spring rolls, as promised

Pin It Now!

This particular food combination is so nebulous as to barely qualify for recipe status, but it's SO yummy and incredibly versatile.

The basic premise is that you take a protein of your choice, some julienned veggies, rice noodles, fresh herbs and bean sprouts and roll it up in rice paper. Then you dip in peanut sauce.

I love this. I could probably eat it every week for the rest of my life and not get sick of it. Generally, I make it with shrimp, but in acquiescence to hubs' low-sodium demands, I decided to make this one with tofu (I used teriyaki marinated), but really you could use anything and it would rock.

So this isn't so much a recipe as a photo essay...

You need:
* rice paper wrappers (probably about 12....any more or it just gets annoying to make 'em up)
* vermicelli noodles
* mung bean sprouts (and yes, I'm well aware of the salmonella risk....I choose to ignore)
* fresh herbs (like mint and basil)
* julienned veggies - I bought matchstick carrots, cucumbers are good too
* protein source - tofu, shrimp, shredded chicken, bbq pork, whatever

Here's the smorgasbord of fillings:


To prepare, soak the rice paper roll in warm tap water for about 30-40 seconds (it should be pretty soft). Spread it out and put some toppings:


And then try to roll it up (sorry, no pics as this is very much a two-handed task for inexperienced folks such as myself).

Enjoy with peanut sauce.

Oh wait....I made my own peanut sauce too......I knew I forgot something.....
1/2 c. natural peanut butter (i.e., the kind that is actually just peanuts)
1/2 c. hot tap water
2 T reduced sodium soy sauce
2 T sugar
3 cloves garlic
1 chopped chili pepper
1 t minced coriander

1. Combine peanut butter and hot water. Stir until smooth.
2. Add soy sauce, sugar, garlic, chili pepper and coriander.

You can top with more chopped peanuts and coriander. This sauce is also great with satay or on noodle salad. Yum.



Thanks for reading! This is a great summer dinner - low fat, quick, easy, doesn't heat up the house. And if summer would just actually get here, I'm sure y'all would be right on it. ;)