So fresh and easy! Make for a snack, appetizer, or light meal. With this recipe you get 2 dipping sauces to choose from, a sweet and savory peanut sauce and a tangy lime Vietnamese one... Because 2 dips are ALWAYS better than 1, am I right?!
I love this style of eating for so many reasons. You can:
Make it with the kids
Make it ahead of time
Use whatever ingredients you have on hand (as long as it's cut thinly)
Serve it deconstructed for those picky eaters
Impress guests with this seemingly complicated but quite simple dish
Bon Appetit!
Ingredients:
Spring Rolls -
6 ounces thin rice noodles
20 cooked jumbo shrimp, (you can purchase pre-boiled or boil yourself and then let cool)
10 round rice paper wrappers
10 Boston lettuce leaves, thick stem ends removed, cut in half
1 cup shredded carrots
1 avocado, sliced thinly
1 mango, sliced thinly
20 mint leaves
½ cup cilantro leaves, lightly packed
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce -
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp fermented fish sauce
1 Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced jalapeño chili with seeds (optional)
Peanut Dipping Sauce -
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
¼ cup peanut butter
¼ cup water
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp peanuts, chopped, plus extra for sprinkling
Directions:
To make Peanut Sauce: Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth. Add more water if you would like the consistency thinner. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
To make Vietnamese Sauce: Whisk all ingredients in small bowl until sugar dissolves.
To make spring rolls: In a medium pot bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add the dried rice noodles and cook until tender but not mushy, about 3-5 minutes or according to package directions. Transfer to a colander and rinse with cold water, refrigerate until ready to use. Do not discard water.
Fill a pie dish or large bowl (large enough to hold rice paper) with cooled noodle water.
Set a damp dish towel on a cutting board. Immerse one rice paper sheet into the water for 10-15 seconds.
Remove, shaking off excess water and lay flat on the damp cloth. The paper may still seem stiff, however, it will become pliable as you build each roll.
Lay one piece of lettuce over the bottom third of the rice paper. On the lettuce, place 2 to 3 tablespoon of noodles, 1 few carrots, 1-2 slices of avocado, and 1-2 slices of mango. (At this point you can keep stuffing and rolling OR drizzle the a bit of one of the sauces over the veggies to give a little more flavor.)
Roll up the paper halfway into a cylinder. Fold the sides in an envelope pattern.
Lay 2 shrimp down along the crease. Place a few cilantro and mint leaves next to the shrimp. Keep rolling the paper into a tight cylinder to seal.
Repeat with remaining wrappers. Store with seam side down.
Lessons learned:
The wrapper will still feel rigid when you remove it from the water. Don’t be tempted to soak longer than 20 seconds because it will be harder to work with. The starches in the paper become very sticky and pliable like glue when hydrated, tightly sealing in the filling.
It’s best to eat these within an hour or two of rolling or else the rice wrapper gets a little stiff as it loses moisture in the refrigerator.
Non-exhaustive list of variations:
Protein: Grilled chicken, salmon, tofu, cheese, nuts
Vegetables: Bell pepper, cucumber, zucchini, cabbage, diced scallion
Fruit: Pineapple, strawberries, apple
A dessert version of this would be fun... Hmmmm have to go work on that!
Compliments to @JessicaGavin for the recipe inspo and tutorial on how to roll these little suckers!