Make Vietnamese Summer Roll

If you want to impress at the next gathering, make Vietnamese summer rolls. Vietnamese summer rolls are a light, delicious variation on other types of Asian rolls and dumplings. They make a great appetizer or a nice snack on their own. Most of the ingredients for Vietnamese summer rolls can be found in the grocery store, but the rice wrappers, hoisin sauce, and fish sauce may need to be purchased at an Asian grocery store.

To make Vietnamese summer rolls, you will need:

• Two ounces rice vermicelli
• Eight rice wrappers
• Eight large shrimp, cooked, peeled, de-veined, and cut into a few pieces
• One tablespoon chopped Thai basil
• One tablespoon fresh mint leaves
• One tablespoon chopped cilantro
• Three tablespoons shredded carrot
• Three tablespoons sprouts
• Two lettuce leaves, chopped into small pieces
• Half of a cucumber, sliced thin
• Two teaspoons fish sauce
• Two tablespoons lime juice
• One clove of garlic, minced
• Two tablespoons white sugar
• One tablespoon peanut butter
• Two tablespoons hoisin sauce

1. Boil the noodles. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and cook the rice vermicelli for five minutes and drain. Use the five minutes to finish chopping and slicing your ingredients. You will want them all measured out and ready on the counter for the next step.
2. Fill the wrappers. Fill a mixing bowl with hot, but not boiling, water. Dip each rice wrapper into the water. Lay the wrapper on a cutting board and fill with one cut up shrimp, a spoon full of vermicelli, and a little Thai basil, mint, cilantro, sprouts, carrot, and cucumber. Top with lettuce. Leave an inch on each side of the wrapper open.
3. Fold the wrapper. Fold the sides of the rice wrapper in and then roll the wrapper up. Roll tightly enough that they stay in place and hold the ingredients. Repeat the filling and rolling with each remaining wrapper. Experiment with the balance of ingredients and how much can fit in the wrappers. This will become second nature as you wrap the Vietnamese summer rolls.
4. Make the fish sauce. Blend the fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, and sugar, add one-fourth cup water to the mixture. This is one sauce option for dipping your Vietnamese summer rolls.
5. Make the peanut sauce. Blend the peanut butter and hoisin sauce in a small bowl. Add one-fourth cup water to make the sauce a good consistency for a dipping sauce. This is another dipping option. Put out both the fish sauce and the peanut sauce to accompany your Vietnamese summer rolls.