Summer rolls

Looking for a healthy but tasty summer meal? Vietnamese summer rolls is the way to go. Easy to make, very little time spent over the stove and delectable! There is quite a few steps and assembly required, but its fun.

First, gather all the things you need for these summer rolls. The rice paper and cellophane noodles are the 2 most important ingredients. The rice paper comes in a pack of rounds that look like plastic discs. These will keep in your pantry forever. The noodles also go by bun tau or mung bean noodles.

As for the rest of the fillings, you can put what ever you feel like. Fresh vegetables like cabbage, lettuce, carrots, green beans, cucumbers, daikon, radish, spring onions. Also duck, shrimp, tofu or pork. Anything you desire or happen to have at hand.

I used red cabbage, carrots, cucumber and chili pepper. Slice everything into thin sticks. Toss gently with some fish sauce (nam pla) and set aside.

On to the noodles. These need to soak in boiling water for about 15 mins. Drain and mix with the veggies. Add fresh basil.

I found this can of mock roast duck in the Asian aisle a while back.

I had no idea what to do with it. These summer rolls seemed like a perfect opportunity to try it out. I drained out the can and looked at the contents. I don't know if they are trying to make it look like a plucked duck, or its just the impression left from their strainer. It tasted kinda like soy nuggets. Not bad, but not like duck. Nothing like duck at all.

What else can I put in there? Shrimp! I poached them and then chopped them up into pieces. You can leave them whole too, but I figured chopping it up means I'll get a piece in every bite. 

I think I got all my ingredients ready. Now for the assembly line. I moved to the dining table for this one. Get all the fillings, the paper, a cutting board and a wide, flat, deep dish filled with warm water. Something wider than the rice paper. This you'll use to soften up the paper discs to make them soft and pliable. A few min in warm water will do it. Slip the paper in one at a time. Once its soft, pull it on to your cutting board.

It will be very delicate and might rip, so be gentle. Lay flat and pile on the fillings of choice. A bit of noodles, some veggies and a spoonful of shrimp. To wrap it up, it goes kinda like a burrito. Left flap, right flap and roll to the end. The paper with stick to itself when its wet. Keep this in mind when you pile them up!

Keep going on these till you finish up the fillings. I did a few with shrimp and a few with duck. Towards the end there were a couple of mixed ones too. To dip these beauties, I made an asian peanut sauce. Mix peanut butter with fish sauce, soy sauce, sriracha, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and oyster sauce. Mix, mix, mix. Grab a roll, dip and eat. Its cool, its crunchy and sauce brings in an extra kick. These rolls make a great summer meal. Great for picnics too.