Authentic Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Homemade Fish Sauce Dip

Bring about 2000ml water to a boil in a pot with 0.5 tsp salt and 1 shallot. Add 600g pork belly, cover and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes until a chopstick pierces through easily without pink juice. Remove and let cool completely.

Add 300g fresh shrimp to a pot of boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until bright pink and curled into C-shapes. Immediately drain and transfer into cold water to cool down.

Cook 250g rice vermicelli in boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Drain into a colander, rinse thoroughly with cool water to remove excess starch, and drain well.

In a mortar, pound 3 cloves garlic, 0.5 tsp sugar, and 2 sliced red chilis into a paste. Squeeze in juice from 1.5 limes. In a separate bowl, dissolve 2 tbsp sugar in 3 tbsp warm water, pour into the mortar, and stir in 1 tbsp fish sauce until combined.

Slice cooled pork belly into thin uniform slices, lay on a plate, and sprinkle with 15g fried shallots. Peel the cooked shrimp, cut lengthwise into halves, and remove the digestive vein.

Cut 2 avocados in half around the pit, twist open, remove pits, peel off skin, and slice into long wedges.

Take a sheet of rice paper, lightly wet both sides using damp hands, and lay flat on a large plate for 30 seconds until pliable. Layer 1 lettuce leaf, 2 mint leaves, 2 Thai basil leaves, a small bunch of vermicelli, and 1 avocado slice on the bottom third. Fold the bottom edge up over the filling and roll forward once. Lay 2 pork belly slices and 2 shrimp halves (pink side down) right above. Fold the left and right sides inward, then roll tightly into a smooth cylinder.