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Asian Summer Rolls

from Everyday Vegan Eats: Family Favorites from My Kitchen to Yours by Zsu Dever
Asian Summer Rolls

Dipping Sauce:
6 tablespoons hot water
6 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon reduced sodium tamari
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
Spring Rolls:
1 ounce rice vermicelli noodles
4 spring roll wrappers or large lettuce leaves
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 ripe hass avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 slabs blackened tempeh, cut into matchsticks
1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks
1/2 small cucumber, cut into matchsticks

Serves 4

This and many other wonderful recipes may be found in Editors of Zsu Dever's
Everyday Vegan Eats

 



Not exactly a sandwich, I included these summer rolls in this chapter because they make a refreshing handheld lunch-and a nice break from the usual bread sandwiches. Summer rolls, or fresh spring rolls, are crazy-easy to make once you know how to soak the rice paper. The package will likely direct you to soak the wrapper for up to a minute. Don't believe them! The wrappers only need to be soaked long enough to make them pliable. They will continue to soften after you wrap them, as they continue to absorb the moisture in the filling. Alternately, you may wrap the filling in large fresh lettuce leaves.

Dipping Sauce: Combine the water, peanut butter, tamari, lime juice, sugar, and garlic in a small bowl. Mix well using a whisk and set aside.

Spring Rolls: Cook the rice noodles in a medium pot of water until al dente. Drain, reserving the cooking water for the spring roll wrappers, and set the noodles aside.

If using spring roll wrappers, transfer the reserved hot water to a shallow baking pan. Rehydrate a spring roll wrapper by soaking it in the hot water just until pliable, at the most 10 seconds. Transfer the pliable wrapper to a large plate. It should still be somewhat rigid, but soft enough to roll after a few seconds.

If using lettuce leaves, trim off any thick stems using a paring knife. Place a lettuce leaf on a large plate.

To make rolling the wrapper easier, you may optionally coarsely mash the avocado; this will prevent them from sliding while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.

Stack 1/4 of the cilantro, 1/4 of the avocado, 1/4 of the noodles, 1/4 of the tempeh, 1/4 of the carrots, and 1/4 of the cucumber in the middle of the wrapper or leaf.

Fold the right side of the rice paper or lettuce leaf over the ingredients, then the left side. Fold the bottom flap of the wrapper over the ingredients and, pulling gently to tighten, roll up the wrapper. Repeat until all the wrappers are rolled. Serve the rolls with the dipping sauce.


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