Ingredients
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup rice-wine vinegar
1 stalk lemon grass, crushed
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1/2 inch piece ginger, finely sliced
1 green chile pepper, finely sliced
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), silver skin trimmed
6 eight-and-a-half-inch rice-paper wrappers
1 bunch watercress, washed
1/2 mango, peeled and cut in matchsticks
1/2 small jicama, peeled and cut in matchsticks
1 cup fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
Preparation
Make marinade: Combine fish sauce, canola oil, rice-wine vinegar, lemon grass, garlic, ginger, chile pepper, and black pepper in a medium bowl. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag; add pork, and refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
Preheat grill or grill pan to medium. Remove pork from marinade. Place on grill; cook, turning as necessary, until a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees. Remove from grill; let cool. When cool enough to handle, slice meat 1/8 inch thick; set aside.
Dip a rice-paper wrapper into a bowl of warm water for 5 seconds; transfer to a clean work surface (wrapper will still feel hard but will soften as it sits). Lay watercress on bottom third of rice paper. Top with some pork, mango, jicama, and basil. Roll (you needn’t tuck in ends). Place on a plate; cover with a damp paper towel. Continue filling and rolling rice paper until all ingredients are used. Trim ends; halve. Halve each half again on the diagonal to make hors d’oeuvres; serve.
