Ingredients

For the dipping sauce
2 garlic cloves
finely chopped
1 small red chilli
(deseeded if you don’t like it too hot), finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce
juice 1 lime
For the rolls
100g vermicelli rice noodle
or bean thread noodles
12 x 20cm round rice
paper wrappers (see tip, below)
handful mint
leaves
18 king prawns
cut in half lengthways
2-3 large iceberg lettuce
leaves, torn into 12 pieces
1 carrot
cut into thin batons
a handful coriander
a handful Thai basil
a handful long chives
50g beansprout

Method
step 1
Make the dipping sauce by pounding the garlic, chilli, ginger and sugar together using a pestle and mortar, then stir in the fish sauce and lime juice. Alternatively, just blitz everything together in a mini blender.

step 2
Soak the rice noodles in a bowl of hot water for 15 mins, then drain well. Assemble all the prepared filling ingredients – once you start, you will need everything to hand.

step 3
When you are ready to make the rolls, dip one of the rice papers in a bowl of hot water, moving it around until the whole wrapper is soft – about 10-15 secs – then drain on a tea towel.

step 4
Place a rice paper wrapper on a board and at one edge of the wrapper, add a few mint leaves, then 3 prawn halves.

step 5
Place some lettuce on top of the prawns, followed by some noodles, a few strips of carrot and cucumber, some more herbs and finally some beansprouts. Don’t overfill the pancakes or they will be hard to roll.

step 6
Lift the edge of the rice paper wrapper nearest to you over the filling and, holding the filling in position with your fingers, start rolling up tightly.

step 7
When you’re about halfway, fold the ends of the rice paper in and over the filling so that it is completely enclosed.

step 8
Keep on rolling tightly until the whole rice paper wrapper is rolled up. To serve, cut the rolls in half on the diagonal.