Spring Rolls

Spring rolls are one of my favorite light lunch items. Like many Asian dishes, it is healthy and filling but not stuffing. The bad thing about spring rolls is that they are surprisingly expensive, and they do not last long. No saving them for lunch the next day. Never fear, there is also good news. Firstly, these delicious wraps are super easy to make. And, you are able to use a lot of random things in the fridge or tailor the different roles to each person. Below are the how-to deets.

Ingredients
Spring Rolls:
Thin rice wraps - The best ones can be found in any Asian food store.
Rice noodles
Romaine lettuce leaves
Carrots- cut into long slices. I used a peeler to make the slices.
Cucumber - cut into similar long slices
Avocado
Cream cheese
Meat or Tofu- I used tofu and shrimp

Spicy peanut sauce #1: I am actually providing two options because I got this first one at the recommendation of a friend, but... it didn't turn out. It was delicious, but it was not saucy for dipping. I was more like thick, pastey, spicy peanut butter. I ended up putting it in the rolls instead.
1/2 small onion
Two mushrooms
Olive oil
Peanut butter - You have to use the fatty king you buy at the store. No all-natural cal-cutter here.
Red curry paste
Salt to taste

Spicy peanut sauce #2:
8oz soft tofu - You may be thinking the same thing I was at first (gross!), but please bear with me, it ended up being delicious.
1/2 C peanut butter - For this one I used all natural. You know, the kind you grind there at the store.
2 T soy sauce
3 tsp garlic chili sauce - I added more because I love spicy!

How to
Spicy Peanut Sauce #1:
Dice mushrooms and onions into small pieces. Saute the in olive oil until onions are translucent and mushrooms are soft.

 Add peanut butter and water until mixed and liquid. Add red curry paste to taste. It is little difficult to taste when the paste is so you kind of have to do it by experience. I love spice, so I add quite a bit, but red curry paste is super spicy, so be careful.

Spicy Peanut Sauce #2:
Blend all ingredients. I used the Magic Bullet. I told you to bear with me. This sauce is delicious, and it is much easier/faster/healthier than the first option.
Spring Rolls:
These are the wraps that I used. I wanted to try both sizes. I think that the smaller ones actually ended up being easier to roll and looked prettier. I cut the big once in half when serving and they were probably a little easier to eat because all the goodies stayed inside better.

We used a mix of seared tofu and sauteed shrimp. We used a wine wine, peanut sauce for both. Sounds a little weird right? It went really well with the wraps though. We also bought whole shrimp instead of pre-peeled because they were much cheaper, but we had to take their heads and shells off ourselves. No problem for a few Wyomingites to save a couple bucks.

Next you want to get all your ingredients prepped and ready. Look at that array!

 Soak the rice paper in warm water until flexible and translucent. We found through trial and error that it is best to place in a few at a time. The longer they sit in water, the soggier they become and are not easy to work with. Once the paper is soft and flexible, place flat on a cutting board or prep surface.

Put piece of lettuce and stack other veggies in the center of the paper circle. I found it was easier to stack all the veggies and the add the noodles and sauces, but you may do this part however floats your fancy.

 Note: The sauce pictured here is the Tofu Peanut Sauce (Spicy Peanut Sauce #1)

Next, wrap like a burrito leaving one end open. For the bigger ones, I wrapped the whole thing and then cut them down the middle to serve. Wrapping correctly was by far the hardest part. You have to get a good sense of wrapping tight without breaking the wrap. Luckily the rice paper is very cheap, so I didn't feel bad throwing a few out when they didn't look pretty enough. Needless to say, at the end you could tell which ones I wrapped, and what Nabil wrapped. Oh husbands... no attention to presentation detail.

 These were a hit at the super bowl party. I brought home an empty plate, aka success! I will probably make them again for a summer gathering, baby shower, wine tasting, etc.

Drizzle sauce on the rolls and/or use to dip. Enjoy!

Until next time...