- Hey guys, I'm excited to say
that I have a special guest in my kitchen with me today.
Meet Dzung from Honeysuckle Catering.
If you don't already know her channel,
I encourage you to go check it out.
If you like this channel, you will lover her channel.
It has beautiful video with fantastic recepies
that I know you guys would love.
So, when I heard she was coming to LA,
I invited her here, into my kitchen,
because she knows how to make something
that I've always wanted to learn how to do,
and that's Vienmese spring rolls.
But she's gonna show me a modern take
on the traditional spring roll
that is perfect for summer entertaining.
Okay, Dzung, so I see this big piece of meat here,
and you're gonna show us how to cut it?
- Yeah. - Okay.
- Alright, so first, make sure you have
a really sharp knife and then I just like to hold the beef
and cusp of my hand, like this.
Just hold it still, and just make sure
to cut it really thin; just go back and forth.
And you don't want it paper thin,
you want it thin enough just
so you can saute it, kinda like stir-fry.
- [Beth] So this meat looks pretty tender.
What would you say would be the best kind of meat
for something like this?
- So, I've actually used many different cuts of meat.
I've used beef tender loin,
tri-tip is also a really good one,
but top sirloin is really perfect
'cause it's nice and tender. - Okay, great.
I also love these kind of dinners in the summer,
when it is hot, 'cause you can get the meat
all made before, ahead of time,
and then all you have to do is assemble it,
Which is great when you're hot and you don't wanna cook.
Okay, so now you're gonna show us how
to make the marinade. - Yeah.
- You instructed me to buy the lemongrass,
which smells so amazing, it's such a beautiful smell to it.
Is this a popular thing in Vietnamese cooking?
- Yes, so they use this in a lot of different things,
mostly marinades and for meat dishes,
and it really has this citrusy, exotic
smell to it. - Summery, fresh,
yeah it's great. - My mom usually stocks up
on these and then she chops them up
and then she freezes them.
So, to prep the lemongrass I like to just get in there,
chop it into smaller circles first.
(acoustic guitar music)
- And you only need about a table spoon of this,
so I'm just gonna finely mince it.
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So, now that you have your lemongrass,
we're gonna add one minced garlic.
And then a shallot, minced as well.
And then a teaspoon of sugar.
We'll need one table spoon of oyster sauce.
And this is used in a lot of Vietnamese cooking as well.
A lot of marinades and stir-fries.
- Oh, and stir fry? And if I use it in a stir-fry,
would I just add it straight,
or do you need to add water to it, or vinegar?
- A lot of times you can add it straight
and then balance it with a little bit of sugar.
- Oh, okay. - Yeah.
- Can I taste it, I'm just sort of interested.
Is this gonna be yucky if I do this?
- No, no. (gentle techno music)
- Oh yeah, it's salty but it's good.
But that's why it's for marinades.
- So the balance... - That was good, okay.
It does have a slight fishy taste to it.
- And then next, I'm adding two tablespoons of soy sauce.
- I think that's the thing with marinades;
you really need salt.
Salt is what is gonna make that meat tender
and delicious and juicy, so all of these sauces,
like even soy has a lot of salt in it.
It actually is just gonna help
that meat taste even more flavorful.
- And then, two tablespoons of sesame oil.
Now, I feel like sesame oil and lemongrass is
the secret ingredient that really makes this beef pop.
And then some black pepper.
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- [Beth] That looks delicious!
(gentle techno music)
- Alright, now we'll just throw the beef in there.
- Okay, great! I will be your helpful assistant.
Have you do the honors. - Thank you.
And for marinades, I really like to just use my hands.
Just get a good mix in there. - Yeah, just get in there!
That's what makes cooking fun, right?
So how long are we gonna actually marinate this for?
- [Dzung] So about twenty to thirty minutes,
just so it soaks in all the flavors,
and then we'll cook it up! - Okay, good!
Now, because of the way my kitchen is set up,
We actually aren't gonna cook this in real time.
Dzung is gonna explain how to cook it,
and then you're gonna see beautiful images
of this meat being cooked.
It's just a little easier to shoot that way.
- [Dzung] Get a medium-sized pan, and get it really hot,
and then we'll just add in a little bit of oil,
and you can use olive oil or sesame oil.
And then I would just use maybe a quarter of this
just so you cook it really fast and give it a nice sear,
and you don't risk steaming it
when you cook them all together.
- [Beth] Right, so that is a good point,
I think when you're cooking any meat,
is don't take all this meat, throw it in a pan
because it's gonna get overcrowded
and the meat's gonna steam up, it's not gonna sear,
so Dzung that is a very good tip; a little bit at a time.
(gentle techno music)
Okay guys, so now through the magic of editing,
we have our beautifully seared beef here,
and all of out ingredients that
are gonna go into the spring milk.
And I have a fabulous teacher
who's gonna show me how to put this all together.
(laughs) So what do we do?
- So, what you're gonna start off with is a rice paper.
I like to use the rice paper that's blended
with rice flower and tapioca flower
just because the tapioca helps
it become a little more flexible than the plain rice;
otherwise, it'll be tough and will break.
