VIETNAMESE SUMMER ROLLS

Fresh, easy to make and delicious rice paper rolls. Perfect for a hot summers day!

Growing up, my favourite thing to make with my family were rice paper rolls. As a Vietnamese family, we believe most meals are enjoyed when you prepare and shared them all together. I was always on veggie duty, mum on the meats and my grandpa on the eggs. Time and time again, they would make their weekly appearance on our dining table and I never found myself growing sick of the taste. They’ve become a staple meal in my diet.

Now, since moving out of home, I’ve since taken the recipe along with me to Wollongong and have continued to make them on a weekly basis. Although the original recipe calls for pork and prawns, I’ve had to substitute pork for chicken, to accommodate to my taste and wallet. It’s a simple recipe, some may say a Vietnamese peasant food, but it never fails to satisfy my taste buds each and every time I make them. For those who are still unsure of what they are, just picture cold spring rolls. Actually, imagine FRESH spring rolls, filled to the brim with fresh herbs, veggies, and eggs. Accompany that with a tasty dipping sauce and you’ve got yourself an A+ meal. So popular even my roommate makes them nearly every second day.

Makes: 8

What you will need:

• 8 rice paper

• 1tsp soy sauce

• 2 bricks of vermicelli rice noodles

• 16 fresh cooked prawns

• 4 eggs

• 1 chicken breast poached in seasoned water

• 1 bag of mix salad leaves

• 2 carrot cut into batons

• 2 cucumber into batons

• 1 avocado

• 1 cup of bean sprouts

• 1 jar of hoisin sauce

• 2 tsp peanut butter

Method:

1. Cook the vermicelli rice noodles. Boil a kettle of hot water, and pour over a brick of dry vermicelli noodles, allow to sit for 10 minutes.

2. While the noodles hydrate, poach the chicken in a pot of gently simmering water. To add more flavour, season the water with salt. Once cooked through, remove the chicken and let it rest to the side.

3. Prepare the egg by mixing together 4 eggs with 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and a sprinkle of pepper.

4. Wash the salad mix, cut the avocado and carrots and cucumber into even batons.

5. Prepare the rice paper by drawing a bowl of hot/warm water. Dip the rice paper into the bowl of water until the entire paper is wet. Lay immediately flat on a plate.

6. As the rice paper softens, lay a line of rice noodles, carrots, egg, chicken, cucumber, avocado and salad mix towards one edge of the rice paper.

7. Roll the rice paper by rolling over once, bringing in each side and then rolling over like a burrito.

Hoisin peanut dipping sauce:

1. Pour some hoisin into a small bowl, along with a teaspoon or tablespoon of smooth peanut butter.

2. Garnish with some roughly chopped peanuts.

Tips *

- Do no overfill the rice paper rolls as it may break the paper, or will be too difficult to roll.