Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Spicy Hoisin Peanut Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

For Spring rolls:

• 1 knob ginger
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 1 pound pork belly
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• 1 (8-ounce) package vermicelli rice noodles
• 2 cucumbers, thinly sliced lengthwise
• 1 bunch Thai basil, stemmed
• 1 bunch mint, stemmed
• 1 bunch cilantro, stemmed
• 1 (1-pound) package egg roll wrappers
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Vegetable oil, for deep frying
• 1 (12-ounce) package rice paper
• 1 bunch chives

For Dipping sauce:

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced shallot
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon creamy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar

Instructions

1. 1
   Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ginger, lemongrass, and pork belly and cook for 30 minutes. Transfer the pork belly to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes, then slice thinly and set aside. Discard the ginger and lemongrass.
2. 2
   Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a cutting board and cut each shrimp in half lengthwise.
3. 3
   Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the vermicelli noodles and cook until tender, 4–5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.
4. 4
   Roll each egg roll wrapper in a tight roll and seal with the beaten egg. Heat the vegetable oil in a small pot over medium heat and fry the rolled-up egg rolls wrappers until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
5. 5
   To make the dipping sauce, in a small skillet, sauté the garlic and shallot over medium heat until translucent. Add the hoisin sauce, peanut butter, sugar, sriracha, and vinegar and cook until thick, 10–15 minutes.
6. 6
   Moisten 1 sheet of rice paper and lay on a cutting board. Add 2 slices of pork, a little bit of the noodles, a slice of cucumber, some of each type of herb leaves, 1 egg roll wrapper, 4 shrimp halves (pink side facing outward), and 1 chive. Roll and gently press outward away from you.
7. 7
   Midway through the roll, fold each left and right side into the center of the spring roll and continue to roll outward to complete the roll. Ladle the sauce into a small bowl for dipping.