| 100g rice vermicelli 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce bunch fresh mint, roughly chopped bunch fresh Thai basil, roughly chopped half a cucumber, cut into thin batons 6 spring onions, finely sliced 12 rice pancakes soy sauce for serving (optional) 1. Soak the vermicelli according to the instructions on the packet, and drain once the translucent threads are rehydrated. 2. Flavour the vermicelli with the rice vinegar, soy and fish sauces, and then add the chopped herbs, cucumber and spring onions. Mix gently with your hands to try to combine the noodles, herbs and vegetables. 3. Soak the rice pancakes (again, according to packet instructions) in a shallow bowl of hot water and then lay each one on a tea towel to pat dry. Run a fairly narrow strip of noodle mixture down the middle of the pancake, fold over one half and then carefully roll it up as tightly as you can. Slice each roll into four and then arrange them on a plate. 4. If you want, pour some soy sauce into a few little bowls for dipping the rolls into as you eat. ADDITIONAL INFO You can often find the rice pancakes, or rice sheets (emphatically not rice paper) in the supermarket. If you’re unlucky in this respect, you will have to track down an Asian store, which offers a gastro-reward of its own. |