Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

Vietnamese rice paper rolls loaded with beautiful fresh herbs, vegetables, rice noodles are packed with flavour and a favourite at our house. We place all the ingredients on the table with dipping sauce and favourite fillings and you can make the roll that you want! Simply fill, roll and bite your delicious rice paper roll after dipping in Nuoc Cham (my favourite Vietnamese dipping sauce) but you can use any sauce you like.

Ingredients:

• Vermicelli Rice Noodles- 1 packet
• Rice paper – as many sheets as you need!
• Cooked prawns, cooked chicken, BBQ pork (optional)
• Mung Bean Sprouts -1 big handful
• Vegetables -I used carrot, red cabbage and cucumber
• Lettuce leaves -soft lettuce like oakleaf is great, but if you use iceberg, shred the leaves)
• Fresh Herbs -coriander, mint, Thai basil

Nuoc Chan dipping sauce:

• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons warm water
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• Sliced red chilli to taste

Method

To make the dipping sauce, place the first 4 ingredients into a bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the lime juice then taste the mix – if it’s too sweet, add more fish sauce.  Too sour, add more sugar.  When you are satisfied, add the chopped chilli and pour into a serving bowl.

Cover the rice noodles with boiling water for a few minutes until they are soft. Drain, rinse and cover.

Prepare the vegetables – peel and shred the carrot, finely chop the cabbage, remove the cucumber skin then make long strips using the peeler, wash and dry the lettuce leaves, bean sprouts and herbs removing tough stalks if necessary.  Place all your vegetables, herbs and fillings onto a plate

When you are ready to start making the rolls, fill a shallow dish with warm water. Take one rice paper wrapper, dip it in water to soften (usually about 10 seconds) then place on your work surface. Working quickly, layer your choice of vegetables at the lower end of the sheet and place your filling in the middle.  Lift the rice paper closest to you and roll tightly. Once you have reached the middle, fold the ends of the rice paper in and over the filling and roll until the whole rice paper is rolled tightly.

Serve your delicious rice paper rolls with the dipping sauce and enjoy!