Vegetable spring rolls with peanut sauce are a delicious and easy way to get a rainbow of veggies all wrapped up into one eye-popping meal.
The great thing about spring rolls is you can make them any way that suits your diet. They can be veg
Vege table Spring Rolls, Eat The Rainbow
- Mint – antioxidants + calms the stomach
- Cilantro – Vitamin C + antioxidants
- Bell Pepper – vitamin C, carotenoids + fiber
- Mango – vitamin C, fiber + antioxidants
- Carrot – beta carotene + vitamin A
- Basil - magnesium + vitamin K
- Watermelon Radish - fiber + vitamin C
Why Are Spring Rolls Clear?
Spring roll wrappers are made from a paste of rice flour and water that is stamped into bamboo mats and dried. The rice paper wrappers are so thin they are translucent which means when dried they are brittle and delicate. For these Vegetable Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce I used Three Ladies Brand rice papers.
What Is A Watermelon Radish?
The watermelon radish is a member of the mustard family, which includes arugula, broccoli, and turnips. The radish has an edible round white root with a green stem and leaves. Inside the flesh is rimmed in white with a dark pink circular pattern, resembling a watermelon; hence it's named.
You will enjoy the radish's crisp, sweet, mildly peppery taste. When picking out watermelon radishes, select those that are firm, without bruises or cracks. Keep them in the refrigerator vegetable drawer until ready to use.
How To Roll A Rice Paper Spring Roll
- Clear a workspace on your counter or work on a large cutting board.
- Layout a damp dish towel on the surface to work on.
- Fill a pie pan large enough for your rice paper to completely fit in with warm water and submerge one wrapper in the water for 15 to 20 seconds.
- Rub it with your hand, flip it, and rub the other side, leaving it in the water just long enough to make sure the whole rice paper wrapper gets wet. It will still feel slightly firm when you pull it out of the water, but it will continue to soften some. It takes some practice to figure out what the right amount of firmness feels like. If you leave the wrapper in the water for too long it will start sticking to itself and get too soft for you to work with.
- Lay the rice paper wrapper out on the flat damp towel and place ingredients in the bottom third of the wrapper.
- Be sure and place the prettiest items on the bottom since they will show on the outside of your spring roll. Layer the ingredients so you get a little bit of every ingredient in each bite. Don’t overstuff the roll, you need to leave enough space on all sides to wrap it up.
- Carefully pulling the edge of the rice paper closest to you, wrap up and over the filling, tucking it under a little bit to pull the ingredients closer together.
- Gently pull the left side of the wrapper over the middle, and then the right, to close up the ends of the roll, similar to a burrito roll.
- Roll it up away from you, continuing to gently tuck the filling in tighter as you go. The tucking helps the roll keep a nice shape.
For more Asian inspired dishes be sure and try my Asian Noodles Lao Gan Ma. They are absolutely the best Asian noodle recipe I have ever tried, better than takeout or even some fancy restaurant. The dish has layers of sweet spicy flavors that develop a sauce you will be willing to lick the pan for.
Vegetable Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 7 rice papers
- 1 pepper one quarter of each: yellow, red, green and orange pepper, seeded and sliced in thin strips
- 2 carrots small rainbow, peeled and julienne cut
- 3 watermelon radishes small, sliced with a mandolincarefully
- 1 mango ripe, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 8 ounces rice noodles cooked
- 1/4 cup cilantro fresh
- 1/4 cup basil fresh
- 1/8 mint fresh
Peanut Sauce
- 1/2 cup peanut butter no sugars added
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 lime small, juiced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger fresh grated
- 1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek Chili Paste
- water hot water if you need to thin the sauce out some
Instructions
Peanut Sauce
- Add all ingredients into a mixing bowl except the water. Whisk together until creamy and smooth. If needed add warm water a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved. Set aside
Spring Rolls
- Prepare all vegetables and fruit as directed, place all together in preparation for rolling.
- Fill a cookie sheet 1/2 way with warm tap water.
- See notes* for detailed rolling instructions - Submerge one rice paper in water to soften for about 20 seconds then lay on a damp towel, fill and roll.
- Serve with Peanut Sauce
Notes
- Clear a workspace on your counter or work on a large cutting board.
- Layout a damp dish towel on the surface to work on.
- Fill a pie pan large enough for your rice paper to completely fit in with warm water and submerge one wrapper in the water for 15 to 20 seconds.
- Rub it with your hand, flip it, and rub the other side, leaving it in the water just long enough to make sure the whole rice paper wrapper gets wet. It will still feel slightly firm when you pull it out of the water, but it will continue to soften some. It takes some practice to figure out what the right amount of firmness feels like. If you leave the wrapper in the water for too long it will start sticking to itself and get too soft for you to work with.
- Lay the rice paper wrapper out on the flat damp towel and place ingredients in the bottom third of the wrapper.
- Be sure and place the prettiest items on the bottom since they will show on the outside of your spring roll. Layer the ingredients so you get a little bit of every ingredient in each bite. Don’t overstuff the roll, you need to leave enough space on all sides to wrap it up.
- Carefully pulling the edge of the rice paper closest to you, wrap up and over the filling, tucking it under a little bit to pull the ingredients closer together.
- Gently pull the left side of the wrapper over the middle, and then the right, to close up the ends of the roll, similar to a burrito roll.
- Roll it up away from you, continuing to gently tuck the filling in tighter as you go. The tucking helps the roll keep a nice shape.
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