Before the pandemic, I took my husband to my hometown for the first time, in the North Eastern of Thailand. Of all the meals he had over there, what surprised him the most was “Nem Nướng.” 

Initially, he was skeptical since it seemed like just a bunch of chopped fruits and veggies. But after he had his first bite, Nem Nướng is now one of our household staples. Since many people of Vietnamese descent are in the United States, the ingredients are quite easy to find!

The name Nem Nướng refers to pork sausage. However, in Thailand, Nem Nướng, as a dish, is not just the sausage itself but the whole idea of crafting a small bite of the freshly baked sausage with leafy greens, plenty of herbs 🌿, different condiments that bring different flavors, top with miso-peanut based sauce, and then wrapped everything together in a basket of softened rice paper. You can think of it as a fresh-roll version of hand-rolled sushi. 

This dish can be dissected into four parts. 1) wrapper, 2) yakumi (natural condiments), 3) sausage, and 4) sauce.

Wrapper:

• Leafy greens such as Green leaf or Red leaf lettuce

• Piper sarmentosum leaf (ใบชะพลู)- optional

• Small rice paper or standard size cut into 2-4 pieces (cut with kitchen scissors when dry)

Yakumi (natural condiments):

• Slightly ripe mango (for sweetness and sourness; can be substituted with green apple)

• Green banana (for astringent taste)

• Cucumber (for refreshing taste)

• Thai chili pepper (for spiciness)

• Garlic

• Herb

  • Mint

  • Thai basil/Sweet basil

  • Persicaria odorata (Vietnamese coriander or laksa leaf)

Sauce (traditional way):

• Mashed glutinous rice (cooked)

• Mashed mung bean (cooked)

• Thai Fermented bean paste (เต้าเจี้ยว) can be replaced by red miso

• Thai sweet soy sauce (hoisin sauce can also be used)

• Thai chili pepper (to taste)

• Salt

• Palm sugar or granulated sugar

• Tamarind juice

• Roasted peanuts

Sauce (the easy way):

• Peanut butter (no sugar added)

• Red miso

• Thai sweet soy sauce

• Agave nectar (or granulated sugar)

• Sriracha

• Boiled water

It's a refreshing dish with plenty of healthy ingredients and is best enjoyed in a group setting. Opt for ground chicken breast instead of ground pork and omit the rice paper wrapper for a high-protein version of the dish.

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