VIETNAM -- FRESH SPRING ROLLS

If your most recent experience of Vietnam has been an orchestra seat at``Miss Saigon,`` you are in for a treat when you begin to explore Vietnamese culture and food. Of all the cuisines of Southeast Asia, Vietnamese is probably the most accessible to Western palates, exotic but at the same time familiar.

The Vietnamese people and their cuisine have a history of foreigninfluences, to say the least, and all left their mark. The upper part of the country was dominated by the Chinese for a thousand years, which accounts for the love of noodles and use of chopsticks. The Indians with their spices infiltrated from the south, which accounts for the fiery dishes. The French virtually took over the country for several hundred years, so now many meals are accompanied by both French bread and wine. The Americans came last, but we won`t dwell on Coke and McDonald`s.

What really distinguishes Vietnam`s food from its neighbors is its use of fresh herbs. Mounds of herbs are consumed at each meal. Every mouthfulbecomes an aromatic package, with medleys of coriander, mints, basil anddill.

But it is not just the herbs and their mixtures that give Vietnamese food its special character. It is the combination of fish sauce -- nuoc nam -- and the flavors of lemon grass, chiles, limes, garlic, ginger and shallots, and the taste of crushed, freshly roasted peanuts. More than anything, it is the use of salty, hot and sour dipping sauces that makes Vietnamese food wonderfully unique.

Spring rolls are considered the national dish of Vietnam. But they aretotally different from Chinese egg rolls, from the inside filling to theoutside wrapping, and even in the manner in which they are eaten. And to complicate matters, there are two kinds of Vietnamese spring rolls, one warm and one cool.

In the warm version, a filling of seafood, pork and vegetables is enclosed in delicate rice paper and then deep-fried until very crispy. So far, so familiar. But then the hot-warm rolls are tucked into a cold, soft lettuce leaf wrapper along with a sprinkling of fresh mint and coriander. Not done yet. Now the salad-covered spring roll is dipped into a sweet and tangy sauce.

It`s the cold version that takes the Western palate by surprise. The cold spring roll is just as delightful as the hot, but in a different way,although it might take a bite or two to convince you.

Cold spring rolls are soft, cool portable salad packets stuffed with shreds of spicy barbecued pork, salty shrimp, rice noodles and fragrant herbs. And this time, the lettuce leaves are, yes, on the inside. The rolls are dipped into sweet chili and peanut sauces and served as a hearty appetizer or light entree.

If you want to build a simple dinner menu around the spring rolls, make this menu featuring Asian flavors.

For the entree, grill tuna steaks that have been marinated in orange juice and zest, a few tablespoons each of honey and soy sauce, a crushed clove of garlic, a few green onions and a little sesame oil. Accompany the steaks with a bowl of fried rice and a side dish of green beans that have been tossed in peanut oil and seasoned with garlic and ginger. Drink beer or a wine that stands up to these assertive flavors, probably a Gewurtztraminer.

Or, for a knock-your-socks-off, color-of-a-Saigon-sunset beverage, whirl up a batch of Mango Slushies either as a before dinner drink or a low-cal,refreshing dessert.

Start practicing your curtsy, because with this menu, you`ll earn applause worthy of a Broadway star.

VIETNAMESE SPRING ROLLS

They are wonderful appetizer or light entree finger foods for casual entertaining. Make them several hours in advance and store in a plastic topped food container or cover tightly with plastic wrap to keep them moist.

1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and gristle

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 pound medium shrimp, cooked and coarsely chopped

1/2 pound thin rice stick noodles (vermicelli), softened in hot water 15 minutes, cooked 45 seconds only, rinsed under cold water and drained well

2 large carrots, peeled and shredded or grated

3/4 cup fresh mint leaves, coarsely shredded

3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely shredded

30 round rice paper wrappers, about 8-inches in diameter

2 heads Boston lettuce, leaves separated, rinsed, dried and tough center ribs removed

Spicy Sweet-and-Sour Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)

Spicy peanut sauce for dipping

Put pork in foil-lined baking pan. Blend together soy sauce, garlic and honey. Pour over pork in pan, then turn to coat.

Roast in 375-degree oven about 35 mnutes, or until pork is cooked through. Let cool, then cut into thin slices, and cut slices into julienne.

In large bowl, toss together pork, shrimp, rice noodles, carrots, mintand cilantro. Fill wide shallow pan with hot water and spread clean dish towel out on work surface. Dip 1 rice wrapper into warm water about 3 to 8 seconds, until softened. Then place in front of you on towel. Place 1 lettuce leaf (or half of 1 large leaf) on lower third of rice wrapper. Arrange about 2 tablespoons of noodle mixture on lettuce. Fold bottom edge over filling, tucking in sides. Roll up into tight cylinder about 1 inch in diameter and 4 inches long.

Place roll seam side down in plastic food container, in square cake panor on serving platter. Cover with damp clean towel to prevent each roll from drying out. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Do not fill rolls too full. If you are going to hold rolls for up to 4 hours, covertightly with plastic wrap.

Serve with Spicy Sweet-and-Sour Dipping Sauce and a spicy peanut sauce. Makes 6 servings.

SPICY SWEET-AND-SOUR DIPPING SAUCE

This is one of the most often used sauces of the Vietnamese repertory. Fish sauc can be served with spring rolls, salads, grilled meat, soups and stir-fries.

1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Juice of 2 lemons or 3 limes

1/4 cup fish sauce

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons grated carrots

In medium bowl, soak crushed red pepper in lemon juice 2 to 3 minutes. Add fish sauce, sugar and garlic. Stir to dissolve sugar.

Just before serving, add carrots. Sauce will keep refrigerated in jar up to 5 days. Makes about 2/3 cup.

Adapted from ``Asian Noodles`` by Nina Simonds.

MANGO SLUSHIES

Simple Syrup:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

Several chunks of peeled, fresh ginger

Drink:

1 ounce Citron Vodka

1 can of sweetened mango pulp (see Note)

1/2 cup mango pulp

Ginger syrup to taste

1/2 cup crushed ice

Crosswise slice of fresh strawberry, for garnish

Prepare Simple Syrup in advance. To prepare Simple Syrup, boil 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water and several chunks of peeled, fresh ginger. Then refrigerate until needed.

For each Drink, in blender combine, 1 ounce Vodka, 1/2 cupmango pulp, ginger syrup and about 1/2 cup crushed ice. Whirl until slushy.

Pour into martini glasses or sherbet glasses. Garnish with crosswise slice of strawberry. Serve with straw. Makes 1 serving.

NOTE: Sweetened mango pulp may be purchased at an Asian grocery.

(Marlene Parrish is a cookbook author and food writer based in Pittsburgh. She is a 2000 James Beard Foundation Journalism Award winner.)(c) 2000, Marlene Parrish. Distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

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Author: Marlene Parrish