Prawn and Avocado Rice Paper Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

• 400 graw king prawns, peeled and deveined
• 1garlic clove, minced
• 16rice paper wrappers (22cm)
• 100 gvermicelli rice noodles
• 1cucumber
• 2large carrots
• 1little gem lettuce, leaves separated
• 1 tspsesame oil
• 1lime, juice only
• 2ripe avocados
• 20 gfresh mint leaves
• 20 gfresh coriander
• 4 tbspsmooth peanut butter
• 1 tspfresh ginger, finely grated
• 1red chilli, finely sliced
• 1 tbspfish sauce
• 60 mlwarm water
• 2 tbsphoisin sauce
• Fine salt and black pepper
• 30 groasted peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)
• 1lime, cut into wedges (optional)
• 100 gquick-pickled cucumber (optional)
• 300 gcooked rice (optional)

Method

1. 1Drop the vermicelli into a pan of boiling water and cook for 3 minutes until just tender; they should bend without snapping. Drain, rinse under cold running water until completely cool to stop the cook, then set aside in a loose tangle.
2. 2Toss the prawns with the minced garlic, sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of the lime juice, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Don't let them sit in the lime more than a few minutes; acid starts to cure raw prawns and turns the texture chalky.
3. 3Heat a dry pan over a medium-high heat until you can feel the warmth coming off it. Lay the prawns out in a single layer; if they don't all fit, cook in two batches. Crowd the pan and the prawns steam in their own juices instead of taking colour. Cook for 3–4 minutes, turning once, until pink, curled tight, and lightly golden at the edges. Watch the garlic clinging to them; it should go fragrant and pale gold, not dark. Tip onto a plate to cool, then halve the prawns lengthways so you can divide them evenly between 16 rolls.
4. 4Halve, stone and peel the avocados, then slice each half into thin strips. Spoon another teaspoon of the lime juice over the slices; the acid keeps them green while you build the rolls.
5. 5Peel the carrots and cut into thin matchsticks. Halve the cucumber lengthways, scoop the watery seed core out with a teaspoon (it would weep into the wrapper), and cut the firm flesh into matchsticks the same size as the carrot.
6. 6Make the dipping sauce. Whisk the peanut butter, hoisin, the remaining lime juice, fish sauce, grated ginger and warm water in a bowl until smooth and pourable; the warm water is what loosens the peanut butter into a sauce rather than a paste. Now spoon a tablespoon into the bowl of any leftover prawn pan juices, swirl it through, and stir that back into the main sauce; that pan-sauce trick gives the dip a savoury backbone the raw mix doesn't have. Taste. The salt is doing its job through the fish sauce and hoisin, but it usually wants one more pinch and a touch more lime to lift it.
7. 7Fill a wide shallow bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper for 15–20 seconds until just pliable but not floppy; it will keep softening as you build, so pull it out a touch firmer than you think. Lay flat on a clean damp tea towel.
8. 8Place a lettuce leaf just below the centre, then a small tangle of noodles, one-sixteenth of the prawn halves, laid pink-side down so they show through the finished roll, a few avocado slices, a pinch of carrot and cucumber, and a few mint and coriander leaves.
9. 9Fold the sides in over the filling, then roll tightly from the bottom up, keeping firm pressure as you go; a slack roll falls apart on the first dip. Repeat to make 16 rolls, sitting them seam-side down so they seal.
10. 10Plate the rolls on a platter and float the sliced red chilli on the peanut dipping sauce. Add the optional roasted peanuts and lime wedges if using. The quick-pickled cucumber and cooked rice are optional sides.

Per serving

kcal

609

protein

32.1g

fibre

9.6g

carbs

76.5g

fat

21.6g