“This is probably my favourite thing to eat of all time, and it’s really fun, because everyone can roll their own,” says Khanh Nguyen of Melbourne restaurant Sunda. “The dipping sauce is my grandma’s recipe but I’ve added brown butter for extra richness. It’s seriously addictive.” Start this recipe a day ahead to marinate the beef and pickle the carrot.

Ingredients

100 gm unsalted butter, coarsely chopped

200 gm rice vermicelli

30 large rice paper wrappers (about 340 gm)

1 green apple, cut into batons

2 Lebanese cucumbers, cuts into batons

1 head butter lettuce, leaves separatead

3 cups (firmly packed) Asian herbs, such as shiso leaves, mint and Vietnamese mint

Bean sprouts (optional), to serve

Marinated beef

500 gm skirt steak, thinly sliced

100 gm roasted unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped

2 tsp caster sugar

1½ tbsp mam nem (see note)

1½ tbsp fish sauce

Pickled carrots

2 carrots, cut into julienne

50 ml fish sauce

50 ml white vinegar

50 ml lemon juice

50 ml caster sugar

Pineapple dipping sauce

50 gm diced unsalted butter

100 gm roasted unsalted peanuts

1/3 cup canned pineapple in juice, including juice

1 lemongrass stalk (white part only), thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, chopped

½ birdseye chilli, coarsely chopped, plus extra sliced to serve

2 tbsp mam mem (see note)

Method

1.For marinated beef, combine ingredients and 1 tsp salt in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight to marinate.

2.For pickled carrot, combine ingredients in a container and refrigerate overnight to pickle.

3.For pineapple dipping sauce, cook butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until nut brown (3 minutes), then cool. Blend remaining ingredients in a blender until smooth, then gradually pour in brown butter until emulsified. Season to taste.

4.Melt half the butter in a frying pan over high heat, add half the beef and stir-fry until browned (4-5 minutes). Wipe out pan and repeat with remaining butter and beef.

5.Meanwhile, soak vermicelli in a large bowl of boiling water until tender (30 seconds). Drain well and cut into 2cm pieces.

6.Working with 1 wrapper at a time, dip wrapper into a bowl of hot water to soften (20-30 seconds; it may seem dry but it’ll continue to soften). Lay flat on a work surface, spoon vermicelli, beef, apple, cucumber, pickled carrot, lettuce, herbs and sprouts along the centre, then leave for a minute for rice paper to absorb water. Fold in ends and roll up tightly. Serve with dipping sauce topped with chilli.

Mam nem, a fermented anchovy sauce, is available from Vietnamese grocers.
Notes

Profile Khanh Nguyen

Recipe / styling by Lisa Featherby

Ingredients

Method

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