Rice paper rolls with hoisin-peanut dipping sauce

Sesame chicken

Capsicum and snowpeas (veg)

(makes 60)

These simple, healthy, refreshing rice paper rolls are a Vietnamese specialty and are great for summer entertaining! A bit of prep work but pretty quick to roll once you get the hang of it. I decided to make these for our Fatigue Centre Christmas party because i knew the UNSW girls love these and always get it for lunch from the campus Viet place. and what they love more than the rolls is the dipping sauce! So I thought i'd try my hand at it even though i'm not sure how traditional it is... true Viet or not, it's pretty tasty :)

Tip: If you're definitely going to make both the chicken and the vegetarian option, then do all the prep work first (cook noodles, cut vegetables) so you can just sit and fold.

Prep time: 45 min
Assembly time: 45min 

Ingredients
Sesame chicken (makes 30)
1x double chicken breast fillet (approx 700g)
6 carrots
5 cucumbers
1/2 bunch shallots
1 bunch mint (approx. 60 leaves)
450g rice vermicelli or 340g fine rice vermicelli (dried)
soy sauce
sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds
30xrice paper

Vegetarian (makes 30)
2 red capsicum
100g snow peas
6 carrots
1/2 bunch shallots
1 bunch mint
450g rice vermicelli or 340g fine rice vermicelli (dried)
30x rice paper

Hoisin dipping sauce (sauce for 30)
7 T hoisin sauce
4 T peanut butter
4 T rice wine vinegar
5 T water
1 T crushed peanuts (optional)

Method
Sesame chicken rice paper rolls
1. Cut chicken into 10x5cm pieces. Poach chicken breast for 20 minutes, cool then shred and lightly dress in soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds.
2. Soak vermicelli in cold water for 20 minutes to rehydrate the noodles. Drain then pour over with boiling water to cook.
NB. Alternatively, you can cook in boiling water over the stove for 2-3 minutes, but i find it doesn't seem as rehydrated, but no big difference really.

Fine rice vermicelli packs - Cook these according to instructions (1min 15 sec in boiling water then 15 sec in cold water). This was a great discovery as they are already pre-packed into individual rectangles for each rice paper roll, genius and so much less messy!

3. Grate carrots and julienne cucumbers (removing seeds first) and pick mint off branch.

4. Prepare a large shallow bowl with boiling water. Hold the rice paper and quickly dip the rice paper into the water in a circular motion so that all sides of the rice paper are softened.

5. Lay the rice paper on a flat plate, then place the ingredients (chicken, cucumber, carrots, vermicelli then 2 mint leaves on top) in the centre of the lower third of the paper. Roll the bottom up, then both sides in, then roll upwards to the top until all the paper is used. Repeat x 30! 
NB. Refill with boiling water to soak the rice paper, you can tell when the paper is not softening much anymore!

From left to right; a) Lay ingredients in bottom third, b) Fold bottom up,
c) Fold both sides in, d) Roll up until all the paper is used.

Sesame chicken rice paper rolls

Vegetarian rolls
6. Soak and cook the vermicelli noodles.
7. Grate the carrot and julienne the capsicum, snowpeas, and shallots. Take the mint off the branches.

8. Repeat steps 4 & 5 for rolling the rice paper rolls, but instead fill with capsicum, snow peas, carrots, shallots, vermicelli and mint.

Vegetarian option!

9. To prepare the dipping sauce, put the hoisin sauce, peanut butter and rice wine vinegar in a small saucepan and heat over the stove until the peanut butter is melted. Dilute with water as preferred. Top with crushed peanuts (optional).

10. The rolls are best served immediately / on the day, or glad wrap and refrigerate briefly. If you refrigerate for too long the vermicelli can get hard and the rice paper also hardens and can crack.