Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce

“A side dish, that’s as good as a 1-dish meal!”

When come to Vietnamese food, the summer rolls are the sides which I would never missed. Yes, this is my favorite side dish in the Vietnamese cuisine. So much so that I would want to make my own so that I could have it anytime, even at home. And, I would eat summer rolls as a meal, sometimes. Why not, it has all the vegetables, meat, prawns and bee hoon in one! :)

Summer rolls are not difficult to make, but needed quite a bit of preparation work done. I wouldn’t mind, because I knew I would have the best spicy peanut sauce made by myself that I could adjust the taste best suited to my liking. You are right, the summer rolls would never complete without a nice dipping sauce.

Yields 9-10 rolls
Ingredients for summer roll:
10 pcs of (dried) rice paper wrapper
80g of bee hoon (rice vermicelli), soaked to soften
12 pcs of medium prawns, shelled
100g of pork belly, thinly sliced and seasoned with drops of light soy sauce and white pepper
1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
1 medium cucumber, peeled and julienned
1 bowl of Chinese lettuce leaves
1 bowl of mint leaves
1 bowl of parsley leaves
10 strands of spring onion (green part only)
Drops of sesame oil

Optional garnish: Toasted white sesame seeds

Ingredients for spicy peanut sauce:
3 tablespoons of peanut butter
2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon of Sriracha chili sauce
2 teaspoons of Thai fish sauce
1 teaspoon of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon of fresh lime juice
2-3 teaspoons of sugar
1 clove of garlic paste
5-6 tablespoons of warm water (^adjustable to your desired consistency)

Method:
(1) To make dipping sauce: Combine all ingredients well in a bowl. Set aside.

(2) To make summer rolls: Pre-boil soaked bee hoon till cooked. Drain, gently coat with drops of sesame oil, and set aside. Pre-boil prawns, half each lengthwise, devein and set aside. Pre-boil pork slices, drain and set aside.

(3) To assemble summer rolls: Get all the ingredients ready in its bowl. Prepare a large deep plate of cooled water for steeping to soften the dried rice paper wrappers.

(4) Get a piece of rice paper and steep it in the water for 8 seconds. Remove semi-softened rice paper and place it on a large sheet of clean damp cloth. Place mint leaf and parsley leaf apart on softened rice paper. Place prawn halves (cut side up) and pork slice in a straight row with and between the leaves.

(5) Place a leaf of lettuce on the lower part of the rice paper. Top with bee hoon, followed by cucumbers and carrots.

(6) Carefully fold the lower edge of rice paper over filling, and both sides. Place spring onion stalk and continue to roll the rice paper up to seal the edges. Put the ready roll on serving dish. Repeat steps until all the summer rolls are done. Garnish with sesame seeds. Serve with dipping sauce.

A summer roll with spicy peanut sauce counts about 160kcal.

Tips: Try to use thick bee hoon instead of the thin type. It’s with better mouthfeel of the summer rolls.
* Do not over-steep the rice paper as it will be difficult to roll up later. Not to worry that the rice paper isn’t soft enough when first taken away from the steeping water as it will continue soften on the damp cloth along the assembling process.
* Rice paper wrappers are sold in dried hard pieces in a packet. It’s easily available at major supermarkets and some provision shops.
* Omit Sriracha chili sauce, if non-spicy sauce preferred.