Gary’s Vietnamese Prawn rolls

I love these wee dudes. I first ate these wee bad boys in my favourite restaurant in Boston, Sonsie waaaay back. Circa '99 I'm thinking.

They are addictive little fuckers too especially if you nail the dipping sauce. First rule of LovinDublin recipe puttogethering though (that's not a word I know) is 7 ingredients only so the dipping sauce I've left out. I will throw together a wee simple one at the end though so read on.

I've gone with a prawn filling with carrot, coriander, cucumber, vermicelli noddles & some lime juice.

Let your imagination go wild. The key to these guys is to have your prep boxed off. Once you dip the rice paper in warm water you must work fast as they dry out quickly. One little tip. If the rice paper becomes sticky at any point, dip your fingertips into the warm water & keep going. Keep them cover with damp paper towels whilst you work.

Instructions

Step 1

Get your shit together.

Step 2

Soak the vermicelli noodles. 1 slab is loads. It'll easily do 10-12 rolls.

Step 3

Add the juice of a lime to the prawns & season. 2 prawns per roll.

Step 4

Cut the cucumber & carrot into julienne (strips).

Step 5

Now soak one rice paper disc in warm tap water. I usually make two rolls side by side at a time.

Step 6

Lay out the soaked rice paper roll. Add coriander leaves.

Step 7

Then add the desired amount of filling.

Step 8

Wrap them up. Serve in lettuce cups with a dipping sauce. For my sauce I used 1 tsp of sesame oil, 4 tsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tsp chopped ginger, 1 tsp honey, 1/2 tsp chopped red chilli, 1 scallion sliced thinly & some coriander.