These are uncooked spring rolls with fresh vegetables and tofu or shrimp that make a great lunch or starter for dinner. You can serve this with a variety of store bought sauces, such as hoisin, garlic chili, or satay sauce, but I like to use the tahini sauce from this recipe made with an additional tablespoon of peanut butter (smooth or crunchy depending on your preference). You can also use a wide range of crunchy salad vegetables, especially the spicy, mustardy ones typical of Asian cuisine like radishes and bok choy, so don’t feel limited just to the ones in this recipe.

Ingredients

1 pack of rice paper wrappers (found in the Asian section of most supermarkets)
2 oz of rice vermicelli, or bean threads, or cooked spaghetti squash.
1 small daikon radish cut into matchsticks
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 large bell pepper (any color) cut into thin strips
a handful of lettuce leaves, cut into strips
Optional herbs, small bunches finely chopped (I like to put out a mix of all of these for people to add themselves as they desire) :
- Green Onion
- Cilantro
- Mint
- Basil (usually Thai Basil)
8 Oz of baked tofu cut into strips, or prawns, cooked and peeled.
Dipping sauces of your choice: Hoisin, garlic chili, satay sauce or the tahini sauce from this recipe with added peanut butter.
Soy sauce for dipping at the table

Method

I like to prepare all the ingredients on separate plates and set them out on the table for all the diners to build the rolls themselves, choosing the various sauces, herbs and vegetables as they go. This is the method I describe below, but if you prefer to make them separately away from the table and serve them to your diners already constructed, it is still a good idea to get all the different parts prepared on separate plates laid out in front of you in your prep area so that the rolling is simple and quick.

Prepare the noodles according to the packet instructions and set them out in a bowl on the table.
Prepare the vegetables and the tofu or prawns according to the ingredients section above and arrange them attractively on a serving dish to go on the table.
Finely chop the herbs that you have chosen from the list above and arrange them on a separate plate or serving dish.
Put the dipping sauces you have chosen in small bowls on the table in easy reach of all the diners.
Set out a shallow dish with half an inch of cold water on the table that is large enough to lay the rice paper into flat. I use a dinner plate for this because ours have a fairly high lip so the water won’t spill, but you might need to use a pie dish, or something similar.
Once everything is laid out on the table, take the rice paper and dip it on both sides into the water and put it on your own plate. It will soften up while you arrange the contents.
Arrange the vegetables, noodles, herbs and tofu or shrimp on the paper as if you were building a burrito or fajita, which is to say, arrange them in a line near the center of the paper, but leave at least an inch or two on either side so you can fold the ends over before you roll up the rice paper. Also, don’t overfill the ingredients or the paper will likely split as you try to roll it. This will probably take several attempts to get right, so don’t worry if your first couple look a bit ugly or fall apart.
I like to spoon some of my preferred dipping sauce straight onto the veggies before I roll up the paper and then dip the roll in soy sauce as I eat it, but you can just dip the roll as you go in the various different sauces of your choice.

One important tip is that the rice paper gets very sticky when wet and if it gets stuck to itself as you try to roll it you’ll probably find it hard to unstick and straighten out again, so go carefully as you start to wrap up the sides.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls