Preparation
- Prepare both dips: for the peanut dip, stir the hoisin sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce and water until smooth. For the nuoc cham, stir the fish sauce, lime juice, brown sugar and water until the sugar has dissolved.
- Poach the prawns in simmering salted water over low heat for about 3 minutes until just cooked through, refresh in iced water, drain and halve lengthways. Keep the cooking water.
- Bring the cooking water back to the boil, cook the rice noodles in it for about 3 minutes, drain, rinse under cold water and drain well. Stir the vinegar, sugar and the salt for the noodles together and toss the noodles in it.
- Fill a shallow dish with warm water. Soak a sheet of rice paper for 30 to 60 seconds until pliable and lay it on a damp cloth.
- In the lower third of the sheet, lay 2 to 3 prawn halves side by side, cut side up. Top with some noodles, cucumber, mango and spring onion and cover with a few mint and coriander leaves.
- Fold the bottom edge over the filling and roll up halfway, lay a few more herb leaves along the fold, tuck in the sides and roll up tightly to the end. Repeat with the remaining sheets, covering the finished rolls with a damp cloth.
- Serve the rolls whole or halved diagonally with both dips.
Drink with it
White wine · excellent match
Riesling, dry or feinherb (off-dry), or Grüner Veltliner
Citrus freshness and a little residual sugar go with the mango, lime and fish sauce and carry the peanut cream.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosingPale lager · excellent match
Light lager or Pils, ice cold
Fizz and light hop bitterness refresh after the sweet and salty peanut dip, and the lean body leaves the mint and coriander in front.
Pils or Helles: What's the Difference?Sparkling wine · good match
Brut sparkling wine
Fine bubbles and acidity mirror the lime in the dip, and the prawns stay in the foreground.
Sparkling wine, Champagne, and Prosecco: what's the difference?Tequila blanco · good match
Blanco as a highball with soda, lime and a sprig of mint
The herbal, citrus notes of the blanco meet the mint, coriander and lime, and the soda highball stays light.
Tequila Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo: what aging changesWhite rum · good match
White rum as a mojito with plenty of ice
The mint and lime in the mojito pick up the same herbs and the acidity of the rolls; plenty of ice keeps the drink as light as the filling.
White or dark rum: what does the color really tell you?
Why it pairs well
The tequila highball and mojito are outsiders: they match the mint, coriander and lime but fall behind Riesling and lager.