Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls (Bill Granger)

Summer came late and lasted later than usual this year. Nice that our Victoria Labor Day weekend including today is still warm and summery. For a nice warm like these, I wanted to serve something nice and refreshing for a picnic... Ideally, I wish to cook something stress-free with the least suffering from tears and sweats from cooking.

Ah! I see a light bulb on my head! I'm making light and refreshing Vietnamese rice paper rolls.

Good that these rice paper rolls are gluten free, low in fat and calories and very fresh and refreshing to eat. As I'm allergy to prawns, I have made a vegetarian version for me and also a vegetarian friend to enjoy.

Bright idea!??? Of course... Hope that I don't sound very ya-ya (meaning boastful in Hokkien) saying this... LOL! These rice paper rolls were gone very quickly... especially the ones with the fattest prawn!

Vietnamese rice paper rolls

The essential ingredients to make these paper rolls

I'm making the vegetarian and non-vegetarian ones.

... both with lots of GREENS!

Assemble and wrap... I think this YouTube video might help.

These are the vegetarian ones...

Ingredients to make the sauce...

Instead of peanuts, I like mine made with roasted sesame seeds.

This is how I ate my vegetarian roll... Yum!

Thumbs up that mummy used giant prawns to make these rolls!!!

I'm using this recipe which is the simple and easy one from Bill Granger at Lifestyle Food or UK TV with hardly any cooking and preparation involved. All I need to do is to assemble everything.
(with my modification in blue)

100g rice vermicelli
8 cooked and shelled prawns
1 oak leaf lettuce, washed and dried
Asian basil
coriander leaf
(I replaced this with fresh chives)
1 small Lebanese cucumber halved lengthways, then thinly sliced on diagonal.
8 large round rice paper wrappers
Vietnamese dipping sauce, see below

Vietnamese dipping sauce
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce (I used the gluten free one)
crushed peanut to serve
(or roasted sesame seeds)

For the rice paper rolls:
Put the rice vermicelli in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for 6-7 mins, then drain.

Soften one of the rice paper wrappers in a bowl of hot water. Remove and shake off any excess water. Top the wrapper with a little vermicelli, 1 cooked prawn, some cucumber, lettuce, basil and coriander (or chive) and roll up, tucking in the sides.

For the dipping sauce:
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. Top with the crushed peanuts or sesame seeds.
 
To serve, hold the rolls in (or without) a lettuce leaf and dip into the dipping sauce.

Note: I have made a vegetarian version with soy braised tofu. Cook 350g sliced firm tofu with 3 tbsp soya sauce in medium heat for 10-15 mins. Cool completely before using them to assemble into the vegetarian rolls.

Enjoy the last bit of Aussie summer and also these refreshing treats!

Happy Baking
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