Dear Eric: I’m wondering if you have a recipe for rolls made with rice wrappers that are not fried? Would you also have a peanut sauce to serve with them?
Diane
Dear Diane: You are referring to Vietnamese-style summer rolls, which are also called salad rolls. Both are good names because you don’t fill, roll and fry the rice paper wrapper, as you would a spring roll. You soften the wrapper and fill it with cool, salad-like things that taste great in summer.
The trickiest part of making them is getting the dry, brittle wrapper soft enough to roll, but not so soft that it breaks when you do it, or not soft enough, which can result in a roll with a chewy texture. They are a few methods for achieving this.
Some dunk the wrapper quickly in boiling water until it’s soft and pliable. Others choose to dunk it in warm water for a longer period until the wrapper achieves those qualities. Yet others, including me, choose to dip it in cold water, once or twice, set the wrapper on a work surface, and then rub it with fingers to push moisture into it and soften it.
I like the cold-water method because there is less worry of the wrapper going past soft and pliable to mushy, as can occur with the hot-water methods.
Diane, it will take practice to learn how to neatly and tightly roll a summer roll as they do in a Vietnamese restaurant. Luckily, the rice-paper wrappers are inexpensive, so if you break a few during the process, you won’t mind so much when you try again.
How make a summer roll
1. Dip and moisten the wrapper in cold water and then set it on a towel. Firmly rub the wrapper all over with your fingers, causing it to absorb the water and softening it.
2. Place the filling near the end of the wrapper facing you.
3. Fold the wrapper over the filling.
4. Fold the sides of the wrapper over the filling.
5. Tightly roll up the summer roll and it’s ready.
Shrimp and Vegetable Summer Rolls
The rice-paper wrappers, called bánh tráng in Vietnamese, used to make these are sold in the Asian-foods aisle of some supermarkets and at Asian food stores. In this case, they are tastily filled with shrimp, crisp vegetables, fresh herbs and crunchy peanuts.
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 4 minutes
Makes: 12 rolls
1/2 lb (about 225 grams) rice stick (vermicelli) noodles (see Note 1)
12 cups boiling water
1/2 tsp salt
24 cooked, cold medium shrimp (prawns), tail removed and halved lengthwise (see Note 2)
24 mint or basil leaves
24 cilantro sprigs
1/2 English cucumber, cut into thin 2 1/2-inch sticks
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
6 medium butter or leaf lettuce leaves, each halved lengthwise, and then rolled
12 (8 1/2-inch) round rice paper wrappers
• peanut sauce (see recipe below) or Thai-style sweet chili sauce (see Note 3), for dipping
Place the rice-stick noodles in a deep bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Pour over the boiling water and let stand four minutes to soften the noodles. Drain the noodles well, set back in the bowl and cool with ice-cold water. Drain the noodles well again, set back in the bowl and they are ready to use.
Set a clean kitchen towel flat on a work surface. Have your summer-roll fillings in reach of that towel. Fill half full with cold water a wide bowl large enough to hold a rice-paper wrapper. Line a large baking sheet with plastic wrap or parchment.
Dip a wrapper in the water for 10 seconds, and then set flat on the kitchen towel. With your fingers, rub the wrapper on both sides until the water on it is absorbed and the wrapper begins to soften.
Dip the wrapper in the water for five seconds more, and then set back flat on the towel and rub a few seconds more, just until the wrapper is pliable and can be rolled.
Make a horizontal row of four half shrimp towards the bottom edge of the wrapper. Top the shrimp with two mint (or basil) leaves and two cilantro sprigs, and then set on a few cucumber sticks and a sprinkling of green onion, carrots and peanuts. Now set on about 1/3 cup of rice noodles. Top the noodles with a rolled-up lettuce leaf.
Lift the bottom edge of the wrapper tightly up over the filling, and then fold the sides over the filling. Now roll the summer roll up tightly, set on the baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.
Fill and roll the remaining wrappers as you did the first, setting them on the baking sheet not touching. Cover and refrigerate summer rolls until ready to serve. If kept tightly wrapped, summer rolls can be made a few hours in advance of serving.
Serve summer rolls with a bowl of the peanut and/or sweet chili sauce for dipping.
Note 1: Thin rice stick noodles are sold in the Asian foods aisle of most supermarkets and the packages of it vary in size. If you bought one larger than you need for this recipe, take out what you need and store the rest away for another time.
Note 2: Medium shrimp (or prawns) are 31 to 40 count per pound. They are sold at most supermarkets either frozen, or thawed from frozen. If you’ve bought frozen and thawed them, pat the shrimp dry before using.
Note 3: Thai-style sweet chili dipping sauce is sold in the Asian-foods aisle of most supermarkets.
Peanut Sauce
This rich, coconut-flavoured peanut sauce is accented with salty, sweet, sour and spicy tastes.
Preparation time: five minutes
Cooking time: a few minutes
Makes: about one cup
1/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter (I used Adam’s brand)
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp finely grated zest
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
• pinch crushed chili flakes
• salt to taste
Place all ingredients in a pot and whisk to combine. Bring just to a simmer over medium heat, and then remove from the heat and cool to temperature. Transfer the sauce to a tight-sealing container and refrigerate until needed.
Sauce can be made many hours before needed. If the peanut sauce has become too thick for dipping when chilling, simply thin with a bit of coconut milk or water just before serving.
Eric Akis is the author of The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
