Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

The first time I made these was at a friend's house for a casual dinner party... each couple had their own tray of ingredients and a pan of hot water and as we chatted and drank beer, we rolled our own!  It was the perfect way to control our hunger as each one took a few minutes to put together and we enjoyed them as we went.  They are super easy to make and you can virtually put anything you like in them. These are the essence of summer for me.  Cilantro, mint, shrimp and fresh cucumber... be creative and get rolling!

 Calorie per roll: approx 40

 This amount made 15 pieces.

Ingredients:

Roast chicken breast, shredded or poached chicken or cooked shrimps

Mint

Cilantro

Vermicelli noodles

Julienne carrots

Julienne cucumber

Radish

Rice paper, spring rolls skins

Thai sweet chili sauce

Method:

• Shred the breast meat of the roast chicken 
• Slice the carrot, cucumber and radishes using a mandolin
• Boil and cook the vermicelli noodles as per instructions.  Drain, allow to cool.
• Prepare all the other ingredients and display on a plate or board so all your ingredients are at hand
• Pour warm/hot water into a large container or pan to soak the rice paper rolls in.
• Soak the rice paper rolls for a few minutes until soft
• Layer the contents in the center of the rice paper rolls, adding the mint and cilantro and a little drizzle of sweet chili sauce in the centre.  Fold the two sides in and then roll to secure the edges.
• Serve with sweet chili sauce or a blend of fish sauce, chili sauce, vinegar and a dash of water to mix a slightly lighter sauce.

If you wish to go vegetarian, substitute the chicken for pan fried tofu.

To roll the rice paper rolls, place the ingredients at the bottom center, fold each side across and then as tightly as you can roll so all edges are secure.  The skins are quite delicate so be careful not to over stuff your fillings.