Rest assured, these Vietnamese Veggie Rolls are as good as they are pretty. The crisp julienned vegetables are wrapped in rice paper and dipped in a peanut or Vietnamese sauce. Or why not go for both if that’s how you roll (no pun intended). A great appetizer for any occasion, these are keepers and will be especially loved by your gluten-free or vegetarian friends.
They take a little patience to make, but once you’ve prepped the ingredients and set up your rolling station you’ll be churning them out in no time!
Ingredients for 12 rolls:
12 small rice paper wraps
1 large carrot, julienned*
3 spring onions, finely shredded
1/2 cucumber, peeled, deseeded and julienned
1 cup (125g) bean sprouts
2 sprigs of mint leaves
2 sprigs of cilantro
*What’s julienned? Julienne cut vegetables are simply very thinly sliced vegetable sticks, like matchsticks. This can be done by hand if you’re patient and good with a knife. We’re not really either of those things, so we used a julienne peeler which looks like a regular peeler but gives you these amazing, beautifully thin sticks!
Once you’ve prepared all your vegetables, set up your work station. This is a step you won’t want to skip because it will help you work faster, like a mini production line. Place a damp tea towel on a large chopping board, this will be your work surface. Place a large bowl (large enough to fit your rice paper wraps) filled with water next to the chopping board. On the other side of the chopping bowl, place a serving platter and have a damp kitchen towel ready to cover the rolls.
Take a rice paper wrap and place it in the bowl, let it sit for 15-20 seconds. Once it’s soft, carefully remove from the water and place it flat on the damp tea towel. Wet fingers are fine here and will help with the smoothing out process. Place a cilantro or mint leaf on the center of the wrapper. Put together a mixed bundle of the prepared vegetables (about 1 inch/2.5cm in diameter) and place it in the middle of the wrap, with the ends of the matchsticks sticking out over the edge a bit. Bring the bottom of the wrapper up to meet the vegetables, and then bring one side over to the other and roll to close. Viola! Place it on your serving platter and cover with a damp towel.
If you want to make these in advance, they will keep for a couple of hours if covered with a damp towel and kept in the fridge. The dipping sauces are a must and they are super quick to prepare.
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
This sauce packs a punch of flavor, it’s sweet, salty and a little sour, bringing the vegetables to life. It’s gluten-free too!
2 tablespoons fish sauce (from the Asian section in your grocery store)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1 small red chili, deseeded and finely cubed (optional)
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve.
Peanut Dipping Sauce
This creamy sauce is well rounded with a hint of spice from the sriracha. It’s gluten free and suitable for vegetarians!
1/4 cup (45g) natural, unsweetened peanut butter
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons coconut aminos (if you don't have this you can use low sodium soy sauce, but then it won’t be gluten free)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 tablespoon water
Mix the peanut butter, lime juice, coconut aminos, garlic and sriracha in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of water to thin the consistency. Add up to a tablespoon more water if you feel that it needs to be thinner.
