Sally's Recipe Of The Week: Spring Rolls And Peanut Dipping Sauce

Spring Rolls

Makes 12 rolls

Here is what you need:

12 sheets of rice paper

2 ounces of rice vermicelli noodles

1 head of butter lettuce

1 TBS toasted sesame oil

1 cup red cabbage, shredded

1 cup carrots, shredded

1 hot house cucumber cut into 4 inch slim sticks

3 scallions, thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped cilantro

¼ cup chopped mint

You can also add a protein to these rolls.I’ve replaced the noodles with poached chicken or cooked mini shrimp.

Here is what you do:

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Once cooked rinse the noodles under cold water, drain well and toss them with the sesame oil.

Set them aside.

In a small bowl combine the scallions, mint and cilantro.

Add warm water to a shallow bowl or pie pan.Dip one sheet of rice paper into the bowl until it softens, about 20 seconds. Don’t let it get too soft you will have trouble putting the roll together.

Place the paper on a damp surface. When adding the fillings leave about an inch edge all around the paper. First place a lettuce leaf on the paper, top with some noodles, then the cabbage, carrots, cucumber then sprinkle with the herb/scallion mixture.

Fold the bottom edge over the fillings and roll it once, fold in each side and roll it the rest of the way. Continue the process with the remaining sheets.

Serve with your favorite peanut dipping sauce. 

Peanut Dipping Sauce Recipe is below.

Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce

½ cup smooth peanut butter

2 TBS low sodium soy sauce (can sub tamari)

1 to 2 TBS brown sugar (may not need much if your peanut butter has sugar in it)

1 TBS rice vinegar

1 TBS lime juice

1 TBS grated ginger root

1 TBS grated garlic

2 tsp chili garlic (can use sriracha)

2 to 4 TBS warm water.

In a medium glass bowl combine all the ingredients until smooth. Thin it out to your liking by slowly adding the warm water. For dipping, don’t make it too thin. Taste and adjust the flavors to your liking.  If you want to use this over rice noodles or as a dressing, thin it out a little more.