Crab Salad Rolls with Nuoc Cham
These rolls make a lovely appetizer or light summertime meal. Feel free to experiment with the vegetables you use. Fresh bell peppers or even some freshly cooked corn kernels would be delicious additions. When assembling the rolls, make sure to add only a little of each ingredient; the amount of filling adds up quickly, and a roll that is too big will be difficult to assemble and eat. Pair these rolls with Parallel 49 Tricycle Grapefruit Radler or Sumac Ridge Private Reserve Gewürztraminer.Ingredients
Serves 20 rolls and makes about ¾ cup (180 ml)
4 oz (110 g) vermicelli rice noodles
20 × 8-in (20 cm) round rice paper wrappers
1 lb (450 g) Dungeness crabmeat, picked over and any shells discarded
½ English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and julienned
2 cups (500 ml) shredded purple cabbage
2 cups (500 ml) julienned carrots
2 cups (500 ml) fresh mint leaves
2 cups (500 ml) fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
½ cup (125 ml) crushed roasted and salted peanuts, plus more to serve
10 green onions, halved lengthwise and trimmed to 10-in (25 cm)
Nuoc Cham, to serve, make ahead, recipe follows
homemade or store-bought sriracha, to serve (optional)
NUOC CHAM
¼ cup (60 ml) fresh lime juice
3 tbsp (45 ml) fish sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp (45 ml) grated palm sugar
2 tbsp (30 ml) water
1 Thai (bird’s eye) chili, finely minced
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) toasted and ground sesame seeds
1 green onion, minced
1 tbsp (15 ml) finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tbsp (15 ml) finely chopped fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Place noodles in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water. Set noodles aside until softened, about 20 minutes. Drain well and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Fill a dinner plate with room-temperature water. Place a clean tea towel on a work surface in front of you and have all filling ingredients ready at arm’s length.
- Working with 1 rice paper wrapper at a time, submerge it in water and place on tea towel. Rice paper will still be hard but will soften as you layer fillings into roll. Top with some crabmeat, noodles, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, mint, cilantro and peanuts. Tightly fold wrapper, now malleable, over filling, tuck in sides and roll up halfway. Lay a green onion across wrapper with 1-in (2.5 cm) of overhang on both sides and tightly roll up. Transfer roll to a platter and cover with a lightly damp paper towel. Repeat with remaining wrappers and fillings.
- Serve rolls with Nuoc Cham, a bowl of extra crushed peanuts and sriracha for guests to add should they like.
- In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a serving bowl and let marinate for 30 minutes before serving. Sauce may be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 1 week.