A popular dish in the South of Vietnam, fresh prawn rolls have spread throughout the country and are now enjoyed worldwide thanks to their invigorating combination of veggies, herbs and rice noodles. These delightful rolls, which are ideal for health-conscious diners, are usually prepared with a single shrimp, a piece of pork, and rice vermicelli, or fresh noodles. They go particularly well with nước chấm, a fish sauce dip, but peanut sauce works well too. Feel free to use whatever ingredients you have on hand in your cupboard or refrigerator to make any variation of prawn rolls.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces rice vermicelli
- 8 rice wrappers (8.5 inch diameter)
- 8 large cooked shrimp - peeled, deveined and cut in half
- 1 ⅓ tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 leaves lettuce, chopped
- 4 teaspoons fish sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic chili sauce
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts
Method
- Boil water in a medium-sized saucepan. After cooking rice vermicelli for three to five minutes, or until it's al dente, drain.
- Put some warm water in a big bowl. For one second, soften one wrapper by dipping it into the hot water. Flatten the wrapper. Place 2 prawn halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce in a row across the centre, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Then, tightly roll the wrapper, starting with the lettuce at the end and folding the uncovered sides inside. Continue with the remaining components.
- In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
- In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
- Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.