My partner and I travelled to Vietnam a few years ago very excited that we would be able to try this amazing cuisine. When I mentioned to anyone who had already been there, every single person said that the food is utterly sublime. The guidebooks spoke of Ho Chi Minh City that the locals still call Saigon, as being a hub for beautiful food - the Paris of Asia. The internet was ablaze with praise for this awesome country and its food. We arrive one Saturday evening, starving of course, to find a street vendor who was selling the legendary pho and promptly sat down. We had learned the words for “vegetables only”. Pho is a clear broth made with spices, herbs and noodles. As you sit down you are brought a beautiful clear broth, and on the table there are as many green vegetables as you can eat which you add to your bowl as you wish. It was a hot evening at a night market and we bought a beer (yes I do drink beer once in a blue moon) from across the street to enjoy with our pho. We were in heaven.

The next day we struggled to find vegetarian food that was not processed. We began to realise that pho is made mainly with beef and so for dinner, we made a bee-line for our heavenly pho vendor. We discovered that night that the pho we had eaten the night before was in fact a beef pho and due to our lack of Vietnamese language, something was lost in translation and we made our pho pas, excuse the pun! We were horrified that we’d eaten part of a cow the night before.

One can only laugh really, and it is these kinds of experiences that gives us a story to tell. Plus this story is the foundation of this summer roll recipe. It’s as authentic as it can be without any fish sauce. I think it is delicious.

The ingredients are clean and super variable. You can add pretty much anything to your liking. Here’s what I had in my kitchen. You really don’t need a lot of veggies for these. Just small amounts. There are two dipping sauces here because I couldn’t decide which one to go for as I felt the taste for both. I now realise that the recipe calls for both.

Vietnamese Spring Roll Ingredients

1 Small Red cabbage (or mixed white and red) finely sliced

1 packet of smoked organic tofu cut into strips

1/2 Carrot thinly sliced

Green chilly finely chopped

1/4 Yellow pepper

Handful of mung bean sprouts

Handful of coriander

Handful of Thai basil, purple basil and normal garden basil (Any will do)

1 Avocado (I forgot to add avo and I think it would have added to the flavour)

Rice paper wraps (You can get these from most supermarkets these days or from Asian shops)

You will need a bowl of hot water to dip the rice papers in.

Dipping Sauce

2 Tbsp tamari

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar or lime juice

2 Tbsp hot water

1 Tsp raw honey

1 Tsp finely chopped ginger

1 Tsp chopped green chilli

Pinch of sesame seeds

Peanut Sauce

2 Tbsp peanut butter (make sure it does not have additives)

1 Tbsp tamari

1 Tbsp red rice vinegar or lime juice

1 Tsp chopped garlic

1 Tsp chopped ginger

1 Tsp chopped green chillis

1 Tsp dried red chillis

1 Tsp honey

2 Tbsp hot water

Pinch sesame seeds (I used black but white will do)

Summer Rolls

Chop all your ingredients into strips. In a bowl of hot water immerse your rice papers in for just a few seconds. 3 seconds is enough otherwise they will soften too quickly and become sticky. Remove from the water, place the rice paper onto a plate. Add layers of each ingredient. You just need a couple of each. Roll your spring roll by turning up the sides first. If you roll is too soft and floppy, you can just add another rice paper.

Dipping Sauce

Mix all the ingredients together and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

Peanut Sauce

Mix all the ingredients. Leave out the chillis and sprinkle them on top. If you would like more chilli then you can chop some chilli, add olive oil and keep it separate for those who don’t like it spicy.