Shrimp Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Summer Rolls)

Recipe by: An-My Lê
Adaptation and headnote by: Leslie Brenner

When I’m craving something herbal and fresh, these Vietnamese shrimp summer rolls always hit the spot. They’re super-fun to assemble: so if you’d rather not roll them all yourself, you can put out a platter of lettuce and herbs, the shrimp and cooked rice stick noodles, along with a stack of round rice papers and a shallow bowl of warm water, and let everyone roll their own. If you prefer, you can buy cooked shrimp instead of using peeled, deveined raw shrimp, and skip the shrimp-cooking step.

Traditionally, these are served with peanut dipping sauce; the one below was taught to me eons ago by my friend An-My Lê. If you prefer (or someone has a peanut allergy), you can also serve with Nước Chấm.

It may take a few tries to get the hang of making the rolls; here are a few tips:

• Use the large size (25 cm) rice paper. Smaller size works fine too, but you have more …