Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Prawn and Hoisin-Peanut Dip

Ingredients

• 12 round rice paper wrappers (22cm)
• 250g cooked king prawns, peeled
• 100g rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 baby gem lettuce, leaves separated and ribs removed
• 2 medium carrots, julienned
• 1 cucumber, deseeded and cut into matchsticks
• 1 large bunch mint, leaves picked (about 30g)
• 1 large bunch coriander, leaves picked (about 30g)
• 4 spring onions, trimmed and halved lengthways into long strips
• 1 lime, halved
• 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
• 1 tbsp tamari
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 tsp finely grated ginger
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 60ml warm water, plus more to loosen
• 1 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
• 1 small red chilli, finely sliced (optional)

Method

1. Boil the kettle and pour the hot water over the rice vermicelli in a heatproof bowl. Leave for 3–4 minutes until the strands are tender but still have a little bite — overcooked noodles turn gummy inside the roll and weep water through the wrapper. Drain, rinse under cold running water until completely cool, drain thoroughly again, then snip into roughly 8cm lengths with kitchen scissors so they're easier to roll.
2. Slice the prawns in half lengthways through the spine — flat halves sit pretty against the wrapper and show through the rice paper once rolled. Squeeze over a little lime juice, season with a small pinch of salt, and set aside. The acid wakes the prawns up; pre-cooked prawns from the fishmonger are bland without it.
3. Make the dip. Whisk the hoisin, peanut butter, tamari, rice vinegar, grated garlic, ginger and sesame oil together with the warm water until smooth and pourable. Because the garlic is raw and finely grated here, it's already mellowed by the hoisin and tamari — no need to cook it, but use it sparingly: raw garlic going in fragrant and sharp will turn bitter and acrid in the jar by tomorrow if you've over-grated. The dip should coat the back of a spoon but slide off easily; if it's claggy, loosen with another splash of warm water, as it thickens as it sits. Taste it now — most of the salt comes from the tamari and hoisin, but a final pinch ties the peanut butter in. Scrape into a small jar and top with the chopped peanuts and sliced chilli just before serving.
4. Set up your rolling station: a wide shallow bowl of warm (not hot) water for soaking, a clean damp tea towel as your rolling surface, and all your fillings lined up within reach. Warm water softens the wrappers evenly; hot water makes them go slack and tear.
5. Soak one wrapper in the warm water for 10–15 seconds — pull it out while it's still slightly stiff, not floppy. It will continue to soften on the tea towel as you fill it. This is the single point where most people fail: a fully soft wrapper sticks to itself and rips the moment you try to roll it.
6. Lay the wrapper flat. On the third closest to you, place 3 prawn halves cut-side down in a neat row — they'll be the visible front of the roll. Above them, lay a small lettuce leaf, then a pinch of vermicelli, a small bundle of carrot and cucumber matchsticks, a strip of spring onion and a generous scatter of mint and coriander leaves. Don't overfill — a tight, slim roll holds together; a fat one splits.
7. Fold the bottom edge of the wrapper up and over the filling, tucking it in firmly. Fold the two sides in over the ends, then roll away from you, keeping tension as you go. The wrapper is sticky and self-seals — a snug roll now means a roll that survives the picnic tin. Set seam-side down on a plate lined with damp greaseproof so they don't dry out or stick to each other. Repeat with the remaining wrappers. To transport, layer the rolls between sheets of greaseproof in a flat tin — never stacked directly on top of each other or the wrappers fuse together and tear when you separate them. Keep cold and eat within 24 hours; the freshness is the whole point.
8. To serve, arrange the rolls on a board scattered with extra sprigs of mint and coriander, set the pot of hoisin-peanut dip alongside with the chopped peanuts and chilli on top, tuck in lime wedges for squeezing over each roll, and put the sriracha within reach for anyone who wants more heat. Taste a roll with the dip before you call people over — adjust the dip with another pinch of salt or a splash of warm water if it needs it.