnam, and around the world, please contact us!

By Peg Kern

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