Cold Thai Spring Rolls With Vietnamese Dipping Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• In a bowl of cool water, soak a wrapper until limp. Lay wrapper out flat. Place 1/6 of each ingredient down middle of wrapper, starting with lettuce. Fold over each end and tightly roll the wrapper around the contents, as if making a burrito. Moisten at seam; press to close.
• Lay on plate, cover with moist paper towel and refrigerate until ready to serve. Then slice in two and serve with Quick Thai Dipping Sauce, below, or peanut sauce.
• To make the Quick Thai Dipping Sauce, combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Steps:

• Whisk vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, garlic, and red pepper flakes together in a small bowl. Set the dipping sauce aside.
• Fill a large bowl with room temperature water. Add rice vermicelli and soak for 1 hour.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in shrimp and cook until curled and pink, about 1 minute. Remove the shrimp and drain. Slice each shrimp in half lengthwise. Transfer rice vermicelli noodles to the pot of boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Remove and drain in a colander. Immediately rinse the vermicelli with cold water, stirring to separate the noodles.
• To assemble the rolls, dip 1 rice wrapper in a large bowl of room temperature water for a few seconds to soften. Place wrapper on a work surface and top with 4 shrimp halves, 1/4 of the chopped lettuce, 1/2 ounce vermicelli, and 1/4 each of the mint, cilantro, and Thai basil. Fold right and left edges of the wrapper over the ends of the filling and roll up the spring roll. Repeat with remaining wrappers and ingredients. Cut each roll in half and serve with dipping sauce.

Steps:

• Have all meats precooked and cold and the rice noodles prepared already (the noodles should be white, long and at room temp).
• Make sure all veggies and herbs are cleaned, dried, and set out before you start.
• Dip a sheet of rice paper wrapper into water very quickly, no longer than a second or two (or they will get too soggy) and lay flat on a work surface.
• On one edge, lay a small handful of noodles, a few strips of meat, some shrimp, some cilantro and mint leaves, a lettuce leaf, some cucumber strips and bean sprouts, all to taste but don't overstuff.
• Carefully start to roll up eggroll style, tucking in the sides, then continue to roll up-but not too tightly or the spring roll will split.
• These rolls will be thicker than the typical Chinese-style fried eggrolls.
• Combine a few spoonfulls of hoisin sauce with some chopped peanuts to use as a dipping sauce (or serve with prepared spicy fish sauce dip called Nuoc Mam, available at Asian markets).
• Serve immediately- these do not keep and will harden up in the fridge, so it is best to make just as many as you plan to serve (store any extra unassembled fillings in fridge and roll later).
• Note: Please be sure to get the correct spring roll rice papers- these are not the same as wonton/eggroll wrappers, which must be cooked.
• Look for edible rice paper wrappers, rice noodle vermicelli, and hoisin sauce in Asian markets.