The perfect summer snack or meal for the whole family. Easy to prepare, easy to make and delicious to eat!
Christmas is less than a month away and while everyone in the northern hemisphere is cuddling up in front of the fire, gorging themselves on mince pies to stretch out their bellies for the big day, everyone down here is lathering on the sun cream and eating fresh. New Zealand summers are generally very humid and the sun is getting hotter every year. These summer rolls are the perfect healthy snack or meal, relatively affordable and incredibly easy to make. They are Vietnamese and will typically be found containing shrimps, spring onions, rice noodles and various fresh vegetables like cucumber. Served with a chilli dipping sauce, these are the ideal DIY dinner for the whole family.
My favourite fillings include avocado, cucumber, tomato, spring onion and rice noodles. Typically, most would select a protein to start: shrimp, fresh salmon or chicken. Alternatively, you can use tofu or shredded carrot to replace the meat. Then, you fill in the rest of the roll with goodies like cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, avocado and so on. I have found the key to a good, tight roll is keeping any hard vegetables – such as carrots and capsicum – thin so that they don’t pierce the rice paper. The best thing about this versatile recipe is that you can switch up any sauces and any fillings to suit your tastes.
The rolling technique is best followed visually, but I have included general directions to guide you below:
Ingredients
- Rice paper circles
- Poached shrimp (or other preferred protein)
- Cucumber, sliced
- Red and yellow peppers, sliced
- Rice noodles, boiled and strained
- Other desired fillings
Method
- Chop all ingredients accordingly.
2. Filling a large baking pan with warm water and place a damp teatowel beside it.
3. Place one sheet of rice paper in the water and keep an eye on it for 20 seconds. Then, carefully remove it from the water using both hands and place it on the tea towel.
4. Place all desired ingredients in the centre of the rice paper in a line.
5. Fold in two ends of the roll. Then, fold the roll up tightly. Repeat.
Chilli Dipping Sauce
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Juice of 1 lime
Peanut Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 rice wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp say sauce
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tap sesame oil
There it is, the ultimate summer snack. Refresh and reward yourself, impress your friends and family and kick back to enjoy the summer!
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