
Vietnamese prawn summer rolls
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- No cook
- Easy
- Makes 12
Ingredients
For the dipping sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 small red chilli (deseeded if you don't like it too hot), finely chopped
- 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- juice 1 lime
For the rolls
- 100g vermicelli rice noodle or bean thread noodles
- 12 x 20cm round rice paper wrappers (see tip, below)
- handful mint leaves
- 18 cooked prawns, cut in half lengthways
- 2-3 large iceberg lettuce leaves, torn into 12 pieces
- 1 carrot, cut into thin batons
- a handful coriander
- a handful Thai basil
- a handful long chives
- 50g beansprout
Method
- STEP 1
Make the dipping sauce by pounding the garlic, chilli, ginger and sugar together using a pestle and mortar, then stir in the fish sauce and lime juice. Alternatively, just blitz everything together in a mini blender.
- STEP 2
Soak the rice noodles in a bowl of hot water for 15 mins, then drain well. Assemble all the prepared filling ingredients – once you start, you will need everything to hand.
- STEP 3
When you are ready to make the rolls, dip one of the rice papers in a bowl of hot water, moving it around until the whole wrapper is soft – about 10-15 secs – then drain on a tea towel.
- STEP 4
Place a rice paper wrapper on a board and at one edge of the wrapper, add a few mint leaves, then three prawn halves.
- STEP 5
Place some lettuce on top of the prawns, followed by some noodles, a few strips of carrot and cucumber, some more herbs and finally some beansprouts. Don’t overfill the pancakes or they will be hard to roll.
- STEP 6
Lift the edge of the rice paper wrapper nearest to you over the filling and, holding the filling in position with your fingers, start rolling up tightly.
- STEP 7
When you’re about halfway, fold the ends of the rice paper in and over the filling so that it is completely enclosed.
- STEP 8
Keep on rolling tightly until the whole rice paper wrapper is rolled up. To serve, cut the rolls in half on the diagonal.