Tuna rice paper rolls with peanut dipping sauce

Tuna and cucumber combine in these Vietnamese rolls.

Credit: Far Flung with Gary Mehigan

• makes

  12

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 50 g rice vermicelli
• 12 mint leaves
• 12 Vietnamese mint leaves, washed and picked
• 12 purple shiso/perilla leaves, washed and picked
• 12 coriander pieces, washed and picked
• ¼ of an iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, seeded and cut into strips
• 12 large (22 cm) round rice paper wrappers (banh trang)
• 300 g tuna, top quarter fillet, thinly sliced

Peanut dipping sauce

• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed/micro planed
• ½ to 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• ½ to 1 tbsp packaged satay sauce (Gary uses Jimmy’s), to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts

Standing time: 10 minutes

Instructions

For the dipping sauce, place the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat, stir in remaining ingredients and set aside to cool.

For the rolls, place the vermicelli in a medium-sized heatproof bowl and cover with hot but not boiling water. Stand for 10 minutes or until tender, drain through a colander and transfer to a paper towel-lined sieve to take up any excess water.

Place the herbs, shredded lettuce and cucumber onto a plate or in bowls and set aside.

Making one roll at a time, immerse a rice paper sheet in a bowl of warm water, then drain immediately.

On the bottom third of the wrapper, place the herbs. Snuggle a piece of tuna above the herbs, then top with lettuce, a few sticks of cucumber and finish with noodles.

Turn up the bottom of the wrapper to cover the filling, then carefully turn the two sides in, on top of the first fold, and complete the rolling. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

Serve with the dipping sauce.

Note

• You can add a sprinkle of crushed peanuts to the filling if desired.

• The dipping sauce makes about 180 ml

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.