You can have it all! Talk about healthy and great tasting all in one bite and you all talking about Spring Rolls. Love the crunch of these beautiful bundles and the nutty, savory flavor of the dipping sauce you plunge them in to. They’re not just an appetizer! Think outside the bundle! We make a complete dinner out of Spring Rolls with a nice, not too fruity Gewurztraminer to wash them down. Oh, yeah…..I’m in heaven just thinking about them!

Some food just lends itself to letting you be you. Fresh Rolls, Burritos, Omelettes, Baked Potatoes, all things that are stuff-able allow you to explore the endless stuff-abilities or at least to clean out your refrigerator. I stuff according to my mood! When I’ve had a rough week, I’ll stuff a baked potato (Irish comfort food) or I’m craving a lazy Sunday brunch at home, my husband will stuff an omelette while I read a cooking magazine with a cup of tea. If I’m feeling the need for a super healthy meal, I’ll stuff these fresh rolls. The deal is you can stuff them with anything you want so the “recipe” for these rolls is only a guideline. Color out side the guidelines just for fun!

The biggest challenge is learning how to roll them but I’ve figured out a few tricks! In the beginning, mine were less than stellar looking. In fact, I am still working on the look but the flavors are so fantastic I am forgiven for the slightly misshapen bundles. Don’t let the look of yours hold you back. I promise you the eating experience is what we are going for here. And the good news is, the more you make, the better they look and the more you make, the more you get to eat! Let’s Roll!

For the Peanut Sauce:

Simple to find ingredients, when combined, become a great dipping sauce or salad dressing!

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl and taste to see if you like the flavor or need to add a little more of one ingredient or another. A dash more Sriracha for me….and set aside.

For the Fresh Rolls:

Place the shrimp on a cutting board and holding your knife parallel to the cutting board, halve each shrimp horizontally.

Bring a pot of water to a simmer and place the noodles in the pot. Let them sit in the water for 7-8 minutes. Run under cold water and drain.

Splash with sesame oil and rice vinegar (use a light splash to coat) and set aside.

Place all of the ingredients in separate piles. Organize them according to how you are going to place them on the rice paper wrappers. Shrimp, Lettuce, carrots, Thai basil, mint, cilantro, rice stick noodles and cucumber sticks.

Place a dinner plate near the bowl you are dipping the rice paper wrappers in. Fill a shallow dish large enough to hold the rice paper wrappers with very warm to hot tap water. Working with 1 wrapper at a time, dip the wrapper in the water and gently spin it around for 3-4 seconds.

Remove the wrapper from the water. It will still be slightly firm (a little stiff) and place it on the plate. That is one of the big tricks to this. The wrapper is easy to handle because it is not super soft and sticking to itself! It will soften while you are filling it like magic! Most people let them get way too soft in the water before they roll them.

Lay 3 shrimp halves in a row, cut side up (pretty side down), just above the center of the wrapper, leaving about 1- 1 1/2 inches of space on each side. Begin to layer the rest of the ingredients right below the shrimp in the center of the wrapper.

Don’t over fil them. It will seem like you aren’t using much of each ingredient but it all adds up, fast! Under the shrimp row, lay 1/2 piece of lettuce leaf first, then carrots, 2-3 Thai basil leaves, 3-4 mint leaves and cilantro.

Next place the rice noodles and then the cucumber stick to hold it all down.

Fold the bottom half of the rice paper wrapper up over the filling and gently bunch the filling together with your fingers. Really so much harder to do when you are taking the picture while rolling! 🙂

While holding the whole thing firmly in place, fold the sides of the wrapper in. The wrapper is now getting soft and a bit sticky so it will cling to the bottom piece you just rolled.

Then, pressing firmly down to hold the folds in place, roll the entire wrapper horizontally up from the bottom to the top, just like a burrito! Ta Da!

Turn the roll so that the seam faces down and the row of shrimp faces up. Place the rolls on a large plate or baking sheet and cover loosely with a hand towel. Fill the remaining wrappers making sure to leave about 1/2 inch between each fresh roll on the baking sheet so they don’t stick together. Keep the water in the dipping dish warm by replacing the water with hot tap water as needed.

Fresh rolls don’t stay “fresh” for long so try to make them close to when you are going to serve them. Cover them with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 1 hour max. The rice paper wrappers tend to get tough and chewy (chewier than usual) if they are kept too long or kept in the refrigerator. Serve with the peanut sauce for dipping.

