I was SO proud of myself when I made spring rolls the other day!!! I had always assumed they’d be messy or would fall apart, but when my friend, Lindsay, decided to have an Asian-inspired dinner party, I thought I would give them a try! Turns out, they were incredibly easy and they are a tasty way to get more veggies into your meals or party appetizers!
I give a full video demonstration here (and to prove how easy it was to make the rice paper rolls, I had to do it with one hand in order to film it!): https://youtu.be/97wWg5kH7BQ
The rolls were super simple to make. Fillings are totally up to you and your tastes. I made these rolls twice and each time I used some kind of combo of romaine lettuce, shrimp (I gave my recipe for shrimp with a little extra kick in the video!), thin rice noodles, avocado, red pepper, carrots, cucumber (all the veggies I either cut into thin strips or spiralized), mint (I loved the flavor that the fresh mint added so I used even more the 2nd time around!), and sesame seeds. The video explains all about the rice paper, what to look for when buying it, and how to prepare it for rolling!
The homemade peanut sauce absolutely MADE these rolls! They were good without it, but it added so much extra flavor, plus I liked having something “liquidy” on them. I apologize for not being the kind of cook who measures everything perfectly. With my background in the sciences, I do love things that are exact but unfortunately my cooking tends to be very free-spirited. I used multiple recipes online to come up with this concoction (so if you are someone who likes things exact, google a homemade peanut sauce recipe). I included a picture of what I used in the peanut sauce here since it was a little hard to see in the video. The main ingredients were basically peanut butter and soy sauce (I used liquid aminos- a healthier, gluten-free alternative to soy sauce- available from amazon associate link here- disclosure: I get a small commission if someone purchases from this link). Mash some peanut butter with some soy sauce (I used a hefty amount of each- more soy sauce will make it spicier, more PB will make it sweeter). Everything else I used to taste. I really liked the addition of the sesame oil- I felt like that gave it a good Asian flavor. The honey sweetened it up a little. I added some rice vinegar (I like what that did to the texture). Black pepper, hot sauce, garlic powder, actual garlic (minced), and red pepper flakes (not pictured) all added to the flavor but can be used generously, sparingly, or not at all depending on your tastes. When you mix all of this together, it will be pretty chunky and think. Add water (small amounts at a time) to thin it out to the consistency you want! Mine thickened a little in the fridge and I actually liked it even better the next day (just FYI).
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| I served the peanut sauce on the side (garnished with red pepper flakes) but it was so good, I ended up using it generously over each one of the rolls I ate! |
This entire recipe is all gluten-free- just make sure you use a gluten-free soy sauce or an alternative like the liquid aminos that I used! The liquid aminos can be found on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2jqWfpj Full disclosure: I get a small commission from Amazon if you buy this product but this is honestly what I use at home and wanted to make it easier for you to find!
If you are vegan and don’t eat honey, that can easily be taken out of the peanut sauce or substituted with agave or pure organic maple syrup.
If you don’t like or eat shrimp, don’t worry- I made a bunch of them without it and they were just as good!
Watch the video, let me know what you think, and let me know how yours turn out! Feel free to contact me with any questions!!
Happy cooking!
Katelyn
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