Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

These look terrific, are fresh and healthy, and are easy to make. Prep time can be lengthy if you are julienning lots of veges, but it's worth it - everybody loves them. 

I hadn’t made these for years so the rolls looked a bit wonky - but they tasted good!

Ingredients

14-16 sheets of 22cm round rice paper

120g dried vermicelli noodles

1-2 Tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp fish sauce

soft lettuce leaves - Oak or Butter, enough for 1 or 1/2 per roll

bunch large mint leaves, enough for 2-3 per roll

julienned carrot

1 long cucumber, cut in fine strips

snow peas, blanched and cooled

red capsicum cut into thun strips

coriander leaves and stalks

Optional 

asparagus, halved, lightly blanched and cooled

large basil leaves, enough for 1-2 per roll

bean sprouts

strips of avocado

cooked prawns peeled

Vietnamese Peanut Dipping Sauce

1 Tbsp peanut butter

2 Tbsp Hoisin Sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp white vinegar or lime juice

1/3 cup milk or water to thin

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp crushed chilli or chilli paste, adjust to taste

Instructions

1. Combine the Peanut Dipping Sauce ingredients. Mix briefly, then microwave for 30 seconds. Mix again until smooth. Set aside to cool. 

Adjust sourness with vinegar or lime juice, and salt to taste.  

2. Place vermicelli noodles in a bowl and cover with hotwater for 8 minutes, drain. Mix through lemon juice and fish sauce then cool.

3. Blanch the asparagus and snow peas. Wash lettuce and remove the core of the leaves - to make it easier to roll up.

4. Fill a large bowl or baking pan with hot water - the sheets soften quicker the hotter the water. You can rotate the sheet if you don't have a large pan, in fact keeping hold of the sheet allows you judge when it's ready to roll. DON'T make it too soft otherwise it will tear.  The rice paper will continue to soften as it absorbs moisture from work surface and vegetables.  

5. Assembling rolls - have everything ready to go!

Place the rice paper on work surface smooth side down - and woork quickly.

Arrange 1-3 mint leaves face side down in the centre so the rolls look pretty from the outside once rolled. If using prawns place these on the centre with mint leaves also. It's all about visibility.

Place vegetables and vermicelli in the centre of the sheet (see note below).

Fold the left and right edges of the rice paper in, then starting from the bottom, roll firmly. The rice paper is sticky so it will seal itself.

6. Place rolls on damp tray as they are completed and cover with damp clean tea towel. Leave covered with damp cloth or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate till ready to serve.

Serve with the peanut dipping sauce.

Chooks notes:

You can roll the veges and noodle in lettuce leaf to keep them all together - makes it easier to handle. 

I have used both rice vermicelli noodles and bean thread noodle (also known as cellophane or glass noodles). I prefer the bean thread noodles.

I keep my work surface damp and place completed rolls on a damp tray and cover with a damp tea towel. 

Best eaten the same day, but I have found any left overs keep OK for a day or so covered with plastic. 

These taste delicious served with commercially prepared Vietnamese dipping sauce with a little lime juice added to tone down the sweetness. Or make your own as follows:

Mix together -

3 Tbsp lime juice

2 Tbsp sugar

½ cup water

2 ½ Tbsp fish sauce (add a bit at a time to taste)

1 small garlic clove, finely minced

1 or 2 Thai chilis, thinly sliced or 1 tsp chili sauce