Name: Southeast Asian–Style Spring Rolls
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: AsianAsia
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon granulated sugar; 1 1/2 tablespoons fermented fish sauce such as nuoc mam; 2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice; 1 teaspoon table salt; 3 ounces rice vermicelli; 1 large carrot, peeled and grated on large holes of box grater (about 1/2 cup); 1/3 cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts; 1 medium jalapeño chile or 2 Thai chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced, or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1 large cucumber (about 12 ounces), peeled and cut per illustration below; 4 leaves red leaf lettuce or Boston lettuce, halved lengthwise; 8 round rice paper wrappers (8 inches in diameter); 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh Thai basil leaves or mint leaves, small leaves left whole, medium and large leaves torn int 1/2-inch pieces; 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed

Southeast Asian–Style Spring Rolls

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Time

1 hour

Yield

Makes 8 Spring Rolls

Ingredients

1 teaspoon granulated sugar 1 ½ tablespoons fermented fish sauce such as nuoc mam 2 ½ tablespoons lime juice 1 teaspoon table salt 3 ounces rice vermicelli 1 large carrot, peeled and grated on large holes of box grater (about ½ cup)⅓ cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts 1 medium jalapeño chile or 2 Thai chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced, or ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes1 large cucumber (about 12 ounces), peeled and cut per illustration below4 leaves red leaf lettuce or Boston lettuce, halved lengthwise8 round rice paper wrappers (8 inches in diameter)½ cup loosely packed fresh Thai basil leaves or mint leaves, small leaves left whole, medium and large leaves torn int ½-inch pieces½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed

Before You Begin

If you can’t find Thai basil, do not substitute regular basil; its flavor is too gentle to stand up to the other flavors in the filling. Mint makes a better substitute. If you are unable to obtain fish sauce, substitute an equal amount of rice vinegar plus 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spring rolls are best eaten immediately, but they can be held for up to 4 hours in the refrigerator, covered with a clean, damp kitchen towel.

Instructions

Combine sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice in small bowl; set aside.

Bring 2 quarts water to boil in medium saucepan. Stir in salt and rice vermicelli. Cook until noodles are tender but not mushy, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse under cold running water until cool. Drain again and transfer to medium bowl; toss 2 tablespoons fish sauce mixture with noodles and set aside.

Combine carrot, peanuts, and jalapeño in small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon fish sauce mixture; toss to combine. Toss cucumber in remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce mixture.

Place lettuce on platter. Spread clean, damp kitchen towel on work surface. Fill 9-inch pie plate with 1 inch room-temperature water. Working one at a time, immerse each wrapper in water until just pliable, about 10 seconds; lay softened wrapper on towel. Scatter 6 Thai basil leaves and 6 cilantro leaves over wrapper. Arrange 5 cucumber sticks horizontally on wrapper (see illustration 1); top with 1 tablespoon carrot mixture, then arrange about 2 1/2 tablespoons noodles on top of carrot mixture. Wrap spring roll according to illustrations 2 through 4, below; set on 1 lettuce piece on platter. Cover with second damp kitchen towel; repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Serve with peanut dipping sauce, wrapping lettuce around exterior of each roll.