Tip: You will probably have extra peanut dipping sauce leftover which is great for a quick salad. Make some lo-mein noodles or even spaghetti, julienne your favorite vegetables and toss with the extra peanut sauce for a quick lunch.

Vietnamese Fresh Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

2014-10-13 17:30:55

Yields 8

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251 calories

32 g

18 g

11 g

8 g

2 g

112 g

367 g

6 g

0 g

8 g

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

112g

Yields

8

Amount Per Serving

Calories 251

Calories from Fat 91

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 11g

17%

Saturated Fat 2g

10%

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 3g

Monounsaturated Fat 5g

Cholesterol 18mg

6%

Sodium 367mg

15%

Total Carbohydrates 32g

11%

Dietary Fiber 2g

8%

Sugars 6g

Protein 8g

Vitamin A

28%

Vitamin C

5%

Calcium

3%

Iron

6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Does this look wrong?

For the Peanut Sauce

1. 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2. 1/3 cup water or chicken broth
3. 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
4. 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 large lime)
5. 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
6. 1 tablespoon brown sugar
7. 2 teaspoons Sriracha (to taste for your spice level)
8. 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

For the Fresh Rolls

1. 12 medium cooked shrimp
2. 4 ounces dried rice stick noodles or rice vermicelli
3. Splash of rice vinegar and sesame oil, for rice noodles
4. 8 (8-1/2-inch) round rice paper wrappers
5. 1 bunch fresh mint leaves
6. 1 bunch fresh basil or Thai basil leaves
7. 1 bunch fresh cilantro sprigs
8. 1 small bag shredded carrots
9. 1/2 medium English or hothouse cucumber, seeded and cut into 1/4 by 5 inch sticks
10. 4 Bibb or Butter lettuce leaves, cut in half

For the Peanut Sauce

1. Whisk all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside.

For the Fresh Rolls

1. Place the shrimp on a cutting board and holding your knife parallel to the cutting board, halve each shrimp horizontally.
2. Bring a pot of water to a simmer and place the noodles in the pot. Let them sit in the water for 7-8 minutes. Run under cold water and drain. Splash with sesame oil and rice vinegar (use a light splash to coat) and set aside.
3. Place all of the ingredients in separate piles. Organize them according to how you are going to place them on the rice paper wrappers. Shrimp, Lettuce, carrots, Thai basil, mint, cilantro, rice stick noodles and cucumber sticks.
4. Place a dinner plate near the bowl you are dipping the rice paper wrappers in. Fill a shallow dish large enough to hold the rice paper wrappers with very warm to hot tap water. Working with 1 wrapper at a time, dip the wrapper in the water and gently spin it around for 3-4 seconds. Remove the wrapper from the water. It will still be slightly firm (a little stiff) and place it on the plate. That is one of the big tricks to this. The wrapper is easy to handle because it is not super soft and sticking to itself! It will soften while you are filling it like magic! Most people let them get way too soft before they roll them.
5. Lay 3 shrimp halves in a row, cut side up (pretty side down), just above the center of the wrapper, leaving about 1- 1 1/2 inches of space on each side. Begin to layer the rest of the ingredients right below the shrimp in the center of the wrapper. Don’t over fill them. It will seem like you aren’t using much of each ingredient but it all adds up, fast! Lay 1/2 piece of lettuce leaf first, then carrots, 2-3 Thai basil leaves, 3-4 mint leaves, cilantro, rice noodles and then the cucumber stick to hold it all down.
6. Fold the bottom half of the rice paper wrapper over the filling. While holding the whole thing firmly in place, fold the sides of the wrapper in. Then, pressing firmly down to hold the folds in place, roll the entire wrapper horizontally up from the bottom to the top, just like a burrito!
7. Turn the roll so that the seam faces down and the row of shrimp faces up. Place the rolls on a baking sheet and cover loosely with a hand towel. Fill the remaining wrappers making sure to leave about 1/2 inch between each fresh roll on the baking sheet so they don’t stick together. Keep the water in the dipping dish warm by replacing the water with hot tap water as needed.
8. Fresh rolls don’t stay “fresh” for long so try to make them close to when you are going to serve them. Cover them with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 1 hour max. The rice paper wrappers tend to get tough and chewy (chewier than usual) if they are kept too long or kept in the refrigerator. Serve with the peanut sauce for dipping.

Notes

1. You will probably have extra peanut dipping sauce leftover which is great for a quick salad. Make some lo-mein noodles or even spaghetti, julienne your favorite vegetables and toss with the extra peanut sauce for a quick lunch.

beta

calories

251

fat

11g

protein

8g

carbs

32g

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