Roll call: make vietnamese summer rolls at the table for a light dinner

Sunset, July, 2004 by Kate Washington

Vietnamese cuisine may just be the perfect kind of cooking for summer--fresh and satisfying, but never heavy. And now that ingredients like rice-paper wrappers and rice noodles are increasingly available (look for them in the Asian food aisle of a well-stocked supermarket), it's easier than ever to make dishes like summer rolls at home. These require nothing more than soaking the wrappers and prepping a few fillings, many of which can be picked up at the supermarket deli or salad bar. The real work--and fun--of filling and rolling shifts to the diners.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Summer Rolls

PREP AND COOK TIME: 45 minutes

MAKES: 4 servings

NOTES: Serve these rolls with a purchased peanut sauce for dipping.

3 1/2 ounces (half of a 7-oz. pkg.)
      thin rice noodles
    1 red bell pepper (6 oz.), rinsed
    3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
      (nuoc nam or nam pla)
    2 tablespoons sweet Asian
      chili sauce
    1 tablespoon lime juice
    2 tablespoons chopped roasted
      peanuts
   12 ounces shelled cooked shrimp
      (31 to 40 per lb.), tails removed
    8 ounces shredded cooked chicken
    6 ounces mixed baby greens,
      rinsed and crisped
    1 English cucumber (10 oz.),
      rinsed, halved lengthwise, and
      thinly sliced into half-moons
    2 carrots (8 oz. total),
      peeled and shredded
    1 cup each loosely packed fresh
      mint leaves and fresh cilantro
   12 to 18 rice-paper wrappers
      (banh trang; 8 in. wide)

1. In a 4- to 5-quart pan over high heat, bring 3 quarts water to a boil. Add rice noodles, stir to separate, and cook until tender to bite, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water until cool, and drain again. Using scissors, cut noodles into about 3-inch lengths.

2. Meanwhile, stem and seed bell pepper; cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices, then crosswise into 2-inch lengths. In a small bowl, stir together fish sauce, sweet chili sauce, and lime juice.

3. Mound rice noodles in the center of a large platter. Drizzle 1 tablespoon fish sauce mixture over noodles, then sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Mound bell pepper, shrimp, chicken, greens, cucumber slices, shredded carrots, mint, and cilantro around noodles.

4. Pour 1 inch hot tap water into a large, shallow bowl. Submerge rice-paper wrappers, one or two at a time, until flexible and tender, about 30 seconds. Carefully remove and let drain briefly; stack on a plate.

5. Offer platter of fillings for diners to assemble their own summer rolls, with remaining fish sauce mixture alongside for dipping. To roll, add desired fillings in a strip across center of a wrapper; fold in sides over filling, then roll up tightly from the edge closest to you, like a burrito.

Per serving: 606 cal., 15% (90 cal.) from fat; 44 g protein; 10 g fat (2.2 g sat.); 84 g carbo (8.2 g fiber); 892 mg sodium; 216 mg chol.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES CARRIER