Cooking Asian food can be very complicated but this dish is very easy to make! The rice paper rolls are packed with bright and fresh flavors, made with crunchy vegetables, chewy noodles and herbs in the rice paper, and served with a peanut dipping sauce.
What you’ll need (for 8 rice rolls):
For the rice paper rolls
8 pieces of rice paper
8 peeled prawns
60 g rice vermicelli
4 sprigs mint leaves
4 sprigs coriander leaves
4 sprigs basil leaves, optional
1 stick carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1 romaine lettuce
For the peanut sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
3 tbsp water
red chili, minced to garnish
Instructions:
Firstly, place the shrimp in a shallow pan to fry them. Add some salt to give flavour.
Soak and boil the rice vermicelli in hot water. Once it is boiled, drain a place it in cold water and it is ready to use. Then, cut the carrots and cucumbers into matchsticks.
Submerge the rice paper fully into the water for five seconds just before wrapping. Remove and pat dry.
The fun part! Choose a piece of lettuce that fits the diameter of the rice paper. Place the carrot, cucumber and rice vermicelli on it. Put the vegetable, prawns and the basil, coriander, and mint on the rice paper, slightly off-centered towards you, and leave about one inch clearance from the side.
Roll everything up tightly. To do so, gently pull up the bottom of the roll and roll over the filling. Then, roll and use your hands to tuck the filling in as you go. It’s basically like you’re rolling a burrito!
It’s time for the dipping sauce. Saute the garlic with the vegetable oil and add the remaining ingredients. Lastly, it is ready to serve and enjoy!
Picture credits: pelican