This health food recipe might be one you haven’t tried before, because it’s exotic (Asian) cuisine. If you’ve traveled in Southeast Asia, however, particularly in Cambodia or Vietnam, you will have likely seen these rolls being sold on the street.
They might remind you of sandwiches in the west: small, customizable food that can be eaten easily at any time of the day.
These rolls take about 20 minutes to prepare: 10 minutes of preparation and 10 more of cooking time.
How to make summer rolls, ingredients:
- 2 ounces Vietnamese or Thai rice noodles
- 6 rice paper rounds
- 1/4 cup, or 12 fresh Thai basil leaves (or regular basil leaves), rinsed and dried
- 6 medium shrimp, cooked and halved
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 1/2 cup, or 12 whole large fresh mint leaves, rinsed and dried
- 3 red-leaf lettuce leaves, leaves, spines removed, leaving 6 halves
- Vinegar dipping sauce, recipe follows
For full directions, visit Food Network where they provide a nice clear tutorial.
For the vinegar dipping sauce for summer rolls:
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons warm water
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chili sauce (recommended: Sriracha)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce or low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon finely shredded carrot
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
The directions for the summer roll sauce is also at Food Network.
However, some of you might want to just make the rolls and buy any of an assortment of dipping sauces from the Asian foods section of your local grocery store (or health foods store if you have one).