Roll With It! Roast Duck Rice Paper Rolls

Want something healthy but delicious and fun to prepare? These duck rice paper rolls are very easy to make and make for a delicious meal and suit lunchboxes too!

Even if you don't like duck, you can use other sorts of fillings. Cooked shelled prawns, fish or chicken works well. I'd suggest tofu with a peanut sauce to give it flavour might be an idea if you want to keep it vegetarian.

I first made these on the morning of Mochi's memorial. We had a bring a plate affair much like a wake and I decided to make something with her favourite food: duck. I think my little Miss Moo would have approved of these and would have wolfed these down.

Speaking of approval and wolfing down food we were recently at a restaurant while travelling. They were trying to change the menu and decided to give us a preview of their menu testing. However that doesn't really work for me writing about it because it can mean that the dishes will change and my Dear Readers may end up with quite a different menu if they come in. So we explained this to them and they sort of understood. We said that we just wanted to order something that they knew would stay on the menu. "How about the steak?" I asked.

The man sort of tilted his head and his facial expression was slightly wary. "Sure...our steaks are very pleasant," he said before giving us a few minutes to decide.

Ivy and I looked at each other our eyes widening. "Pleasant?" I whispered, "Who calls a steak pleasant?". We did end up ordering the steak which was actually delicious. And pleasant too if you really want to use that word!

So tell me Dear Reader, would you be wary if a waitperson called a steak or dish pleasant? And what is your favourite rice paper roll filling?

Duck Rice Paper Rolls

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

• 2 roasted duck breasts, sliced into 12 pieces (can also use cooked chicken or prawns)
• 2 bundles vermicelli
• 12 sticks green onion
• 12 batons cucumber
• Thai basil or coriander
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 12 leaves soft butter lettuce
• 12 sheets rice paper

Step 1 - First cook the vermicelli. Place into a pot of boiling water and simmer for 8 minutes until the noodles turn white. Rinse under cold water until completely cool.

Step 2 - Take a sheet of rice paper and run it under cold water briefly. Place it on a chopping board on a teatowel where it will soften. Place two Thai basil leaves of a stalk of coriander leaves on the rice paper and then add the slice of duck breast. Top with a small bundle of vermicelli, spring onion and cucumber wrapped in a butter lettuce leaf and spread a little hoi sin sauce.

Step 3 - Roll up in the same way that you would a burrito. Start rolling up and then tuck in the sides and then roll up completely. Keep these rolls slightly apart as they do tend to stick together.