How to Make Pork Belly Rice Paper Rolls with Fermented Anchovy Dipping Sauce

Prepare the Pork

Rub the pork belly with coarse salt, rinse it thoroughly, and keep it whole. Boil a pot of water, and once it reaches a rolling boil, add the pork along with a pinch of salt to blanch. When the water boils again, remove the pork, rinse it, and then boil it until fully cooked. Ensure the water covers the pork, and add a few shallots for added aroma.

The pork should be boiled for 20-25 minutes from the time the water starts boiling again. Then, let the pork rest in the pot for an additional 10 minutes before transferring it to a bowl of ice water with some lemon juice. This keeps the pork white, crisp, and fragrant.

Once the pork has cooled, remove it from the water, let it drain, and slice it into large, thin pieces.

For pork belly rice paper rolls, it’s best to use pork belly with evenly layered fat and meat. This helps the pork stay intact during boiling and makes the slices more visually appealing.

Besides boiled pork, you can also use crispy roasted pork for a rich and flavorful variation.

Prepare the Other Ingredients

Crack the eggs into a bowl, add a little fish sauce for flavor, and beat well. Fry the eggs in a thin layer with minimal oil, so they are easy to slice into strips and don’t absorb too much oil.

Slice the pork ear sausage into thin strips. You can substitute this with regular pork sausage, beef sausage, or even pork ears for a different taste.

Peel and clean the carrot, cucumber, and pineapple, then cut them into strips. For the green banana, peel, slice into thin strips, and soak in a bowl of water with a bit of salt to remove the sap and prevent browning. Rinse the banana strips before using, and let them drain.

Pick and wash the herbs like frisée and Vietnamese mint, then let them drain.

Blanch the vermicelli in boiling water to remove any sourness, then drain and let dry.

Prepare the Fermented Anchovy Dipping Sauce

Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil to a pot, and once the oil is hot, add some minced garlic and shallots (you can also add a little minced lemongrass) and sauté until fragrant. Then, add the bottled fermented anchovy sauce to the pot. Since bottled sauce tends to be quite salty, you’ll need to balance it with additional seasoning.

To make the sauce more palatable, add finely chopped (or pureed) pineapple, sugar, and MSG. Adjust the seasoning to taste. You may want to reserve some chopped pineapple and minced chili for serving, allowing diners to adjust the sauce to their liking.

Bring the sauce mixture to a boil, then remove from heat and let it cool before serving.

If fermented anchovy sauce isn’t to your taste, you can prepare a sweet and sour fish sauce using this ratio: 1 vinegar + 1 sugar + 1 fish sauce + 5-6 water + minced garlic and chili.

Assemble and Enjoy

Place a sheet of rice paper on top of a sheet of bánh phở, then place it on a plate. Add a few frisée leaves, herbs, slices of pork, egg, sausage, carrot, green banana, pineapple, cucumber, and some vermicelli, then roll it up tightly and dip it in the fermented anchovy sauce.

Pork belly rice paper rolls are a famous dish from Đà Nẵng that has become popular across different regions, with variations to suit local tastes. With many ingredients to prepare, this dish is perfect for weekends or special occasions like holidays and festivals.