Vietnamese Garden Rolls

These are a favorite of mine but I usually don't have the patience to make them. Not that they take all that long; I just love shrimp and tend to want to eat them right away.

Vietnamese Garden Rolls

You'll need:

Spring Roll Wrappers (you might have to get these in an Asian market)
Lettuce
Thin Vermicelli Rice Noodles (in Asian section of grocery store)
Avacado
Large Cooked Shrimp (tails removed) or tofu cut into rectangles
Shredded carrot
Julienned Cucumber
Bean sprouts
Julienned Red Bell Pepper

Note: All of these vegetables are optional. Tonight I only had avacado and lettuce so that's all I used. The rolls taste much better with additional veggies like carrots and cucumbers.

1.) Soak spring roll wrappers, one or two at a time, in a bowl of cold water. Soak until the wrappers are completely soft. Lightly dry wrapper on a paper towel to soak up extra water.

2.) Soak the noodles in a bowl of hot (but not quite boiling) water for about 3 minutes, until soft.

3.) Place one wrapper down on a plate or cutting board. Place a butterflied shrimp in the center of the wrapper. Top the shrimp with a slice of avacado, a few of each of the vegetables, rice vermicelli noodles, and a small leaf of lettuce.

4.) Fold the top and bottom of the wrapper over the filling. Then fold one side of the wrapper over the filling and roll up towards the opposite side.

5.) Serve with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce or peanut sauce.

Note: the recipe I used this time for Nuoc Cham is not the best one I've ever had. Nigella Lawson actually has a great recipe for it but I can't find it right now. If anyone has it please let me know (I think it's from Nigella Bites). I'd love to get a copy.