Rice Paper Rolls with Mint, Coriander and Peanut Sauce

Bull In A China Shop Scarlett Bubbles

Rice paper rolls are the best possible thing to make when it is too hot to cook, and you still want to put something genuinely good in front of people.

They are also the most forgiving recipe in this series, because there is no cooking to get wrong. The only real skill is in the wrapping, and that takes about three rolls to learn. The first one will be a mess. The second will be acceptable. By the third, you will be fine.

The single most common mistake is soaking the wrappers for too long. They should come out of the water still feeling slightly firm, almost underdone, because they keep softening on the board while you fill them. Wait until they are floppy in the water, and they will tear.

Ingredients

Makes 12 rolls, serves 4

For the rolls

• 12 round rice paper wrappers, 22cm
• 100g rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 large carrot, cut into fine matchsticks
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, seeds removed, cut into batons
• 1 butter lettuce, leaves separated
• A large handful of mint leaves
• A large handful of coriander sprigs
• A handful of Thai basil, if you can get it
• 200g cooked chilled prawns
• Optional: 200g firm tofu, pressed, sliced and pan-fried until golden

For the peanut sauce

• 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 to 4 tablespoons warm water
• Sriracha or chilli garlic sauce, to taste
• Crushed roasted peanuts, to finish

Method

1. Cook the vermicelli according to the packet, usually three minutes in boiling water. Drain, rinse under cold water until completely cool, and drain again thoroughly. Wet noodles make soggy rolls.
2. Make the peanut sauce. Whisk the peanut butter, hoisin, vinegar and sesame oil together. It will seize and look wrong. Add the warm water a tablespoon at a time, whisking, until it loosens into a pourable sauce. Add sriracha to taste.
3. Set up a station. A wide shallow bowl of warm water, a clean damp tea towel or board for rolling, and all your fillings laid out in front of you. Assembly goes quickly once you start.
4. Soften one wrapper at a time, five to seven seconds in the warm water. Pull it out while it still has some structure and lay it flat.
5. Fill in the lower third. A lettuce leaf first as a base, then noodles, carrot, cucumber, prawns or tofu if using, and a generous amount of herbs. Do not overfill. Four rolls in, you will want to. Resist.
6. Roll it. Fold the bottom edge up over the filling, fold both sides in, then roll upward firmly. Tight enough to hold, not so tight that it splits.
7. Keep them separated under a damp tea towel as you go, or they will glue themselves together.
8. Serve with the peanut sauce and crushed peanuts scattered over the top.

Why it works with Scarlett Bubbles

This is the most aromatic pairing of the series and the one where the wine and the food are most obviously speaking the same language.

Rice paper rolls are essentially a herb delivery system. Mint, coriander and Thai basil in quantity, eaten cold. Scarlett Bubbles leads with lifted florals, rose petal and lychee, which sit in exactly that fresh, perfumed register. Neither one is trying to dominate. They read as part of the same dish.

The peanut sauce is where the acid earns its place. Peanut butter and hoisin together are rich and coating, and they need something bright to clear the way for the next roll. A wine with vibrant acid does that job. A soft, low-acid wine would make three rolls in a row feel heavy.

Temperature matters here too. Cold food and cold wine on a hot day is a straightforward pleasure, and there is no reason to overthink it.

One note for entertaining. This is a good dish to put in the middle of the table and let people assemble themselves, which means everyone is standing around with a glass in hand for a while. A 10.5% sparkling is the right choice for that kind of grazing afternoon.