Vietnamese Summer Rolls

These ever popular Vietnamese Summer Rolls are bursting with freshness and are light and crunchy all at once.

You can play around with the filling - add some cooked chicken or shrimp with the veggies. Depending on the season, I like to add raw mango, ripe mango or avocado.

It is important to not over fill the rolls or it will be difficult to roll them up neatly.

These rolls need a dipping sauce. For convenience sake, you can pick up a ready Thai Sweet Chili sauce, Sriracha sauce or any Asian dipping sauce from your supermarket. However, I have included below a basic sweet and sour soy dipping sauce.

For more Asian dishes packed with flavour, check out these recipes:

1. Lemongrass Coconut Tofu

2. Vietnamese Mushroom Pho

3. Thai Green Curry

Makes 12 rolls

For the dipping sauce:

What you need:

2 tbsp peanut butter

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp sriracha

1 green chilly, pounded and finely chopped

½ tsp garlic, minced

2-3 tbsp water, as required

Salt and pepper to taste

Putting it all together:

Make this sauce ahead of time for dipping

Whisk all ingredients together and adjust to taste. Add more water, if needed. It should be pourable consistency​.

For the rolls:

What you need:​

1 Cucumber, thinly sliced

1 Carrot

½ Bell pepper

2 small Radishes

Avocado (optional)

½ cup Purple cabbage

¼ cup Spring onions, finely chopped

2 cups Vermicelli noodles

Handful of Mint leaves

Handful of Coriander leaves

1 tbsp Vinegar

½ tsp Sugar

¼ tsp Salt

8 rice paper sheets

Putting it all together:

1. Combine the veggies in a bowl. Add the vinegar, sugar and salt. Adjust to taste. Don’t make the mix too wet.

2. Cook the vermicelli noodles in a pot of hot water for 5 mins and drain. Keep aside to cool.

3. To assemble the rolls, prepare some warm water in a flat bowl or cake pan. Keep the filling, noodles and herbs ready. Dip the rice paper sheets in the water till soft. Place the moist paper on a flat board.

4. Place the herbs in a straight line. Add some noodles. Add some veggie filling and a few more herbs. 5. Fold the top and bottom of the rice paper, then tightly roll the sides till secure.

6. Arrange on a platter and serve with the dipping sauce.