Sunday, June 8, 2008

Fresh Thai Spring Rolls and Peanut Dipping Sauce

Sorry I have no picture - I told KT that she is in charge of finding one and posting it. To make the Spring rolls you may want to find a good Asian market, in Provo I always loved Chaos on University.

If you ask the employees there for the wrappers and noodles for Fresh Spring Rolls, they will show you exactly what you need. Some nicer grocery stores these days have well stocked Asian sections and you may be able to find everything there. The following recipe includes a list of suggestions for things to fill the rolls with - you can use as many or as few as you would like and really there is not limit to the variety of what you can put into these rolls. Just make sure everything is cut nice and thin.

1 package Fresh Spring roll wrappers
1 package bean thread noodles
red and yellow bell pepper julienned
Carrot julienned
Bean sprouts
zucchini julienned
yellow squash julienned
green onion cut in long strips and julienned
whole shrimp deveined and tail removed
whole basil leaves or whole mint leaves


You will need to find the wrappers, they are called "Spring Rolls Skin" and they are clear, thin and very brittle. Next, you need the noodles which are typically called "Bean Threads" and they are also a clear noodle that come in a package often wrapped in pink netting.

Follow the directions on the package to soften the noodles.
Soak the wrappers in warm water until they are softened, transfer carefully to a plate and in the center of the wrapper place a pile of noodles. From here you can begin piling your shrimp and vegetables in any order that you wish. Do not fill too much, roll two ends in to meet one another and carefully roll the next two sides into a roll. The more times you do it the easier the rolling will become. The trick is to not rip the wrapper in the process.

Peanut Dipping Sauce
The sauce I use is a variation of one from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook

1 cup real p-nut butter(not hydrogenated brands like Skippy)
1/2 cup warm water
3-4 cloves fresh garlic minced
large handful of fresh cilantro chopped
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs rice vinegar
cayenne to taste
1 tbs brown sugar
salt to taste (if p-nut butter is not salted)

Add water to p-nut butter and stir patiently until the water in incorporated. Add the rest of the ingredients. You may add more water if you want the sauce runnier for dipping.

One time Colton made a really yummy chili dipping sauce for spring rolls. I usually just boil a bunch of sugar in water and when it becomes syrupy I add a couple big scoops of store bought garlic, chili sauce but ask Colton for the real recipe.


I know this post is an eternity long but these recipes are fun and once you try these spring rolls you will love them and seriously - call me if you attempt this and have questions!

1 comment:

Ann Dee said...

Thanks for posting this Kim. You've made me sort of famous in my family for this recipe even though I didn't really have it right. Holly, this is the recipe you wanted. Kim knows everything so ask her anything.