It is starting to feel like summer here in Cali and since I posted something soo indulgent the other day, I think we needed a fresh fix.
Fresh vegetarian spring rolls with avocado and mint lured me into the local Asian market once again. I talked about going to this amazing and out of my culture zone market when I made Ramen. Rows and rows of aisles in a language I can not read or speak. The only aisle I am familiar with is the noodles aisle and when I saw noodles, I am talking about a long..long double sided aisle all filled with hundreds of different shapes and sizes. I would love to learn more about the Asian culture. I find their food fascinating and comforting but don’t nearly spend enough time researching it through my palate.
In this trip, we bought basic items. Rice paper and dumpling wrappers which turned into pot-stickers that are coming up later in the week. I have to be honest, I am not sure how “authentic” vegetarian spring rolls are, but they are delicious and it made me travel to my new and favorite cultural store.
Method:
1) Dip 1 piece of rice paper into warm water. Turn on both sides to soften and take it out. It should still have some firmness to it.
2) On a flat and clean surface, pile your ingredients and making sure that you leave 1/2 in on both sides.
3) Start with fresh herbs.
4) Then pile on bean sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, vermicelli and top with avocado.
5) Roll the spring roll half way and tuck sides in and finish the roll. Make sure everything is tight and compact and sides are not opening. Cut in half with a sharp knife.
6) To make the peanut sauce, mix all sauce ingredients together in a bowl.
Fresh Vegetarian Spring Rolls
Ingredients
- 4-5 pieces of rice paper
- 10 leaves of basil and mint
- 1/2 cucumber peeled and cut into sticks
- 2 carrots peeled and cut into sticks
- 4 oz vermicelli cooked and cooled
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1/2 avocado sliced
Peanut Sauce
- 1/4 c peanut butter
- 2 Tb soy sauce
- 1 green onion chopped
- 1 tsp sriracha
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
Instructions
- Dip 1 piece of rice paper into warm water. Turn on both sides to soften and take it out. It should still have some firmness to it.
- On a flat and clean surface, pile your ingredients and making sure that you leave 1/2 in on both sides.
- Start with fresh herbs.
- Then pile on bean sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, vermicelli and top with avocado.
- Roll the spring roll half way and tuck sides in and finish the roll. Make sure everything is tight and compact and sides are not opening. Cut in half with a sharp knife.
- To make the peanut sauce, mix all sauce ingredients together in a bowl.
Nutrition
These look and sound amazing, Samantha. I could maybe live on avocado!
I love spring rolls and this recipe looks and sounds yummy. Thanks!
Fresh spring rolls are a staple in Vietnamese homes. They are about authentic as it gets. Your recipe (for the rolls and the peanut sauce) is, well, interesting. Also, while peanut sauce is an option, most Vietnamese make a dip called Nước chấm. Personally, I prefer the peanut sauce, but the more common sauce is pretty good too. Your peanut sauce could use a few more key ingredients. Google peanut hoisen sauce for ideas. I’ve never had spring rolls made with vermicelli. I’ll have to give it a try. Generally folks use Pho noodles AKA rice stick noodles.
Hi Ed! Thanks for all the tips and the hoison peanut sounds sounds lovely! Funny because I have had spring rolls here in the states with clear noodles inside so that’s why I made it that way. I have another idea of making spring rolls with kimchee and vegetables, though not sure how authentic that would be, sounds good!