Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls with Hoisin Dipping Sauce
Makes 8 rolls
Ok it’s January and the traditional time to try and make a resolution or two and for me that always involves trying to ‘be more healthy’. To be honest it doesn’t always make it past the first week, but these little gems are a great lunch or appetiser to get you in the mood for some fresh veg!
When I visited Vietnam I was mostly served deep fried spring rolls, but did get these in one restaurant and the idea of something lighter and fresher has stuck with me.
These are simple to make and you can put anything inside of them. Normally I would put a soft lettuce inside with the rest of the ingredients on top. However, it’s not really lettuce season so I went with what I have at home; carrot, bell pepper, cucumber, coriander, rice noodles and broccoli. It was my first time using broccoli. I know it’s not traditional but it worked really well so it’s staying as a favourite!
I’ve teamed these ones up with a Hoisin Dipping Sauce which is just 4 ingredients; Hoisin sauce, sugar, lime and water. You could add a grated clove of garlic in here too, but I was going out in the afternoon, so thought better of it today! These would also work well with the rice vinegar / soy dipping sauce that’s in the South Korean Gimbap blog.
If you haven’t worked with rice paper rolls before, don’t worry. They come as flat sheets, which you need to soak in warm water to make them pliable. The main tip I would give you is don’t leave them in the water very long, you just want to get them to the stage that they don’t crack when you roll them. My first attempt each time always goes a bit wrong, but I always keep that one by as my one!
Have fun with these and let me know what you decided to add to yours.
Equipment needed
Flat surface with clean towel on top
Extra clean towel to help dry your noodles.
Small pan to cook the rice noodles
Wide rimmed plate or bowl with warm water to soak your rice paper sheets.
Chopping board and sharp knife
Ingredients
8 rice paper sheets
60g of vermicelli rice noodles
½ tsp of sesame oil
1 bell pepper
1 large carrot
Half a cucumber
4 broccoli florets
Small handful of coriander
Dipping sauce
4 tsp sugar
4 tsp hot water (hot to melt the sugar)
4 tsp lime juice
12 tsp of Hoisin sauce
1 clove of crushed garlic (if desired)
Method
- Add the rice noodles to water (just enough to cover) and bring to the boil, once boiling let simmer for 2-3. After this time, drain your noodles and rinse under cold water to stop them from cooking.
- Once the noodles are cold place them in a clean towel to rid of excess moisture and put back in the pan. Add the sesame oil and toss through with your hands, to get a good covering. This is only to stop the noodles from sticking together. Set your noodles aside for later.
- Cut the broccoli florets into four slices lengthwise. These can be left crunchy, but I prefer to gently saute in water for around 4 minutes. You do still want a bit of crunch to them though.
- Next peel the carrot. Then thinly slice the carrot, bell pepper and cucumber and roughly chop the coriander.
Now it comes to assembling your spring rolls
- Fill a wide plate or bowl with warm (not hot) water.
- Place a clean towel on a flat surface.
- Working with one rice paper sheet at a time, dip it into the water. If it doesn’t all fit at once dip the edge in and rotate it round until it becomes pliable. You only want to get it past the firm stage. If you leave in the water too long, it will become a bit soggy!
- Quickly slide it out of the water onto the dry towel. Don’t worry if it gets a bit folded over, just spread it out as much as you can.
- Just below the half way mark, add the vegetables in layers as the picture above.
- Top with a small amount of the rice noodles and the coriander.
- Before you start to roll, fold the sides of the rice paper over to ensure nothing falls out.
- To roll, start from the bottom and fold over the top, making sure it tightly covers all the vegetables, then keep rolling to the end.
- These can be refrigerated for later, but try not to stack them on top of each other as they will stick together.
For the dipping Sauce:-
- Place sugar in a bowl and add the hot water to melt. Add all the other ingredients and stir. Taste the sauce and add more Hoisin if you like a stronger flavour. You are ready to start dipping!
