Bramasole

Vietnamese-inspired rice-paper rolls

(serves 4)

Fillings:

400g chicken breast or chicken tenderloins (I treated myself to some tenderloins, because I’m worth it)
2 carrots, julienned (very very thinly sliced carrot sticks about 3mm thick)
2 cups of very thinly sliced red cabbage1 packet of salad sprouts (those wee plastic containers that contain both alfalfa and snow pea shoots)
¼ cup fresh coriander leaves
2 bundles of vermicelli noodles
24-32 small rice-paper rounds (as in 6-8 per person)

Marinade for chicken:

2 Tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp sesame oil

Slice your chicken into thin pieces the size of your index finger (a girl’s index finger if you have massive hands). This is a good length as the piece of chicken should run the entire length of your roll.

Place the chicken pieces in a bowl, pour in all the marinade ingredients, stir to coat then leave to sit while you get everything else ready.

Thinly slice your carrot and cabbage. You can use whatever you have in your fridge really. Red capsicum adds a really good colour. Place all your vegetable fillings on a nice plate: presentation is key.

Cook your chicken in a hot frying pan. Once cooked, place the chicken on the plate and spoon the residual sauce from the frying pan over the top of it. This sauce is really good so you don’t want to waste it.

Boil the kettle, snap your vermicelli bundles in half (otherwise the strands can be very long and difficult to manage), place them in a small saucepan full of boiling water and cook for a few minutes until they are soft. Drain and place in a bowl. Toss some sesame oil through them so they don’t all stick together.

Place boiling water in a shallow dish large enough to submerge your rice paper. I used one of my sandwich cake tins, which was perfect.

Gather around the table and start assembling!The secret to assembly is not to be too greedy: overfilling leads to a very messy disaster. If you want more, just make another roll.

Dip your rice paper into the hot water for about 7-10 seconds. Shake off the excess water and pop it on your plate nice and flat.

I usually start with the vermicelli; place a small pile, perhaps the size of a table tennis ball in the centre towards one edge. Spread it out so it goes lengthways down the rice paper. Line up the other fillings next to and on top of the vermicelli.

Now for the folding. Start by folding the bottom edge of the rice paper (the one your tail of filling points to) up and over, like a burrito.

Get one of the side sections and fold that over the filling. Fold the last side-flap over the rest of the roll. Now it should look like a cylinder with one end folded up. If my instructions aren’t very clear (I think I am starting to confuse even myself) go and Google “how to roll a rice paper spring roll” or something similar. There are a few ways to do so, so get creative.

Then repeat the process until you are full.