So first, we have this pie dish
and we filled it up with water,
so I just wanna dip this in, very lightly wet it.
Make sure everything is wet,
so get in there with your hands if you need to.
Drain it off. - Okay, there we go.
And how do I know when it's just been enough?
Is it just a time thing, like one or two seconds?
- It'll continue to soak through once you start assembling,
and that's perfect. - [Beth] That's perfect? Okay.
Because if you let it go too far...
- It'll get really sticky and hard to roll.
- Good to know, okay. Won't do that, okay.
- Alright, so I'll start with the lettuce.
I'll lay it down in a strip, kinda like this.
- [Beth] I'm going to follow your lead.
- And then, I like to add in some herbs,
so I'll put in some cilantro, and some mint.
- Two of my favorite herbs, fabulous.
And great for summer, right?
- [Dzung] And that's the great thing
about Vietnamese cooking is that there's a lot
of mint and herbs that really freshens everything up.
- And a lot of it is raw, too.
- So healthy. - It's healthy!
I know, they've got all those nutrients! And why is that?
What is the tradition around that, do you know?
- I think it's just that there's a lot
of vegetables available, and they make great use
of it over there. - And it's quick.
No cooking, everything's ready to go. I love it.
- [Dzung] Alright, so just a little bit
of the rice noodles in there.
You don't wanna stuff it too much,
because you wanna be able to roll it up kinda small.
- [Beth] Oh okay, so it'll be hard to roll
if I put too much in there. - [Dzung] Yeah.
- [Beth] I think that's... - [Dzung] That's perfect!
- [Beth] Ooh yeah, it is sticky. (laughs)
- [Dzung] And then just take some carrots,
and then some cucumbers, lay it in there.
- [Beth] Cucumbers, so pretty, too.
- [Dzung] Alright, so let's add some beef in there,
and it's nice that it's already thinly sliced
so you can just put a few strips in there.
Alright, and now we're gonna roll.
- [Beth] Now, any tips? - [Dzung] So,
when you roll it, it could get messy,
so we're gonna just roll it like this,
and gather it in tightly, - [Beth] I see what you mean.
- [Dzung] And just do it slowly,
and just run your fingers like this.
- [Beth] And it does sort of stick to itself, which is nice.
Oh yeah, it totally sticks to itself.
I didn't realize it would do that. Fabulous.
- [Dzung] So most spring rolls you actually the sides
in like a burrito, but I'm gonna show you how
to present it really nicely
so that if you're serving it for a party,
it'll be kind of impressive. - Totally,
now yours looks like ten times better than mine does,
so I'm gonna have you continue with yours,
and I am going to watch so that I can perfect my technique.
- [Dzung] So just to make sure that your beautiful wrap
doesn't get messed up when you cut it in,
all you need to do is wet the knife a little bit
so that it doesn't stick to your wrap
when you're cutting it.
Just be careful you don't cut yourself.
Just enough like that, and then I like
to cut it just through the middle, like that,
and then cut it into bite-size pieces
so that it could be served really well
so we can all share.
- [Beth] Can't wait to try it.
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And there's your roll.
And then, you just kind of display it
on this pattern like that.
- Isn't that pretty? I love that.
- So that you see all the different layers in there.
- Yeah, that is gorgeous. That is so pretty
and so summery. What a great idea.
Now, you have this delicious dipping sauce here.
And if you guys wanna know how to make the dipping sauce,
there is a terrific video on Honeysuckle Catering.
Just click the annotation, and it'll take you there.
And one of my favorite things about that video,
because I've seen it, is the story of your mom and your dad.
- And how they met. - And how they met,
and I won't ruin it for you guys.
Watch the video, it's a really cute story,
and it has to do with this sauce,
so go ahead and click it, and you'll hear the story, too.
- Try it! - Alright!
Should I give it a try? Looks too delicious to pass up.
I'm going in.
(acoustic guitar music)
That is good.
- Do you taste the lemongrass and the mint?
- Totally. - I feel like
that's the star of the rolls.
- No, it really is. You're the star of the rolls. (Laughing)
It's really good. You guys should totally try this.
It's really refreshing with so many great flavors.
It's such a simple dish, but you've got the lemongrass,
you've got the vinegar and the garlic.
It's so summery and so delicious.
I love it, thank you so much.
Now you try! - Of course, okay.
(acoustic guitar music)
- That is so good. You guys have got to give this a try.
It is a delicious recipe. Dzung, thank you so much
for taking time out of your trip
to come here and cook in my kitchen.
I loved learning how - Thanks for having me.
to make that. - It was so fun.
- You bet, and next time I'm up north,
I'm gonna pop in on you, and I'm gonna show you
how to make a steak-frites. - Perfect, I love that.
- Alright you guys, I will see you next week,
and in the meantime, don't forget to head over
to Honeysuckle Catering. There's some great recipes
on there, starring Dzung, that I think you all will love.
Alright, I'll see you next time.
Bye. - Bye.
(gentle techno music)