Vietnamese rice paper rolls (spring rolls)

Spring rolls are a large variety of filled, rolled appetizers or dim sum found in East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast Asian cuisine...

Ingredients:

14 sheets of 22cm/8.5" round rice paper
11 small cooked prawns/shrimp (about 12cm/5" in length, unpeeled including the head)
50 grams dried vermicelli noodles
7 lettuce leaves
1 cup bean sprouts

Instructions

1. Combine the Peanut Dipping Sauce ingredients, starting with 2 tbsp of water. Mix well to a smooth paste. Then add more water to achieve a honey like consistency.

2. Place vermicelli noodles in a bowl and cover with warm water for 2 minutes, then drain (or follow packet instructions).

3. Peel the prawns, slice in half lengthwise and devein.

4. Fill a large bowl with warm water. The bowl doesn't need to be large enough to fit the whole rice paper in one go.

5. Place two rice papers together. Note which side is the smooth side - this is supposed to be the outside of the spring roll. Submerge the rice papers into the water (both of them at the same time, together) for 2 seconds. If your bowl isn't large enough to fit the whole rice paper in one go, that's fine, just rotate it and count 2 seconds for each section you submerge into the water.

6. Place both the rice papers (one on top of the other) on a board or the counter with the smooth side down.

7. On the top part of the rice paper, place 3 prawns with a mint leaf in between, as per the photo below.

8. Place some vermicelli noodles and bean sprouts in a lettuce leaf, then wrap the lettuce leaf around and scrunch together lightly in your hand to make a bundle that holds together.

9. Place the lettuce bundle with the seam side down onto the middle of the rice paper.

10. Fold the left and right edges of the rice paper in, then starting from the bottom, roll up.

11. If you placed the ingredients on the rice paper as per the photo below, your rice paper rolls should look pretty with the prawn and mint leaves on the smooth side of the roll and the seam on the side or underside of the roll.

12. Serve immediately with the peanut dipping sauce.