Nem chua Ham (Pickled Ham)

A friend brought this delicious, addicting Nem Chua Ham to the past Tet (Lunar New Year) dinner that I hosted. It was a big hit. Unlike the traditional Nem Chua which is made of raw pork or beef, this Nem Chua is made out of cooked Ham so everyone including my pregnant friends could also indulge.

My friend was kind enough to pass down his mother's invention of Nem Chua Ham's recipe . I was invited to his house to experiment first hand in his kitchen. As we were making Nem Chua, he recalled how his mother used to forced all of his brothers and himself to help her in the kitchen when they were young. His mother is an excellent cook and love to display her passion. Everyday, she would prepare three typical Vietnamese meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. During Tet, she would make hundreds of Nem Chua Ham and pass them out to all the relatives and friends. Thanks to her, I inherited a delicious recipe to share with family, friends, and blog fans.

As you may have guessed I came home and started experimenting and quantifying the ingredients for my blog fans since my friend and I cook by guestimation. The outcome turned out well except that it's less sour compare to my friend's Nem Chua Ham; I thought it tasted great but my husband prefered it a little bit more sour. Here is the recipe for you to try out.

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RECIPE: Nem Chua Ham
Make 80 rolls

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Ingredients

3 cups Vinegar

2 cups Sugar

1 bag Ham (available at Costco)

3 bags Pork Skin

1/2 - 1 tablespoon Fresh Cracked Pepper or Pure Ground Black Pepper

4 tablespoons Mixture Vinegar*

1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons Lemon Pepper

a few fresh  Thai Chili Peppers, thinly sliced

a few cloves of Garlic, thinly sliced

Foil Wrap

Plastic Wrap

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Soaking Ham

In a large bowl, soak ham in the mixture of vinegar and sugar for about two hours.

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Preparing Pork Skin

Wash and rinse pork skin for a few time with warm water. Drain it well.
Add 4 tablespoons of mixture vinegar from the ham bowl, fresh cracked pepper and lemon pepper to pork skin and mix it well.

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Making Ham Pickled

Place a piece of plastic wrap on a clean cutting board or a flat plate. Then place a slice of ham on the plastic wrap. Sprinkle some fresh ground pepper. Place pork skin on the ham then roll it up tightly.

Add a few slices chili pepper and garlic.  I think it looks more appetizing if I use red chili pepper. 

Roll everything in the plastic wrap and twist the two ends tightly to close.

Wrap it with a piece of foil wrap to complete it.

Store these Pickled Ham in fridge for a day to allow flavors to blend and develop before serving.

These Pickled Ham can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks.

I didn't do a good job on twisting the two ends tightly together to achieve good closure as you can see that the ends are protruding. 

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Have fun and Enjoy!