Summer Rolls

- Serves 4

Ingredients for Summer Rolls

For the dipping sauce
2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
1 small red chilli (deseeded if you don't like it too hot), finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
1 tablespoon golden caster sugar
3 tablespoon fish sauce
Juice 1 lime

For the rolls
70g vermicelli rice noodle or bean thread noodles
12 x 20cm round rice paper wrappers
A handful mint leaves
Edible flowers, optional
12 cooked prawns , cut in half lengthways
12 mini butterhead leaves
1 carrot , cut into thin matchsticks
1 cucumber, cut into thin strips
Omelette made with 2 eggs, cooled, and shredded into thin strips
A handful coriander
A handful Thai basil
50g beansprouts

Recipe

Make the dipping sauce by pounding the garlic, chilli, ginger and sugar together using a pestle and mortar, then stir in the fish sauce and lime juice. Alternatively, just blitz everything together in a mini blender. Adjust lime, sugar and fish sauce as per your liking.
Soak the rice noodles in a bowl of hot water for 15 mins, then drain well. Assemble all the prepared filling ingredients – once you start, you will need everything at hand.
When you are ready to make the rolls, dip one of the rice papers in a bowl of water for a few seconds - shake off excess water.
Place a rice paper wrapper on a board and at one edge of the wrapper, aesthetically lay a few mint leaves (and edible flowers , if using) then two prawn halves.
Place some lettuce on top of the prawns, followed by some noodles, a few strips of carrot and cucumber, some more herbs and finally some beansprouts. Don’t overfill the pastry or it will be hard to roll.
Lift the edge of the rice paper wrapper nearest to you over the filling and, holding the filling in position with your fingers, start rolling up tightly.
When you’re about halfway, fold the ends of the rice paper in and over the filling so that it is completely enclosed.
Keep on rolling tightly until the whole rice paper wrapper is rolled up. To serve, cut the rolls in half on the diagonal.