Gỏi Cuốn (Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup jarred hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons sriracha chile sauce, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 8 cups water
• 4 ounces rice stick noodles (maifun)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 24 medium (26- to 30-count) peeled and deveined raw shrimp (about 12 ounces)
• 16 (8 1/2-inch) round rice paper sheets
• 4 cups mixed baby lettuces
• 32 fresh cilantro leaves
• 32 fresh mint leaves
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks (about 1 cup)
• 2 Persian cucumbers, cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks (about 2 cups)
• Spicy Hoisin Dipping Sauce, for serving

Steps

1. Whisk together hoisin sauce, sriracha, tahini, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Whisk in additional sriracha to taste. Whisk in water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until sauce reaches desired consistency and has a balanced, sweet, spicy, and salty taste.
2. Bring 8 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Cook noodles according to package directions until tender but still slightly chewy, about 3 minutes. Using a spider or tongs, transfer noodles to a colander to drain; set aside. Reserve water in saucepan.
3. Return water to a simmer over medium-high; stir in salt. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water; set aside. Once water is simmering, remove saucepan from heat, and stir in shrimp. Cover and let shrimp poach until just opaque, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer shrimp to ice water using a spider or slotted spoon; let stand for 3 minutes. Drain shrimp. Slice each shrimp crosswise into 2 symmetrical halves. Set aside.
4. Place a cutting board, inverted baking sheet, or non–terry cloth dish towel in front of you as a work surface. Fill a 9-inch pie plate or deep skillet with about 11/2 inches of very warm water (110°F to 120°F) to moisten rice paper sheets. Arrange lettuce, herbs, vegetables, noodles, and shrimp near your work area.
5. To assemble rolls, work with 1 rice paper sheet at a time. Slide rice paper sheet halfway into water, and gently rotate sheet using your hands to wet all sides, about 10 seconds total. (Do not leave rice paper standing in water.) Place rice paper sheet on work surface, and let stand until pliable and slightly tacky, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
6. Arrange 3 to 4 tablespoons lettuce in an about 5-inch-long strip across bottom third of rice paper sheet. Arrange about 3 tablespoons noodles neatly over lettuce. Top with 2 cilantro leaves, 2 mint leaves, about 6 carrot matchsticks, and 8 to 10 cucumber matchsticks. Fold bottom of rice paper sheet up and over filling. (If paper is sticking to your fingers, dip fingertips into water and lightly re-moisten edges of sheet.) Roll away from you once so that the bottom edge is just tucked under, keeping wrapper pressed tightly around filling.
7. Place 3 shrimp halves, cut sides up, in center of wrapper. Roll once more over shrimp; fold outer edges of sheet in toward center. Continue rolling up, jelly roll–style, creating a small, tight roll. Transfer gỏi cuốn to a large plate. Repeat process with remaining ingredients, making sure to space finished rolls at least 1/4 inch apart so they don’t stick together.
8. Serve rolls with spicy hoisin dipping sauce.