Peanut Sauce
1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup hot water (may need more to thin to desired consistency)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 limes – zest and juice
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and thin with additional hot water if needed
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Makes 8
These light rolls are a refreshing change from the usual fried variety – you can switch out the shrimp for thin slices chicken breast or steak. Put everything out in bowls and allow your guest to create their own.
4 ounces dried vermicelli rice noodles cooked to package directions, rinsed and drizzled with a small amount of oil to prevent sticking
8 rice papers (8.5 in diameter)
8 large cooked shrimp deveined and cut lengthwise in half
An assortment of basil, cilantro and mint leaves, torn
8 butter lettuce leaves – usually grown hydroponically in a clamshell
2 tablespoons minced chives
1 cup English cucumber in thin julienne strips
1 cup peeled carrot in thin julienne strips
1 cup mango in thin julienne strips
1 cup red pepper in thin julienne strips
Fill a large shallow bowl with warm tap water
Dip the rice papers one at a time and let them soak for about 5 seconds, the will continue to soften and become pliable out of the water
Place a shrimp in the center of the rice paper, cut side up
Cover with a leaf of lettuce
Stack lengthwise a few strips each of cucumber, carrot, mango and red pepper
Add a few leaves of herbs and a bit of minced chive
Add a small handful of rice noodles
Fold the left and right side of the rice paper in
Fold the side nearest you over the filling and roll over the remaining side
Serve with the peanut sauce
If you are not serving right away, store in the refrigerator on a cookie sheet in a single layer with a damp paper towel covering them