Rice Paper Rolls

The great Australian-Vietnamese contribution to the world's casual food canon: translucent rice paper wrapped around cold vermicelli, crisp vegetables, fresh herbs, perfectly pink prawns and pork, served with a sharp, sweet, funky nuoc cham dipping sauce: fresh, vibrant and endlessly adaptable

Origin: Vietnam / Vietnamese-Australian communities

From the journey of Rice.

Rice paper rolls, gỏi cuốn in Vietnamese, are one of the most successful cultural food transfers of the late 20th century, carried to Australia by Vietnamese refugees and migrants who fled after 1975 and built significant communities in Cabramatta (Sydney) and Richmond/Footscray (Melbourne). The Vietnamese version of the dish (fresh spring rolls with vermicelli, pork, prawns and herbs, wrapped in the paper-thin bánh tráng (dried rice paper)) found enthusiastic Australian adoption, particularly when the accompanying nuoc cham (fish sauce, lime, chilli, garlic, sugar dipping sauce) became understood as one of the great condiments. In Australian cafés and restaurants from the 1990s onward, rice paper rolls became a staple of the lunch menu; sometimes adapted with Australian ingredients (avocado, roast chicken) but always retaining the fundamental architecture of the Vietnamese original. They represent one of the most benign and positive examples of culinary migration: a dish that is genuinely superior to anything it replaced in the Australian lunch canon, beloved by people of all backgrounds, and an enduring reminder of the Vietnamese community's extraordinary culinary contribution to Australian food culture.

Ingredients

Wrapper

  • 12 dried rice paper wrappers (bánh tráng), 22cm round

Noodles

  • 100 g rice vermicelli noodles (thin, dried)

Protein

  • 16 large cooked prawns, peeled and deveined, halved lengthwise
  • 200 g cooked pork belly or char siu pork, thinly sliced

Vegetables

  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into fine julienne
  • 0.5 medium cucumber, seeded and cut into fine julienne
  • 1 cup beansprouts
  • 1 small head soft lettuce (butter lettuce or oakleaf), leaves separated

Herbs

  • 1 large handful fresh mint leaves
  • 1 large handful fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves and thin stems
  • 0.5 small bunch garlic chives or regular chives

Nuoc Cham

  • 3 tbsp fish sauce (Vietnamese, such as Phu Quoc brand)
  • 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar
  • 4 tbsp water
  • bird's eye chillies, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, very finely minced

Method

  1. Make the nuoc cham: dissolve the sugar in the water in a small bowl. Add the fish sauce and lime juice. Stir to combine. Add the minced garlic and chilli. Taste and adjust; it should be a balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy. Set aside for the flavours to meld.
  2. Soak the rice vermicelli in cold water for 30 minutes, then drain and cook in boiling water for 2 minutes until just tender. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside in a bowl.
  3. Prepare all your fillings and arrange them on your work surface in an assembly-line order: a shallow dish of warm water for the rice paper, then the vermicelli, prawns, pork, vegetables, herbs, lettuce; in the order you will layer them.
  4. Dip one rice paper round into the warm water (not boiling) for 10–15 seconds until it is pliable and just-softened but not fully soft (it will continue to soften on your work surface). Lay it flat on a slightly damp, clean board or plate.
  5. In the lower third of the rice paper (leaving a 2cm border at the bottom), layer: a small handful of vermicelli, a piece of lettuce, a few strips of carrot and cucumber, a few bean sprouts, some pork slices, herbs and chives. Arrange 3 prawn halves in a row just above the vegetable mixture (these will show through the wrapper).
  6. Fold the bottom of the rice paper up over the filling. Fold in both sides firmly. Roll forward tightly, enclosing all the filling. Place seam-side down. Repeat with remaining wrappers and fillings.
  7. Serve immediately, as the rolls are best fresh. Arrange on a plate and serve the nuoc cham in individual dipping bowls. Rolls that aren't eaten immediately should be covered with a damp cloth to prevent drying.

Notes

The rice paper (bánh tráng) is made from a mixture of rice flour, tapioca starch and water, pressed into thin rounds and sun-dried on woven bamboo mats; hence the characteristic grid-like pattern visible on the surface. The rounds are shelf-stable when dry and become pliable and almost transparent when briefly soaked in warm water. They are gluten-free, low-calorie, and can be filled with virtually anything; avocado, tofu, grilled chicken, mango, basil, rice, or any combination. The Vietnamese tradition also includes bò bía (Chinese sausage and egg rolls) and various regional variations. The great Vietnamese-Australian adaptation has been to add avocado, and sometimes cooked beetroot: a nod to the Australian ingredient landscape.

The Gastrographer

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